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How COVID-19 Is Impacting B-Schools

Here’s what you need to know:

Five months after it shut down business school campuses and curtailed spring instruction and graduation ceremonies, coronavirus is still raging across the United States. In fact, it’s worse than ever, with new case counts rising nationally by the day and regions that had been spared suddenly finding themselves grappling with the grim toll of the deadly pandemic. Schools that had planned to open for business in the fall are reassessing. Some are moving up their start dates to the second week in August, with the goal to be finished with classes by Thanksgiving. Virtual learning will be common this winter; many schools that plan in-person classes have slated their finals exams to be held remotely. MBA applications are up amid a perceived improvement in applicants’ odds to earn a seat in otherwise highly selective programs — but deferrals and deferral requests are up, too, fueled in part by dismay at most schools’ unwillingness to reduce costs

In a Poets&Quants analysis of 100 of the leading U.S. B-schools, the most common plan for the fall of 2020 is a hybrid of in-person and virtual instruction. While a few schools have committed to teaching MBA and other students fully online, others are forging ahead with plans to bring everyone back to the classroom, albeit with a plethora of precautions. All of the top 25 schools, including the University of Michigan Ross School, will use a hybrid approach.

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