Kelley School of Business Dean Idie Kesner recently sat down with the Financial Times’ business education editor Della Bradshaw to talk about how the school has customized online learning. Kesner attributed the growth in online learning not solely on the advances in technology, but the desire from students to have an experience that meets their personal needs and desires.
“There are a lot of students who feel they can’t walk away from their jobs right now,” Kesner said. “Maybe they’ve got a great position; maybe their family can’t be moved; or for whatever reason, they really want to explore something that’s not residential education but taking advantage of the technology in terms of online education.”
The Kelley School has been a leader in online education since the Kelley Direct online MBA program was started in 1999. Kelley Direct is ranked No. 1 for online MBA programs by U.S. News & World Report. The publication also ranked Kelley Direct the No. 1 online MBA for veterans.
While Bradshaw pointed out that many online programs have a reputation for low quality and low cost, Kesner says the Kelley Direct program is the perfect illustration of a high-quality online offering.
“We have the same faculty members who teach in all of our programs teaching in our online program,” she said. “We haven’t gone out and hired adjunct professors that come in and teach exclusively in our online program. So these are very high-quality professors; lots of rigor in the classroom; and they’re delivering the exact same content that they deliver in a residential way.”
Watch the full interview above, and read more about Dean Kesner in the FT’s Meet the Dean feature.