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MBA programs in 2008 and 2009 saw a drastic shift from the traditional setting to more of an unconventional degree route.  MBA programs now cater to a different type of student, one who is prepared not to break into the Wall Street crowd and had discovered new alternatives for a business degree.  As a result of this shift, online MBA programs have been forced to re-evaluate their degree programs as well, resulting in a more well-rounded curriculum throughout the online MBA community. 

Because the economy has changed in such a drastic manner, MBA programs have been forced to evolve with the economy since many of their potential students rely on the economic factor of business degrees.  As a result, the top online MBA programs have begun to include courses and specialties in independent business, eco-friendly business, and many other seemingly unconventional classes.  However, once students take these courses, it seems strange to them that they were never previously offered at schools, especially when such classes seem highly valuable for any business student, regardless of their economic predicament. 

Eco-friendly courses have contributed to the rise of the top online MBA programs, as every niche in the business world is beginning to evaluate how “green” their companies are in an effort to jump the gun before environmental measures come into effect.  These courses teach students the value of environmentally sound corporations, and attempts to instill a new responsibility onto potential future CEOs.  This thought has begun to ripple within the MBA community as more and more prominent traditional schools have re-evaluated their programs to incorporate more “green” courses, taking notes from foreign corporations.

Running your own business has begun to be a career goal for many MBA students in light of the economy’s downturn.  Because Wall Street positions are no longer as stable as they once appeared to be, and other business positions are difficult to find, more students are opting instead to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning their own business.  Many courses now cater to this type of student and teaches them the specifics of running their own business, rather than previous classes which taught how to become an executive.  Additionally, online MBA programs now offer students the opportunity to gain valuable business experience while working during the day and taking online classes from home at night.  This subsequently allows online students to continue gaining business experience while still gaining a degree that can help them begin a business of their own.

Additionally, many top online MBA programs offer students the option of choosing from many different types of MBA degrees, depending on which one relates best to their current situations.  There are specific “executive” MBA programs which allow business professionals to earn a degree that their employer has requested.  These programs are specifically catered to students who have had years of work experience, rather than students who are fresh out of college.  Other programs are exclusively for students who are part-time, or students who just graduated from college.  Offering these options to students lets them build their own schedule and promotes each school for its flexibility in choices. 

The “green” movement has compelled people from around the world to rethink their lifestyles and change them accordingly.  As a result, many organizations have created eco-friendly food, products, and even cars.  Business schools have recently jumped on this bandwagon, increasing their emphasis on social and environmental return based on the potential forum for future success.  Students are now graduating with a new degree in this type of sustainable lifestyle, focusing more on the MBA subject of environmentally-friendly businesses, rather on the Wall-Street oriented future. 

As sustainability becomes an ever-looming problem for many businesses and organizations around the world, more universities are beginning to take notice.  While MBA programs have been some of the last programs to take notice, many schools in Europe and Asia now offer programs that cater to this newfound enthusiasm in preserving the environment.  Norwich Business School in the U.K. has now implemented an MBA program in carbon management as a new subject for students to research as a future option for business.  Additionally, Brandeis University International Business School created a new “Global Green MBA” which was implemented to teach students how to build sustainable businesses in the international marketplace. 

The United States has also stepped up to the plate, altering the MBA program at Stanford to become the most sustainable MBA program in the U.S.  Their slogan alone depicts the green lifestyle the school now endorses: “Change lives. Change organizations. Change the world.”  The Center for Social Innovation within the school’s MBA program is specifically geared to teach students how to redress global problems and drive social benefit.  This new MBA subject offers students the chance to participate in internships which serve a social purpose as well as encourage students to get involved in global programs dealing with personal ethics. 

While the Stanford program is one of the only programs of its kind within the U.S., it has taken a firm hold within the student body.  Ninety percent of students within the program now take at least one course at the Center for Social Innovation and twenty percent of the graduates leave with certificates in corporate responsibility.  Graduating these types of students from business school is important to sustaining the future of our economy.  These students may go on to become the leaders of a major corporation, thereby trickling down their understanding of sustainability throughout their corporation. 

Many of these programs strive to emphasize the drastic way the world has shifted, away from industrial standards and toward a more eco-friendly lifestyle.  MBA programs thereby serve an important role in emphasizing this shift in the environment because many of these students will be at the top of many influential corporations within the next few decades as the problem becomes more noticeable.   Thus far, California leads the way in educating business students about the important role they play, as the Presidio School of Management in San Francisco additionally has begun to incorporate issues like climate change, energy efficiency, and social good into the school’s traditional subject.  MBA students today will have the responsibility in only a few years to tackle environmental disruptions; as leaders in the business world, they are the hope for change in the future through the help of these programs.