The Reason for IUSB MBA Stagnation

7. Disillusion with education system       

    The things are not looking great in terms of American education system, as students are feeling disillusionment. The overall perception that education system is doing well and things are on the right track, but in reality things are quite different. That’s why the MBA program at IUSB is being stagnant. It is important for an education system to respond well to the cognitive needs of the students so that they can get knowledge, which is beneficial for them as well as for society. The education system must work as a tool for students to gain knowledge and be creative in their approach, rather just becoming a container, which is being filled by the teachers. When students will not be able to think about their future on their own, and when things are quite different from actual reality, then a disillusioned education system will be developed. The role of teachers as well as students is very critical in developing an education system, which serves its basic purposes (SLAUGHTER, 2017)

            The MBA program at IUSB is failing to get more students, because education system is not fulfilling the expectations off students. The things are far away from their actual objectives. There was a time, when MBA program was really popular and students were getting good salaries initially after doing MBA, but now the situation is different from the past. The students of MBA are not getting the career growth and success, which they used to get earlier. However, when compared to many other fields, still the MBA program is worth pursuing, because whatever the education system problems could be; MBA holders still sometimes get a good response from the job market. But it is important to see whether system is satisfying the overall needs of students or not (MBA Crystal Ball , 2016)

a. Do they feel they need a degree at all?

            It is one of the important questions to answer in American education context that what students think about getting degrees like MBA, and do they really feel that they need a degree. Many people believe that their leaders have not kept the needs of students in mind while formulating the education policies, and that’s why education system is not able to fulfill its promises. In today’s competitive world, where things are getting tougher for everyone, the students are also feeling the pressure. There are various reasons for this pressure like one reason is falling standard of education system to equip students with future skills, and the other reason is increasing costs of getting education. The students in many cases can’t afford to get education especially from elite schools, because their fee and other expenses are too expensive for most part of the society. Education should not be a burden for parents, students and society, because if it is a burden, then it can’t produce the desired positive results (MBA Crystal Ball , 2016)

            It is important to build a society, which believes in great education system. If people will lose their belief in education system, then outcome for a society can be disastrous. It is really disappointing to see that MBA program at IUSB is not getting the response from students, which it used to get in the past. It is happening because increasing costs and shrinking job market has forced people to think whether they really need a degree. The general impression about education system is changing with the time, and most of people now think that educational institutions think about their benefits rather thinking about the benefits of students. This is why the students’ belief on the education system is being lost with the passage of time. The ever increasing costs of education especially the MBA program is a worrying thing for the American society, as such trend is devastating for the bright future of students

8. What is happening with Competition enrollment in MBA?

            The overall competition in the education sector is getting stiff and when it comes to MBA, the things are even stiffer. The number of available MBA programs is increasing with the passage of time, whereas the number of enrollments is not increasing at the same rate. What does it mean then? It means that competition for enrollment in MBA program is getting tougher. There are some elite business schools, offering MBA programs with promise to give a great career, and then there are business schools, which do not look promising. The MBA programs in both kinds of business schools are expensive and students have to bear lots of education costs. Now, the situation is also confusing for students that how they should react to this competition. It is impossible for students to be ascertaining that which business school MBA program will be beneficial for them in terms of getting good jobs in the future (Blackman, 2013)

            It is a fact to remember that private education is dealing with stiff competition. The educational institutions are looking to get more enrolments as much as possible. So, students are being offered programs with different benefits. Regardless of the bad economic conditions, the MBA programs enrollment has seen considerable growth over the period of time, which is a good sign for institutes like IUSB, who are currently down with MBA enrollments numbers. It means that good enough amount of students are there to enroll in MBA program, but it is just the competition that some business schools are behind from the others. So, it is important for institutes like IUSB to be more responsive to the students’ needs. They must accommodate students from all backgrounds, and give opportunity to everyone so that they can bear educational expenses. The overall situation is not looking good maybe, but higher education demand is on the rise, which is a positive sign for IUSB (Weintraub, 2018)

Is it just us suffering or everyone? Is it just around us or through the nation?

            It is important for IUSB to understand that competition in the enrolments of MBA is just happening in their surroundings, or it is the trend, which is being felt across the nation. When latest market trends are reviewed closely in terms of MBA programs enrolments, it is quite evident that this trend is there across the American education system. With increasing numbers of private education institutes and business schools, the competition is increasing. The technology is also playing its part as many business schools are offering online MBA programs. It means that physical admissions in the institutes will decrease if students will start giving importance to online programs. This trend is going to make competition tougher as number of institutes may exceed the number of students willing to enroll in the MBA program. It means that online education system along with other innovations will be another threat for the IUSB MBA program, which is already seeing lower enrolment numbers (CLINTON, 2016)

            It is important to understand that when students will be dissatisfied with the education system, and when they will feel that a proper MBA program not worth it, then it is hard for IUSB to convince students. If students don’t believe in degrees anymore to get good jobs, then small courses and other skills may be their first preferences. For instance, if an online program or course can give them a similar kind of job, which a MBA student gets, then people will start losing their trust in the education system as well as MBA program. The lower teaching standards and growing competition in MBA programs across the country is a trend, which is more likely to prevail in future. So, it is important for IUSB to market their MBA program with more lucrative offers and increase their standard of education, and they must also decrease the expenses so that more students are attracted to their MBA program, and they can get more enrollments regardless of the stiff competition.

References

Blackman, S. (2013). What Matters Most in MBA Admissions? Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/mba-admissions-strictly-business/2013/01/04/what-matters-most-in-mba-admissions

CLINTON, T. (2016). TRENDS IN MBA PROGRAM ENROLLMENT. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://www.visionpointmarketing.com/blog/entry/trends-mba-program-enrollment

MBA Crystal Ball . (2016). When MBA programs die and fade away. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2016/03/25/when-mba-programs-die/

SLAUGHTER, A.-M. (2017). The Broken Promise of Higher Education. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/05/the-broken-promise-of-higher-education/526995/

Weintraub, A. (2018). 6 Options to Cut the Cost of an MBA. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/articles/2018-03-26/6-options-to-cut-the-cost-of-an-mba