Online or in-person? Here’s where graduate business student demand is heading

As someone who works closely with graduate business programs daily, it’s important for me to stay abreast of shifts in business students’ behaviors and preferences. The Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), which hosts the GMAT and conducts research in the business space, published their 2024 Prospective Students Survey earlier this year. I found a few of the results fascinating and believe they’ll be useful to you as you conduct lead nurturing and marketing efforts for your graduate business program.

Read on for 4 key takeaways from the survey below.

1. In the US, interest in hybrid program delivery has increased from 16% to 24% from 2019 to 2023

The jump in hybrid program interest means that more students are seeking flexibility from their grad business program, but they don’t want to sacrifice experiencing an on-campus community. Most of the GMAC survey respondents are between 25 and 30 years old, meaning they are a few years removed from receiving their undergraduate degree and likely balancing pursuing a degree with a full-time job. A quality hybrid experience is often a sticking point for these students in their program search. It’s important that your lead nurture campaigns reflect that your hybrid programs offer both the convenience and flexibility of remote learning and in-person networking opportunities. Student testimonials can speak to how your program supports full-time employees in advancing their careers while also benefitting from in-person interactions with faculty, peers and industry professionals.

2. Interest in online program delivery in the US has stayed the same since 2019 (11%)

At a glance, the segment of business students interested in online programs might seem glaringly low. But this stability in interest over a 4-year period proves that there is an admittedly small, but dedicated population, for whom this modality is best. By now, prospective students are used to online programs—their structure, benefits , and flexibility—and know exactly what to expect when researching potential programs. For that reason, focus on differentiation when marketing your online graduate business program. Emphasize positive student outcomes, high-quality classes, and the student support you offer through nurture campaigns. Do you offer opportunities for virtual networking, alumni mentorship, or other online events? Share the unique ways in which you engage your online students as part of your program’s community.

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3. Interest in in-person program delivery in the US has decreased from 70% to 60% from 2019 to 2023

The above statistic reflects the grad-wide shift toward more flexible learning modalities. More importantly, it also makes it clear that there is still a large audience for fully in-person graduate business programs. That audience includes international students, who often can’t participate in online programs due to residency requirements or visa restrictions. There are also students who perform better in a physical classroom or just value face-to-face interaction with their professors and peers. To connect with this audience, create targeted campaigns for students interested in attending in-person. Focus on the differentiators in the in-person experiences you offer and ensure that the quality of your in-person events for graduate business students allows students to envision themselves on your campus.

4. The perceived quality gap between online and in-person programs is shrinking

The number of online MBA candidates who agree or strongly agree that an on-campus graduate business education offers the same value as an online degree has grown from 47% to 56% since 2019. In the past, students held concerns around the quality and legitimacy of an online MBA degree, but these opinions are starting to change. The shift to Zoom during COVID has helped change the narrative around online programs, with advancements in online learning technology, faculty engagement, and online student support. The time to market your online MBA programs aggressively is now. In addition to positioning your program as a high-quality alternative to your on-campus or hybrid options, make sure to share the ways in which you help your online students succeed. Social proof can be helpful here. In our 2023 Adult Learner Survey, the respondents who most often expressed interest in online courses were full-time workers and caregivers. Promoting success stories of alumni with similar challenges who still graduated from your program can be encouraging to these busy prospective students.

The biggest thing you might notice from the above statistics is that there is still a case to optimize your marketing and lead generation efforts for all business program modalities across the board. Adult students are so diverse, and it’s important for you to understand your unique audience to know which strategies to employ to increase your adult learner population. Generating a higher volume of leads will help you ensure that you are supporting the goals of all your business program offerings. Partnering with Appily Advance is one way to accomplish this, as Appily can provide graduate business programs with a high volume of names from your region to connect you with business students likely to enroll in your program. Adult Learner Recruitment can further enhance these efforts by delivering personalized marketing strategies and multichannel outreach tailored to prospective adult learners. This solution helps ensure you’re not only generating more leads but also reaching the right students at the right time, enabling effective nurturing and higher conversion rates. Once you receive the names, you can use the above strategies to nurture those students through their search process.

As these trends continue to shift year over year, I hope to continue to track them and provide insights for graduate business leaders to boost their lead nurturing efforts and grow their programs.