Kai Peters and Narendra Laljani on the Global trends in business education, and their implications for potential international students

Management education is changing radically throughout the world. Business schools are proliferating leading to over-capacity, traditional markets are maturing while emerging markets are expanding, and technology is changing the way programmes are delivered. These shifts offer new opportunities for candidates considering international study. More choice, however, also results in more complexity. In this article we explore some of shifts taking place in Europe, Asia and the Americas with regard to business education in general, and the MBA  in particular.

Europe
Historically, Europe has been a patchwork of degrees of different names and lengths which were not compatible with each other and with other systems in the world. This impeded student movement across borders and meant that Continental European programmes were not attractive to international students.

To rectify this problem, the Bologna Accord was first introduced in 1999 and the subsequent communiqués have now been signed by 45 European countries. The signatories have agreed to align their systems of higher education to facilitate greater transparency, increase student mobility, and rationalise the granting of degrees across Europe.

The introduction of the Bachelors to Masters progression (4 plus 1, or 3 plus 2 years) instead of the previous continental European Masters only system (5 years) is at the heart of the Bologna Accord. All European students will henceforth graduate with a Bachelors degree in the first instance. They can subsequently choose to continue their studies in the same subject at the same university, change subject or university nationally or internationally, or go directly into employment. All signatories have agreed that these changes will be implemented by 2010.

The student numbers involved are significant. We estimate that, depending on participation and completion rates, between 1.5 and 2 million Europeans will graduate annually with Bachelors degrees once Bologna has been fully implemented.

To adapt to the new landscape, European universities are presently designing a whole range of new Masters programmes to attract these graduates. Nowhere is this restructuring more evident and more significant than in business studies. Universities that had previously delivered integrated 5 year business degrees are now launching pre-experience Masters programmes. These programmes are seeking to retain home students, but also to attract graduates from elsewhere. Some of these programmes are within state subsidy systems, and thus will have modest  tuition fees. Others have begun to charge non EU students fees of over Euro 10,000 annually. Conservatively, we estimate that 12,000 new business and economics Masters programmes will be launched in the forthcoming years, and these programmes will attract many students annually. Most countries are opting to offer programmes in English at Masters level. In some cases, Bachelors programmes are also in English. These changes are geared to facilitate inter-European mobility, but they also make it possible for a whole range of programmes to attract students from beyond Europe.

The short-term effect on the MBA through the Bologna Process has been increased competition from pre-experience and specialised Masters programmes. Over time, MBA programmes should also benefit as many more Europeans with Bachelors degrees will be looking for graduate education after some years of experience.

Asia
At present, 1.9 million students study outside of their home countries at all levels of management education. These students come mainly  from rapidly developing markets like China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia and go primarily to the major English-speaking destination countries: 30% to the US, 15% to the UK, and 5% each to Canada and Australia. The many new English-language based programmes in Europe will seek to break into theses markets for globally mobile students.

But so will a challenge to the status quo from ambitious universities in those traditionally student exporting countries. China and India have both announced ambitious plans to build their university sectors and attract international students to them. In 2004, the Chronicle of Higher Education noted that China seeks to attract 120,000 foreign students annually, and to retain many more of the Chinese students who may have considered an international education.

The Indian higher education sector also offers world class programmes. The Indian Institutes of Management are expanding and other schools and programmes are being launched. At present, these programmes offer "at home" alternatives, as do the Chinese programmes, for local nationals. In time, they will surely seek to attract international students as well and compete with Australia's dominance in the region. Lastly, satellite programmes of US and European universities are also proliferating across Asia.

North America
Having pioneered the MBA and much of business education, the United States has not radically changed in the past few years, fundamentally adhering to a two-year MBA model. The historic attraction of US-based MBA programmes as a vehicle for entry to the lucrative North American job market has suffered recently due to immigration restrictions. This has in part led to more programmes offering entry to pre-experienced students. Other visible trends include an increased range of specialisations within MBA programmes, in contrast to Europe, where one would be more likely to see a specialised Master programme.  Some moves to a one-year MBA, primarily in Canada, are also evident.

Implications for potential international students
Given these rapid developments, the range of choices for candidates has increased tremendously and each individual needs to think through a number of questions. Is a Master's in another country an interesting option and the best fit with your career strategy? Are you willing to take a newly launched programme? What kind of programme should you enrol on? A pre-experience Master's in General Management? A specialised early career Master's? The choices are extensive and range from finance and insurance through to shipping and international business. Perhaps you event want something more esoteric like luxury goods management, oenophilia management (that's fine wine to you and me!), or the business of race-horses? Is an MBA a better fit? Would that be a one or two-year full-time MBA or a part-time programme? Would you like to learn alongside a relatively young peer group, or in a  programme focussing on  those with considerably more experience?

Additionally, what country should you set your sights on? In large part, this is driven by where you want to end up after graduation but issues like tuition fees, visa requirements, and ultimately work permits must also be considered. We have also seen how important cultural affinity is as a factor. Living in a country in which you are not happy and cannot communicate with locals outside of the classroom undermines the overall learning experience and leads to frustration. Equally, the value of immersion in a different culture as a learning experience in itself should not be under-estimated.

Ultimately, thinking about business education throws up as many questions as answers. That said, research consistently indicates that graduates of business programmes from internationally accredited business schools are fundamentally satisfied with the learning and career opportunities their schools have created for them.

Good luck choosing!

Kai Peters is Chief Executive at Ashridge Business School and Narendra Laljani is Director of Qualification Programmes at Ashridge Business School