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JulyAugust2013

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RETHINKING THE MODEL… KING BY MERGING GING many important but less lucrative programs in the arts and sciences. "What better argument that universities can thrive under RCM?" says Jessup. "The model isn't just good for the business school—it's good for everyone." Learn from Disruptors There's no question that online education has transformed how courses are delivered. (See "Technology, Education, and the Developing World" on page 30.) And it's still unclear whether the massive open online course, or MOOC, is a friend, foe, or farce to higher education. (See "What Makes a MOOC?" on page 26.) But business schools should not ignore for-profits like Strayer University or MOOC platforms such as Coursera and edX, says Laing. Just consider what happened to Kodak after its leaders ignored the implications of digital photography. Laing points out that the same trends affecting business schools— decreased funding and higher costs—are driving many students to seek out cost-effective educational alternatives. Case in point is the success of U.K.-based distance learning provider the Open University and Open University Business School, where Laing served as a director of research and marketing professor for four years. "Since the OU has developed a successful MBA program, it's aggressively targeting the undergraduate market, offering students the ability to study part-time at lower cost," Laing says. At the same time, for-profit online education providers like London-based BPP University College and U.S.-based University of Phoenix, both owned by the Apollo Group, can provide students faster 24 July/August 2013 BizEd In April, Rouen Business School and Reims Management School, both in Busine s h o a Re m Managem n ch o , ot Business School and Reims Management School, both n ness ne anage a oth France, announced their merger into a single institution. The new business nced their merger into single institution. The new business ce thei m rger nt n sing e ns i ution The ne usi e s school, whose official name will be released in September, will be jointly headed of cial ame ll official name will be released in September, will be jointly headed e eased September, l mber, ointly eade nt ade by Yves Bénard, former chairman of Reims Management School, and Frank d, former chairman of Reims Management School, and Frank m hairma m eims eims anag ment School an Fr n n ol Bostyn, previously the project manager for the merger. usly the project manager for the merger. s y he roject anager or e erg j The merger made sense because of the schools' long-standing partnership, made sense because o the schools' long-standing partnership, ad s s ec us he ch ols long- tand n pa tnership, ong and ners rshi which includes executive education programs they offer jointly in Paris. The executive education programs they offer jointly in Paris. The ecut ve uca on ogr m hey ffe oint y Paris. he ati n ffer ris. i newly formed school can better increase its visibility, grow its programs, achieve chool can better increase its visibility, grow its programs, achieve hoo a better creas t vi ibi i y grow s rograms, chieve visi og ms, eve greater impact through research, and build more strategic alliances with global through research, and build more strategic alliances with global hro h e earch, nd uild or strategi allian e wi h oba ch, uild egi an partners, says Bostyn. Bostyn. osty . y "It is difficult for a small school to invest in the development necessary to lt for small school to invest in the development necessary to o smal school in est th develo men necessar m l hool lopm o ary build its reputation or increase its visibility through organic growth, especially in t on tion or increase its visibility through organic growth, especially in ncrease t isib lity th oug org ni growth especially ib t orga wth eci the mature market for business education we have in France," he says. "For us, ket for business education we have in France, he says. "For us, e o b sin s ducation ne uca ha e Franc ance say For s, the solution was to merge, so we could achieve a larger scale." s to merge, so we could achieve larger scale. merge, erg ou d chie e arge s ale. The new school will have three campuses in Rouen, Reims, and Paris, all hool il ave hr e ampuse hool will have three campuses in Rouen, Reims, and Paris, all o ree mpuses ouen ouen Reims, nd ris, l en, ms, s within a two- to three-hour commute from each other. Some long-standing o three-hour commute from each other. Some long-standing hre hou commut rom ac other. her. m o g standin in programs will remain on either the Reims or Rouen campuses because of their emain on either the Reims or Rouen campuses because of their main n either he eims Roue ampus s ecause thei uen pus strong ties to local industry. The school will consolidate the partners' two original ocal industry. The school will consolidate the partners' two original cal ndustry. e ch o ill onsolida idate e artners' wo rigina a s' al MBA programs into one and move it to Paris, where it will be delivered alonginto one and move it o Paris, where t will be delivered alongn on an mo e aris wher l e iv r d ong ver ngside the school's exec ed programs. The school then plans to expand its execu's exec ed programs. The school then plans to expand its execuexec p og a s Th school he plan xp n t ex cutive education activities and redouble its corporate outreach efforts. activities and redouble its corporate outreach efforts. ct vit e n redoub e ts orporate utre c ef orts. effo ts. "Increasing our presence in Paris will have a large impact on our financial ou res n e Pari will av our presence in Paris will have large impact on our nancial ill ve arg impact ou nancial a model," says Bostyn. "We want to position the school as a partner to companies ostyn. We ant ostyn. "We want to position the school as partner o companies tyn n ositio th school st cho hool partne ompa i in their organizational development." ationa development. ational development. io velopm e o men time-to-completion for degrees and certifications. "For-profits might not give students the 'life-changing experiences' of traditional higher education," says Laing, "but they do offer cost-conscious students a very sensible approach." Traditional business schools will not be able to compete with for-profits on price, or even on the benefits of traditional delivery, if that's not what students are looking for. Instead, Laing advises business schools to learn more about how for-profits and MOOCs do what they do. It's possible that their underlying models offer solutions for traditional higher ed. With that in mind, 20 universities in the U.K. recently joined FutureLearn, a consortium led by the Open University. Through FutureLearn, the universities will examine models such as Coursera, edX, and Udacity, and then develop a similar platform for MOOC delivery. "It will be difficult to ever charge for MOOC content," Laing admits. As example, he refers to the difficulty that newspaper publishers have had trying to persuade people to pay for online content that was previously offered for free. Even so, he can imagine a day when traditional business schools use MOOCs to augment their face-to-face courses—when, for instance, professors might ask students to view a MOOC developed at another school and then use its content as a springboard for class discussion. Where MOOCs are concerned, says Laing, "it's arguably easier to charge for the learning support, the exams, the credits, and the school brand. What matters is the quality of the interactions in the classroom— that's what students are buying."

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