COVID-19 Impact: How are B-Schools adapting to the New Normal?

Soon after COVID-19 outbreak, many top MBA colleges in India were quick to move classes to online platform. With virtual interaction gradually becoming order of the day, Shiksha tried to find out how the B-schools and students are adapting to this New Normal.

With COVID-19 impacting every sphere of life, the year 2020 has been the year of changes. Humans started paying more attention to personal health and hygiene, online shopping overtook shopping marts in business, physical closeness became a big NO and Namaskar replaced handshake. As the second wave of COVID-19 hit the country this year in March we are once again reeling under partial lock down in various states across the country.

In the education sector too, major changes were brought in to adapt to the new normal of social distancing in order to avoid disruption of the academic year. Schools as well as higher education institutions moved classes to online platforms like Microsoft Teams/Zoom/Google Meet and introduced new technology to provide students with study material and tasks. E-books have taken over hard copies. Online access to library, tests and other facilities are being provided through VPN. in the year 2021 too, educational institutions will continue to operate in online learning mode. 

The students and teachers are not struggling to learn the Learning Management System (LMS) and technology. It seems with time, the online classroom mode may become the ‘New Normal’. The first year of online classes was a new experience however, now the sense of ennui is setting in. Some students are now missing the hustle-bustle of campus and social interaction. They also lament the fact that, after much hard work they managed to get admission to their desired B-School but haven't even stepped on the campus even once. 

How are B-Schools adapting to the New Normal?

While physical interaction was important for group projects et al earlier, it is now easier to get everyone on board via zoom, etc. Professors have noticed that students are better prepared for classes, and there has been better participation as well, from people who generally don’t speak up in physical settings.”

Talking to Shiksha about this transition Sandeep Das from IIFT Delhi said, “It’s something we all are adjusting to. Most of us haven’t had classes online ever except a few special webinars or guest lectures that we might have attended in the past. So suddenly switching to online platform has been tough. We are still halfway understanding the entire interface of the platforms. In addition to it, the screen time has drastically increased and there’s a considerable amount of strain on one’s eyes.”

Another first year MBA student of another top-B School of Ahmedabad said, “The transition has been smooth. The teachers have been very helpful in accommodating the students and simulating the classroom experience. We are able to learn with the help of videos, PPT and class discussions. All in all, we are getting accustomed to this method of education.”

Giving thumbs-up to the online mode of education, Devjyoti Seal of IBS Jaipur said he feels “it is more flexible as students do not have to come and sit in the class. Students can take a break in between. Students can have easy access to notes and study materials provided by professors and submission of assignments has becomes easier. There’s provision to get doubts cleared by the teacher through one to one interaction”.

For first year students the transition may not have been difficult but what about second year MBA students who attended one whole year on campus?

Shiksha spoke to some second year MBA students to know how are they adjusting to this ‘lifestyle’ change. A second year MBA student of a top B-School in Ahmedabad said, “I have personally not found a major change in adapting to the new normal. There are a few niggling issues which crop up sometimes, but overall it has not been a very bad experience.”

“While physical interaction was important for group projects et al earlier, it is now easier to get everyone on board via zoom, etc. Professors have noticed that students are better prepared for classes, and there has been better participation as well, from people who generally don’t speak up in physical settings,” he said.

“Not being on campus means a lot of social activities that were a part of the campus life have unfortunately been curtailed, but that means students are turning towards studying and preparing better. Professors are innovating and trying to make online classes interesting. For example, the breakout rooms feature in zoom was used really well by a professor, who asked each group to discuss amongst ourselves during the class to come up with solutions to problems. It helped keep students engaged throughout the class hours,” he added.

Do MBA students miss being on campus?

There is no denying the fact that online classes miss the casualness and camaraderie among students unlike in physical classroom. Online classes means no social interaction and extra-curricular activities.

“Of course. One might be at the comfort of their home but in no way can online classes match the level of offline classes. There are a whole set of dynamics that are associated with offline classes that online classes fail to deliver. An on campus course study enables one to learn from peers, be a lot aware about instances going around, participate in several activities and most importantly interact with teachers. True that the most resources are being made available to students through technology but as of now it doesn’t quite fit the bill,” said Sandeep.

However, the professors across MBA college are making efforts to make the sessions interactive and interesting like using polling feature in Zoom to encourage students to ask questions. Students, who were hesitant in asking questions in the classroom, are more forthcoming in clearing their doubts in online classrooms which lead to interesting conversation and exchange of ideas.

What will be the impact of online classes in the long-run?

MBA classes are being conducted for long duration of more than 10 hours. Sitting through long hours will lead to fatigue and boredom. Not everybody is comfortable sitting at one place. Moreover, such long hours of screen-time may lead to eye-related problems among students.

“The long-term impact of continuous online education is something we need to be cautious about. Excessive screen-time is a big worry that people are ignoring in the short term. I know people who are not used to 14-15 hours of screen-time facing real issues, like migraine. Then there is lack of physical activity which was already a worrying trend,” said one of the students.

Read More:

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• COVID 19 Impact on B-Schools Across India
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• MBA admission 2020: Application dates, fees and process
• Coronavirus outbreak: What is the status of IIM Admissions 2020?

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