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25 BizEd July/August 2014 DE E DMAN /TH I N KSTOCK A business school located in rural northeastern U.S. faces a tough challenge. With so many high-profile schools concen- trated in bustling urban centers such as Boston and New York City, how can a program in a smaller mar- ket compete? The Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst has devised an unusual strategy. Start- ing this fall, all students accepted into its full-time two-year MBA program—a cohort of 44—will become MBA Fellows. That means the school will cover their annual tuition of US$15,000, provide an annual stipend of $8,600, and offer healthcare. John Wells, Isenberg's associate dean, understands the collective gasp he might hear from other business school administrators at the thought. But hear him out. He explains that the MBA Fellowship is a strategic move to improve the school's visibility in the mar- ket—and, ironically, to support its much larger Isenberg Online MBA, which enrolls approxi- mately 1,200 students. (To learn how three other schools approach online education, see the accompa- nying sidebars in this article.) "Amherst is considered rural compared to Boston, so attract- ing students has been a chal- lenge," he says. "We've offered financial incentives in the past, but by giving on-campus MBA students full funding, we believe we will attract a higher caliber of student. We couldn't offer free tuition to 80 or 100 students a year, but our on-campus pro- gram is small—a kind of 'bou- tique MBA'—so we can afford to invest in the best." CREATING MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES Washington State University College of Business Pullman, Washington Program Snapshot: ■ Fully online MBA and EMBA programs, five- to seven-week courses ■ Three fully online undergraduate degree programs, 16-week courses ■ Optional study abroad opportunities ■ Optional weekly live sessions, with asynchronous lectures and interactions Online since: 2009 Biggest trends: The college has experienced increased demand for cus- tomized education and concentrations, says Cheryl Oliver, assistant dean for online graduate programs. "We're seeing a shift in demand toward programs where people can pick up customized 'pieces.'" In addition, with some courses enrolling up to 500 students, the school plans to increase the involvement of section instructors. Rather than have section instructors just grade assign- ments and hold Q&A sessions, "we'd like to see them coach students on writ- ing and communication, give them one-on-one in-depth feedback, and guide them through the experience," says Oliver. "We want lead instructors to serve as subject matter experts and generate excitement about the topic." Faculty training: Faculty can earn certificates and other rewards for com- pleting online training modules at teach.wsu.edu. In total, the modules take between 20 and 100 hours to finish. The school also holds face-to-face ses- sions every eight to 12 weeks where faculty share research about best prac- tices in online teaching. The school also brings in representatives from compa- nies to discuss the capabilities of web-based educational tools. For example, someone from Apple recently spoke to faculty about how to use iTunesU and the cloud-based teaching and learning platform iClass. Best advice: Don't try to replicate the in-class experience online. "We need to ask, 'What's going to help our students absorb this content, meet their learning goals, and engage in meaningful ways?'" says Oliver. "We don't need to duplicate everything that's brick-and-mortar."