Educational technology has been disrupting traditional instructional practices in executive education, and for good reason.

Learning was once the exclusive domain of schools and universities, especially when it came to delivering executive education in business schools. That meant either taking a sabbatical from your job or choosing a B-school near you. You had to be physically present in the classroom.

Edtech, however, is changing that approach by providing customization and interactive experiences for learners. Educational technology also delivers learning at lowered costs.

Cost

Executive education can be expensive. University tuition, fees, and room and board have risen an average of 11% in the last five years, and prices are continuing to rise.  Executive education costs have risen 23%, and an executive MBA can set you – or your employer — back $150,000 or more. As a result, fewer employers are willing to foot the bill for this educational experience, and many hopeful candidates are leery about taking on a bigger burden of debt.

Knowledge

The lower cost of executive education does not mean a lesser standard of learning. In fact, the opposite is true.

Edtech brings influencers and subject matter experts together in a platform that was unimaginable just a couple of decades ago.  Executive schedules didn’t always line up with the constraints of a traditional semester, especially when some of the experts were working in a location far away, or when the learners didn’t have time to attend lectures or symposiums. Edtech allows busy executives to access knowledge anytime, anywhere, thanks to distance learning.

The same technology enables professors to reach more students with improved content.

While there’s a lot to be said for convening in person with classmates and colleagues to discuss ideas, edtech is making it possible to extend those conversations with learners around the world.

New Experiences

Smart schools are choosing to take advantage of edtech opportunities for executive education. They are partnering with online companies to create blended opportunities for learning. These opportunities include traditional campus-based classes as well as digital coursework and instructional settings.

In addition, AI and experiential learning are giving students the kind of hand-on experiences they might not otherwise get, and virtual reality is augmenting their experiences.

By lowering costs, expanding on a growing body of knowledge and creating opportunities for new experiences, edtech is transforming executive education.