A cheat code has been found for students wanting an MBA from a business school.
A business strategy video game taught students just as well as a professor in an experiment developed by John Beck at the Hult International Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to Bloomberg.
Among 41 undergraduate students, half played a video game designed by Beck and the other half were taught by a professor. The exam had an interview portion, where the average was the same for the two groups, but the video game group scored higher on the multiple-choice section, and the professor group scored higher on the written case study section.
The study’s small sample size makes it questionable for general application. However, it presents an interesting approach for improving knowledge transfer. If a classroom experience isn’t crucial for students to master the information, students can absorb it in other — and much cheaper — ways.
If that’s the case, MBA programs could be better off advertising any other benefits except for their learning environments. Networking with other MBA students and the program’s alumni might be a better draw. Online MBA programs are much more flexible and less selective, for instance. If the degree and the knowledge within is the goal, a business school lacks the advantage.
Many traditional business schools, however, don’t appear to directly compete with online programs. Online programs attract a more international student body and more minority students, according to an analysis from the Harvard Business Review of online courses from the University of Pennsylvania.
Higher education isn’t only about knowledge transfer. It’s a consumption, an investment, a credential, and a milestone required for certain careers. If knowledge is the only thing that’s desired, however, the future might give the alternative of a video game controller instead of a student ID.
