2024 Curriculum Review At Graduate Business School Report
Curriculum Reviews At Graduate Business Schools Are Data Intensive Endeavors Aligning The Interests Of The Business Community, The Student, And The Business School
The Graduate Business Curriculum Roundtable (the Roundtable), a global association of business schools whose mission is to advance graduate business education through curricular and co-curricular innovation, commissioned a survey of graduate business school faculty and professionals and released a new report, Curriculum Review At Graduate Business School. Ninety-eight business schools, primarily from the United States, are represented by 122 professionals and faculty who contributed to our investigation of curriculum reviews and the improvement cycle at business schools.
Survey results indicate the fast-changing business landscape and changing student demand are the driving forces for the most recent business school curriculum review. One respondent stated, “the rate of change today is greater than ever before.” Another respondent stated, “we strive to continuously improve our curriculum and co-curricular around changing business landscape and market drivers.” Not surprisingly, data from employers and students are the most common inputs informing a curriculum review at business schools. Alumni and faculty input are also helpful to the curriculum review process for many business schools.
The most common challenge faced when conducting a curriculum review is aligning the various perspectives of stakeholders and data. One respondent stated, “integrating viewpoints across data, [the] relevance of available data for key questions regarding possible changes in curriculum structure” is a challenge. Time is another challenge faced by business schools when conducting a curriculum review, from “stretched schedules” of faculty and staff to the duration of a curriculum review. Another respondent stated, “graduate business programs and schools have many challenges and opportunities in common, but the context of each program (it's goals, current position, strategy, resources, etc.) are unique.”
Curriculum reviews tend to lead to innovation. Many recent business school curriculum innovations are rooted in artificial intelligence (AI). Business schools are employing AI as a topical element within and across a program’s curriculum, new courses are being added to programs, and some programs are utilizing AI as virtual assistants, chatbots, and as a part of feedback systems.
At the time of the survey in May 2024, nearly nine in ten (88%) business schools were on the journey of conducting a curriculum review at a program level, whether in the planning stage, the active review phase, or implementation phase. A plurality (38%) report that major curriculum reviews occur at a rate of every five years and a quarter (25%) say reviews occur every 3 years. Three in four (74%) report that each graduate business program, including MBA and Business Master’s, are on their own review schedule.
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