By Carter A. Prescott, Management Communications Consultant

As the global business landscape shifts and changes, MBA programs are following suit. In many ways this is changing and expanding the way learning is approached in the MBA classroom.

Richer learning environment
Hand in hand with curriculum improvements, business schools are finding new ways to strengthen teaching and foster improved student-faculty relationships. Indeed, the most exciting part of Wharton's cross-functional curriculum, Sam Lundquist, chief of staff in the dean's office at Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania says, is that teams of faculty teach the same students for the entire first year, which "drastically improves the quality of relationships between students and faculty members."

As advanced business programs bolster the quality of the learning experience, they are focusing a laser beam on how well professors help students learn. Pace University views faculty members as the managers of the student learning process. As a result, all programs and courses have objectives that are measured by student exit surveys, faculty questionnaires, and yearly performance evaluations for faculty members. Any underperforming teachers are coached at the school's Center for Faculty Development and Teaching Effectiveness, where their syllabi are reviewed and their classes videotaped.

Teaching methods continue to evolve, employing not only the traditional tools of lectures and case studies but computer simulations, collaborations with local entrepreneurs, and group projects involving other schools. Harvard's curriculum reform was notable for adopting alternative teaching methods in addition to its reliance on the traditional case-study approach and for developing ways to have faculty members spend less time teaching basics.

Greater use of learning technologies
Advanced business programs are making increasing use of distance learning. The University of Maryland University College (UMUC), for instance, uses distance learning to provide working adults with the flexibility to balance their job and family responsibilities while pursuing their educational goals. The MBA program features courses taught by teams of faculty who focus their professional and academic expertise to help students apply business and management theories and practices in the context of their organizations.

Distance learning also is favored heavily in Europe, where virtually all programs are part-time, according to Roger McCormick, former director general of the Association of MBA's in the United Kingdom. Distance learning allows students to learn at their own pace, which is especially helpful for remedial courses and quantitative work, he says.

The quality of distance learning programs covers a wide range. Those that garner the most respect from the business community are usually offered by institutions that also have a residency-based MBA program. In such cases, the institution has already established its reputation and is using distance learning to leverage its brand.

Business schools are avidly employing other technologies as well. Projects that involve other schools move forward with the help of videoconferencing. The Internet is often the primary medium of communication among students, faculty, and remote facilities. Students also make use of collaborative software, wireless networking and Web-based document exchange.

Classroom facilities are being redesigned to accommodate the growing use of technology in the classroom. The new home of Case Western Reserve University's business school boasts the fastest academic broadband, which can be accessed from any desk. The building's infrastructure also supports multimedia and videoconferencing, enabling students to communicate with organizations in other parts of the world. The school's highly innovative design is the work of famed architect Frank Gehry. Classrooms are interspersed among faculty offices, imitating a real-world environment where workers interact daily with their bosses.

More applied learning
In most programs, there is some version of a "capstone" course that pulls together everything that students have learned throughout their MBA degree studies. It is usually offered late in the program. With these so-called living cases, teams of students are assigned to an organization. For example, they may help a U.S. company enter the European market.

When you are evaluating graduate-level business programs, ask about the capstone courses they have recently offered and the projects' outcomes.

This article has been adapted from Peterson's MBA Programs, available for purchase in our online bookstore.