????巴布森學院在2007年首次開設(shè)快車道（Fast Track）MBA班，公開招生26名，新近畢業(yè)的一個網(wǎng)絡(luò)MBA班有將近140名學員。任何一個招生時間段內(nèi)，該校在線MBA課程的學員人數(shù)都多達350人。

????今年七月，凱南-弗拉格勒商學院送走首批在線MBA教育畢業(yè)班的18位學員后，將計劃招收超過80名學員，是目前為止該校在線MBA項目MBA@UNC招收人數(shù)最多的一屆。

????對于想通過在職學習獲得MBA學位來提升自己事業(yè)的學員來說，在線MBA教育項目是一個不錯的選擇。不僅僅是因為它比利用晚上或者周末學習更方便，更重要的是它遠比全日制MBA課程要經(jīng)濟劃算的多。全日制學生要將近脫產(chǎn)兩年，增加了他們的機會成本。而且對于一個需要經(jīng)常出差或者搬遷到新地方的學員來說，繼續(xù)進行網(wǎng)絡(luò)學習也不存在問題。大部分在線課程一年至少招生兩次，甚至更頻繁。以凱南-弗拉格勒商學院為例，這所學院在每年的一月、四月、七月和十月都會招生。

在線教育煥然一新

????隨著重要性的不斷提升，在線教育再也不像過去那樣，只是教育界一個形象不討喜的粗笨拖油瓶。許多商學院正在啟用能使學員真正緊張起來的高標準、高端視頻會議技術(shù)和高仿真網(wǎng)絡(luò)模擬課堂，比早期通過撥號連接的網(wǎng)絡(luò)課程要先進的多。

????早期的大多數(shù)網(wǎng)絡(luò)課程都是通過在教室安裝一臺攝像機對老師的課堂進行錄制。“它給學生傳遞的信號是，這是一個真實的課堂，但我卻并不置身其中。所以這并不是最好的在線教育模式，”凱特補充道?！拔覀儸F(xiàn)在正在通過技術(shù)手段來使在線課堂達到與真實課堂一樣的效果：富有挑戰(zhàn)性的課堂討論、小組項目、團隊咨詢?nèi)蝿找约澳M實踐?！?/p>

????Babson College, which opened its Fast Track MBA program to the public in 2007 with 26 students, recently graduated a class of close to 140 online students. At any given time, the school has an online enrollment of up to 350 MBA candidates.

????This July, when the Kenan-Flagler Business School graduates its first online MBA class of 18 students, the school also expects to enroll its largest MBA@UNC online class ever, with more than 80 people.

????For students who intend to stay in their organizations and use the MBA to enhance their careers, an online MBA is an attractive option. Not only is it more convenient than an evening or weekend program, it's vastly less expensive than the full-time MBA because students can forego the opportunity costs of being unemployed for nearly two years. If a student is either a road warrior or transferred to a new location, there's also no problem in continuing their studies. And most online programs enroll students at least twice, if not more often, a year. Kenan-Flagler, for example, has start dates in January, April, July, and October.

Online education gets a face-lift

????Just as crucial, online learning is no longer a clunky and ill-defined stepchild of the educational world. Many business schools are employing high production values, high-end video conferencing technology, and Internet simulations that keep students on their toes. They go far beyond the early Internet courses first available on dial-up connections.

????In the vast majority of earlier courses, professors put a camera in a classroom to do lecture capture. "The message is, 'There was a real class and I wasn't there. So this is second best,'" adds Cates. "We're using the technology to help us do the same things that we do in the face-to-face program: challenging class discussions, group projects, team consulting assignments, and simulations."