Online and Distance MBA: Myth vs Facts

By Prof.Anand Wadadekar

As an educationist, I have been interacting with thousands of under graduates (especially from engineering, commerce, management background). It is found that the ‘Fast-Food’ mentality is also creeping into education domain. The students these days, just like they have a craze or liking for fast food (food served fast, irrespective of the quality and calorie weight) also want education in fast mode.

This craze for fast education (degree / diploma certificate) is fuelled by online / distance learning programmes offered by Universities / autonomous Institutes. And to astonishment, students are running after them irrespective of their industry value, money value. Some students seem to be inclined to get certificates for the sake of it and ignore what actually the teachings or practical value those courses have.

With the growing technological advancements like web-cast, pod-cast, webinars, CDs, online course downloadable materials, online / distance learning has been a boon to the growing pool of graduates and proving to be an apt method for bridging the geographical limitations and bringing close the global exposure in terms of faculty and course content.

This article aims to highlight that online / distance courses serve a good purpose not to everybody and they should be taken up cautiously and with due introspection and guidance.

Most common mistake students do:

The most common mistake students make is “considering online / distance

learning programmes as a substitute to formal / full time classroom learning and as a tool/technique to get them a job or as equivalent to a classroom taught course”. This is very unfortunate and a part of the blame goes to the way such online / distance learning courses are advertised and marketed.

Some common myths / misconceptions about online / distance learning courses:

• Online courses are recognised by UGC / AICTE / University / DEC
• Online courses from foreign universities are equivalent to diploma / degree courses in India
• Online courses are a substitute to classroom taught courses
• Online / distance learning courses are always industry recognised and highly valued
• Online / distance learning courses are cheap in cost and most convenient, so no need of spending large money for formal courses
• All online / distance learning courses give tremendous value to one’s CV/Resume
• All online / distance learning courses are Diplomas
• Technical skills can be built by doing online – distance learning courses

Some facts about online / distance learning courses:

• These courses are NOT a substitute to formal education (10+2+3/4/5+2)
• Diplomas / degrees secured through distance learning mode are not well recognised and accepted by industry for employment for freshers
• Online / distance learning courses are for value addition and not for career foundation level
• Online / distance learning courses below the tenure of 3 months are useless.
• Online / distance learning courses are an additional mode of education provided by technological advancement but is not an option to formal training
• Online / distance learning courses are not favourable for fresh graduates for securing a job
• Online / distance learning courses require great amount of self-study
• Online / distance learning courses need the candidate to be technology savvy
• Online – distance learning courses do not provide the social networking factor

For whom are online / distance learning courses actually meant for?

At the outset I would like to clarify that as per the recently enacted norms by UGC, distance learning courses are being regulated by UGC through recognised Universities. These courses were previously regulated by Distance Education Council (DEC), Govt. of India. DEC is no more existent and has been dissolved.

Online / distance learning courses are majorly beneficial for:

• Working professionals – having experience of minimum 3 years
• Candidates who are under-graduates and who wish to learn advanced or additional things / soft skills which will help them in their placements or post-graduation
• Candidates who are frequently travelling due to job assignments or job role like marketing, business development
• Candidates who are working and cannot continue education through classroom attendance mode of education
• Candidates who have physical fitness limitations
• Candidates who want to upgrade their domain knowledge in order to keep themselves updated and current to the industry expectations
• Candidates who want to remain connected to the changing industry demands and be updated about new avenues and opportunities
• Candidates who are home-makers, entrepreneurs, researchers, teachers

It is to be ascertained by the students and parents, whether doing a course for a certificate or name sake will really be helpful for career advancement?

*** It is highly recommended that freshers opt for full time classroom taught courses or may be at least part-time classroom taught courses over online / distance courses.

The author is a faculty, educationist, economist, author and career consultant from Pune, India.