Technology, such as high-definition video walls, has transformed how business schools deliver many of their courses. For their part, most MBA students now expect to complete at least some of their course online. But as business education programmes capitalise on the digital revolution, the boundaries between executive and online MBAs are becoming blurred.
Both courses are MBAs so their core content is broadly similar, but the main difference between the two is where the teaching takes place. In the strictest sense, online MBAs are taught digitally wherever a student is based, while executive MBA (EMBA) students learn in person on campus.
Yet many of the more successful online MBAs, such as the global online MBA from London’s Imperial College Business School, include options for on-campus teaching and networking. Likewise, some executive MBA providers are blending in online options to offer students greater flexibility.