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The MBA That Delivers The part-time MBA landscape is fundamentally changing—location and duration, cost and content. mg grams might become a serious challenge, enabling working adults to gain a BBA without quitting their jobs," he says. "We also see more competition from international schools offering programs locally, because the BBA course is one of the easiest programs to export." Rising demand for classroom space and increasing pres- sure to maintain high quality in their programs may also force many schools to tighten admission requirements, which could create tension with alums who want to see their children enrolled at their alma maters. Yet while demand is intense now, some worry about what will happen in a few years when demographics predict a drop in the number of college-age individuals. "Right now we have a big wave of echo boomers enroll- ing, so we're at the peak of undergraduate business educa- tion," Danko says. "The question becomes, in the year 2010 when we know there will be a dip, what will the effect on quality be?" But now, while enrollments remain high, deans face very familiar challenges. As Warwick's Thomas sums up, "They're the same ones they've always been. Get the very best students, hire the very best faculty, teach the very best curriculum, in the very best facilities." What makes such challenges special for these deans, however, is that they're geared toward undergraduate pro- grams—and frankly, no matter how much BBAs may look like MBAs, there's still a key difference. Call it youth. LEADS THE FIELD in creating innovative solutions for part-time students: BABSON ® Fast Track MBA Portland, OR campus • Nationally ranked MBA taught in 24 months Wellesley, MA campus • Collaborative, team-based learning environment • Unique combination of Web-based and classroom learning Evening MBA Wellesley, MA campus • Nationally ranked MBA taught in 36 months • Team-taught "cluster courses" encourage learning from multiple perspectives • Career Contexts help students design their electives with a career focus The MBA That Delivers® www.babson/edu/mba TH E BABSON M BA FOR WOR KI NG P ROF E S S IONALS The #1-ranked MBA in entrepreneurship by U.S.News & World Report for the 13th straight year. On the one hand, these students need so much more guidance than more seasoned MBAs. "BBA students cannot usually bring to class the rich experience of the MBA stu- dents," says Quek. "So the chances for learning from each other are much reduced within the BBA. It is also harder to motivate BBA students to think strategically, since they don't even know how things work out operationally." Yet an undergraduate program is "a wonderful time to teach students the right kinds of things," Thomas says. "Undergraduate education is generally important, I don't care what subject it is. You're teaching students to think and mature. This is the time when most kids are testing their views of the world." And often those worldviews are rosy. "Undergraduates are so beautiful because they approach the world with wide- open eyes," says Smith. "MBAs can sometimes be jaded. But if you tell undergraduates that they could be the next Bill Gates or Martha Stewart, they actually believe it. It's awesome." If undergraduate programs continue upgrading at the current rate, there's an even better chance that the next business mogul will be hitting the streets very soon. As bachelor's programs become tougher, more international, and more focused on job skills, an undergraduate business degree will become an even more prized commodity—while business schools become even better training grounds for the working world. ■ z BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 31