I read an article in the Post Tribune tonight on how business schools were admitting a greater number of applicants directly from undergraduate programs into graduate programs in order to curb a slight decline in MBA enrollments in the last 3 years at some schools.  Schools like Stanford, Harvard and the University of Texas.  I found this curious since so many other schools seem to be busting at the seams with applications for their MBA programs, but I kept reading.  It seems that many schools are looking at waiving the professional experience requirement in their MBA programs in order to attract younger students.  They are using the argument that many of the best young business minds eschew getting a graduate degree and instead just become entrepreneurs before many have the requisite business experience.  Sounds like a copout to me but an interesting argument in that they used the founders of Facebook and Myspace as examples.  

Here’s my question though, would an MBA program really be suitable for someone who has little to no professional experience from which to apply the new knowledge that an MBA imparts?  Will these new students have anything at all to offer their peers in the area of applied skills and decision making other than enthusiasm?  Of course anyone who has read my blog for any length of time knows that I am a huge proponent of the open enrollment concept by and large but I do not for a second believe that everything that is permissible is also beneficial.  

I have found that in my own MBA program I have drawn substantially from my peers in the areas that I am weak.  Especially in Economics and Accounting whereas since I have years of experience in management I have had quite a bit to offer my peers along those lines.  My classes have largely been filled with representatives from every corner of society, men, women, white, black, poor, rich, experienced, inexperienced, young and old we’ve had them all.  I have read discussion posts in the areas of management (where I am strong) and been able to immediately see a fellow student struggling to apply a real world concept to their own decision making through no fault of their own, they just tend to be inexperienced.  However at times I am that naïve student when it comes to dealing with matters of finance and accounting.  I’m not really buying the whole “we’re losing our best business minds too early” argument, but either way you slice it, an open enrollment for business schools is a good idea for everyone considered.  

So in answer to my own questions, I do believe that younger students in MBA programs are a good idea, however it is up to that student to figure out for themselves if they are ready for that level of commitment.  I will also offer the suggestion however that schools really try to cater to the professional student wherever possible as these students have more to offer than just the price of tuition.  They have experience and peer leadership to help along their younger and less experienced fellows.  As long as a school caters to professional types of students, there should be a healthy mix of experience and enthusiasm in the classroom.  

*Note: Open enrollment does not mean that there shouldn’t be conditions and prerequisites required as these will always be necessary.  

Check out the article at: http://www.post-trib.com/news/neighbors/784084,bradshaw.article