On one hand, the school had the option of continuing to pour
resources into the program, continuing a practice that had been going on for
years. In fact, administrators and the board of visitors ramped up investment
last year, about the same time that a new $50 million building had opened its
doors.
But those investments yielded marginal results, as Wake
Forest flirted with top- 50 status rather than rising dramatically up the
national rankings. (The full-time program fell from #44 in 2012 to #58 in this year's rankings.) And, to hear Dean Charles Iacovou discuss it, the full-time business school sector is showing general signs of secular decline.
The other option, the one that the school ultimately chose,
was to shut down the daytime program to allocate funds and other resources to
its other programs, including a part-time MBA and two undergraduate programs.
The goal is to have all three programs in the top 15 nationally, which seems feasible
if things fall into place.
|
Charles Iacovou |
“The MBA market has changed” in recent years, Iacovou told
students and alumni during an hour-long conference call Friday to discuss the
changes. “The full-time MBA market is oversaturated and in decline. There are many
reasons, including changing student preferences and how they want to access education.
Few are willing or able to forgo income for two years.”
Initially, I was shocked at the decision, but after
listening to Iacovou’s reasoning and thinking broadly about graduate level
education, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and see where this
new initiative takes the university.
Sudden and decisive change isn’t easy, and it certainly
rankled enough alumni on yesterday’s call. But good managers have to realize
that, in order to achieve long-term success, everything must be on the table.
Why should Wake Forest behave any differently?
To his credit, Iacovou handled himself well during the call,
giving over a dozen callers ample opportunity to ask questions and, at times,
vent about the decision. He also took full ownership of the proposal and the
decision and, I’m sure, will take full ownership over execution as it takes
place over the next two to three years.
“I came here to teach the [full-time] MBA,” he told one
particularly upset caller. “For me to make this decision, with the advice of my
board and the rest of the administration, was not an easy one emotionally … but
I feel that this is the best decision for our school.”
Iacovou gave a timeline that reveals the frustration felt when an
increased investment last fall failed to produce desired results in the
full-time program. Steve Reinemund retired as dean shortly after the board of
visitors gave mixed reaction to plans to keep investing the program, and
Iacovou was charged when he succeeded Reinemund in July to take a broad look at
all programs.
After having private conversations in August and September,
Iacovou made the proposal on Oct. 2 and the board unanimously supported it. The
announcement was made less than three weeks later.
This phase of planning is perhaps the one that upset alumni
the most, given the secretive nature of the talks and the fact that broader buy-in wasn’t sought in advance of an announcement. Iacovou’s response to that
criticism was quite simple – he didn’t want the plan to get leaked before he
had a chance to announce it.
|
Eric Wiseman |
“We had to approach this in a way that didn’t make it public
that this choice was being discussed,” Eric Wiseman, chairman of VF Corp. who
also chairs the board of visitors, added. “It would have created a big
communication problem for this school.”
While that makes sense, alumni certainly have the right to be
upset that they were approached about donating to the program last year. As
part of the Wake Will campaign, alumni were given the impression that $10
million of the $100 million targeted for the business school would go to the
full-time MBA program. (In comparison, $20 million was earmarked for the other
three programs, including just $2 million for the part-time program.)
Bear in mind that the Wake Will initiative was unveiled while Reinemund
was in charge. Iacovou was brought in with a different mandate from the board
of visitors. He examined scores of data, both internal and external, and made a bold
call.
Iacovou noted during a call with recruiters Monday that only two demographic groups are growing at U.S. business schools: international students and so-called pre-experiential students, or those that are 24 and younger. Wake Forest clearly remains committed to the second group, through its MA and MSA programs.
Obviously, the university will no longer court foreign students the same way it did when it offered a full-time program.
That is unfortunate since international outreach was a key part of that program, with each class typically having 10 to 12 foreign students. (It was certainly a priority for me when I was running the school's social media platform.)
Still, Iacovou said during his conference call with students and alumni that Wake Forest has international students in its undergraduate and part-time programs. "We have a very diverse student population, and we'll continue to invest in it," he said.
Diversity, in terms of students and faculty, "is an extremely critical component of our educational approach," Iacovou added, noting that the existing part-time programs have a broad range of social, economic, educational and racial representation.
Recently released data suggest that full-time MBA applications are rising, at least at 61% of business schools polled by the Graduate Management Admission Council (compared to 28% in 2011). Wake Forest must be among the 35% of respondents that are seeing applications decline. Iacovou and the board of visitors strongly believe that any broad increase will be short-lived and that the long-term trend will be skewed toward decline. Only time will tell if they are correct.
Could Wake Forest compete in other areas?
My better half, Vaishali Shah, made another salient point while we were listening to the conference call, noting that Iacovou could change the game for MBA recruiting
in North Carolina. True, Wake Forest will be unable to compete with
candidates who are intent to leave work for two years to attend Fuqua or
Kenan-Flagler.
But the school will be in a better position to target candidates who are
on the fence about leaving work, or those who can’t afford to do so. The administration could also have a chance to recruit prospects who, given the opportunity to attend a quality university part-time over a top-25 school full time, would choose Wake Forest.
Maybe it is a family situation. Perhaps it is undergraduate
student loans or other forms of debt. Or it is a change in employers’
preferences. But, as Iacovou noted, twice as many business school students are
choosing part-time programs over full time. There is more demand – and now we're telling those prospects that there are options for them if they are
unwilling, or unable, to walk away from their jobs.
Indeed, there are risks. One thing that concerns me is the
recruiter situation. Administrators said during the call Friday that nine of
the 38 recruiters for its MBA candidates only want full-time graduates. That is
nearly a quarter of our recruiters who could pull out because of the decision. However, Wake Forest has six recruiters in Charlotte who only want
part-time grads. It is a question of tradeoffs and whether Wake Forest’s
staff can fill the void left by vacating recruiters.
And now we wait. I am looking for two things to take place
to validate what Iacovou, Wiseman and others said on the call.
I'm looking for other programs to follow Wake Forest’s
lead. Iacovou said Virginia Tech and Miami University in Ohio have already
gone this route, but higher-profile schools will need to do so to validate Wake
Forest’s directional shift. Iacovou said deans at a number of well-regarded
schools are having this discussion. It will be interesting to see how many turn talk into action.
Execution is critical. Iacovou said he plans to boost
enrollment at the MA and MSA programs by 29% and 20%, respectively, while
getting the undergraduate program in the top 10. He wants the part-time
program, which cracked U.S. News &
World Report’s top 20 this year, to make it into the top 15 in short order.
Iacovou wants to establish Wake Forest’s hybrid model before expanding
part-time enrollment.
Alumni will also be keeping an eye out for recruiter
additions and departures, along with any announcements associated with faculty.
Keeping people in the fold will be important, and Iacovou is confident he can
do so.
All targets and objectives will be closely watched. And the administration must now stick with the course it has set for the business school. There is a thin line between embarking on a bold strategy and employing a series of tactical moves in an effort to follow the marketplace.
It will also be interesting to see if Wake Forest remains committed to the
strategy. It will be tempting to add an online degree, which Iacovou said isn’t
in the plans for now. Still, he made it clear that the administration and the
board are willing to make other bold, decisive moves if they believe it will
better serve the business school.
“I don’t believe any business school, including ours, will
remain relevant and become successful unless we ensure that whatever we do is
with an eye to satisfy emerging needs in the marketplace,” he said. “We are a
school of business. We are a school for business. Our brand will continue to be
enhanced as long as what we do is market relevant.”