While most students may use Facebook as an apparatus to avoid studying, the world’s most popular social networking site now blends studying and networking: Users can now pursue a Masters of Business Administration, or MBA, on the site.
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Two British students, Aaron Etingen and Valery Kisilevsky at the London School of Business and Finance, have created an application on Facebook where users can receive their MBA at the same time they are chatting with a friend for no cost. Students anywhere in the world can access these courses with just a click of a mouse.
The London School of Business and Finance is using Facebook as the platforms to offer online lectures and panel discussion groups with companies like Partners at Accenture Management Consulting and Deloitte, the Head of Royal Navy Leadership Academy and the Director of Marketing at Viagogo, according to the London School of Business and Finance Global MBA press release.
The only cost for the courses is exam fees, if students decide to get a formal accreditation. If accredited, the students will receive their MBA from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom.
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According to The New York Times, the application was released last month and already more than 30,000 people have been accessing courses in “corporate finance, accounting, ethics, marketing and strategic planning.”
Brian Precious, director of Admissions, Recruiting and Alumni Relations for Illinois MBA, said the Facebook MBA “might provide access to an MBA program to people who don’t live close to a university.”
One possible downside to online MBAs, Precious said, is the lack of networking an online setting offers.
Precious said programs like Illinois Business Consulting, or IBC , a for-profit consulting program that gives students at the University opportunities to “work for real clients and have the opportunity to do projects” is a helpful tool in preparing for the working world. With the IBC, students can help cultivate and grow their network at the University.
Brad Fink, senior in Business and member of the IBC program, also noted the importance of the network a student develops while going to a formal MBA program. Fink said “building that network and moving around” can help find employers.
“There’s a lack of perceived credibility, breaking into something like that at first, but in 10 — 15 years, maybe,” Fink said of his initial reaction of a Facebook MBA.
