经济学人下载:新冠疫情下的MBA绝地求生(2)

America’s loss was Europe’s gain. With more direct connections to Asia, London Business School, HEC Paris and other top European schools reported rises in applications. Some Asian schools, too, benefited. They kept their doors open to international students, thanks to their countries’ better handling of the pandemic. Hong Kong University Business School (HKUBS) saw a surge in applications from North America and Europe in March. They tended to be students who aimed for MBAs in the West but picked Asia at the last moment, says Sachin Tipnis of HKUBS. Memories of the SARS epidemic of 2003 spurred HKUBS to act early. Rapid processing of visa applications and moving classes to larger lecture theatres allowed 90-95% of students to attend in person. 

美国的损失换来了欧洲的收益。通过与亚洲更为直接的联系，伦敦商学院、巴黎高等商学院和其他欧洲顶尖商学院的申请人数都有所上升。一些亚洲学校也从中受益。这些商学院能够对国际学生敞开大门，还要多亏了他们所在的国家抗疫更为顺利。香港大学商学院（HKUBS）今年3月的北美洲和欧洲申请人数激增。香港大学商学院的沙钦·提普尼斯表示，这些生源往往以申请西方国家的MBA为目标，但他们在最后一刻还是选择了亚洲。对2003年非典疫情的记忆促使香港大学商学院及早行动。他们快速处理签证申请，并将课程转移到更大的演讲厅，从而使90-95%的学生能够参加线下课程。

Travel and visa complications boosted domestic applications everywhere. In 2020 mainland applicants to China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), a toprated business school in Shanghai, rose by 30%. The wish to stay local is driven by two things, explains Ding Yuan, its dean. The first is China’s economy, which grew last year while others shrank. That has made America and Europe a less attractive destination in general for ambitious managers. The second is a sense that the post-Trump West is less welcoming to Chinese. 

旅行和签证的复杂化促进了各地的国内申请。2020年，中国内地申请中欧国际商学院（CEIBS）的人数增长了30%。中欧国际商学院是上海排名最高的商学院。其院长丁远解释称，学生们希望留在本地就读是出于两个原因。第一个原因在于中国经济，去年全球经济萎缩的情况下，只有中国经济还在增长。这使得美国和欧洲总体上对于雄心勃勃的管理者来说缺乏吸引力。第二个原因在于他们感觉到特朗普上任后的西方国家不那么欢迎中国人。

Most surprising of all, given all that, American schools look poised for a banner 2021. After a few years of declining applications, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Columbia Business School, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and other top American programmes now report double-digit growth. “We enrolled the largest full-time MBA class ever,” beams Madhav Rajan, dean of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. 

最令人惊讶的是，考虑到这一切，美国学校似乎准备好了2021年的旗帜。在经历了几年的申请量下降之后，麻省理工学院斯隆管理学院、哥伦比亚商学院、宾夕法尼亚大学沃顿商学院和其他美国顶尖课程的申请量现在都实现了两位数的增长。芝加哥大学布斯商学院院长马德哈夫·拉詹说：“我们启动了有史以来规模最大的全日制MBA课程招生。”

MBA applications typically rise in recessions, when a weaker job market means lower forgone salaries. But business schools deserve credit for adapting their business models—as their professors preach others to do. Many delayed the start of semesters, offered generous scholarships, waived exam requirements and liberalised policies on deferrals. Harvard Business School allowed students it admitted to postpone studies for one or two years. GMAC reckons that deferrals globally have shot up from about 3% to 7%. 

MBA的申请量通常会在经济衰退时上升，当时的就业市场疲软，因为就读而损失的薪水会更低。但正如商学院的教授所鼓吹的那样，商学院在调整其商业模式方面值得称赞。许多商学院推迟了学期开学，提供了丰厚的奖学金，免除了考试要求，并放宽了延期政策。哈佛商学院允许其录取的学生延迟学习一到两年。GMAC估计，全球的延期率已经从3%飙升至7%。

Schools also boosted online and flexible degrees, which are surging, and integrated digital teaching into core MBA courses. Far from being “giant killers”, says Vijay Govindarajan of Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, digital technology can help a top school “ensure its gold-plated MBA programme shines even brighter”. The Ross School is using tools akin to Netflix’s bespoke recommendations to create “personalised leadership and career development journeys” for students. And to graduates’ relief, recruiters are back. GMAC’s survey of firms that recruit at business schools found that 89% intended to hire MBAs in 2021, up from 77% last year. 

学校还推行了正在激增的在线学位和弹性学位，并将数字教学融入MBA核心课程。达特茅斯学院塔克商学院的维杰·戈文达拉扬表示，数字技术非但不是“巨人杀手”，反而可以帮助一所顶尖的商学院“确保其镀金的MBA课程更加光明”。罗斯商学院正在使用与Netflix的定制推荐类似的工具，为学生打造“个性化的领导和职业发展之旅”。令毕业生欣慰的是，招聘人员又回来了。GMAC对在商学院招聘的公司进行调查时发现，有89%的公司打算在2021年招聘MBA毕业生，高于去年的77%。