Say Hello to the Flexible MBA

Business schools are in an enrollment slump. Applications for full-time, two-year Master of Business Administration programs in the U.S. have declined since 2015. Last year 64 percent of U.S. full-time MBA programs received fewer applications, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council’s 2017 Application Trends Survey Report. “There has been a general contraction in industry MBA programs,” says Claire Preisser, associate director of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program, an arm of the think tank that studies trends in business education.

That’s due in part to a strong U.S. economy and higher employment rates. Also, with outstanding student loan debt at an all-time high—$1.4 trillion—and fewer employers willing to foot the bill for an MBA degree, the costs are even more daunting than in previous years.