The hybrid MBA programs are an alternative to the full time programs and can be either an e-program, including e-mail and regular classroom activities, or an online program, consisting of the online and classroom instruction. The hybrid MBA programs are specially designed for the busiest learners and make the education more reachable. The business schools, in an effort to attract more learners, reformat their traditional MBA programs, minimizing the time, spent on campus and, at the same time, broadening the period, spent by students at home with their individual learning and online communication.
The hybrid MBA programs usually cover the same curriculum and courses as the full time program, however, the students are supposed to spend approximately eight months on campus studies, followed by the internship, and then, continue their learning online, when they can come back to their job, while finishing the MBA degree.
During the first year studies for the hybrid MBA program, the students complete the same core courses as the students of the full MBA do, in the major areas of business, including, management, marketing, accounting and the others (sometimes more than nine courses). They also take at least three additional core courses and several electives. The number of electives is abundant today and the students can either choose from them, or prefer covering all the complement courses.
Throughout the second online year, they put their knowledge into practice both, at their work place and in the online educational business forums. The forums bear not only educational but also practical character, when the instructor suggests the discussion topic, dealing with the most urgent business issues and the problem analysis and solution. The discussion of one topic lasts for a week, during which, the instructor moves the forum along, helping the students to choose the right ways of decision-making. In addition to the online forums, the students complete written assignments, reports and course papers. The spirit of cooperation and team play is still the primary method, applied in the hybrid MBA programs and does not leave the students within their online studies. The students exchange opinions, as well as written pages in order to see what the others have done. The learner of the online program is never alone, as he can communicate and get support from the others. The most important factor is that the process of online learning becomes more popular today among learners, who become more encouraged and inspired, using advance means of communication, than when they spend time in a common and usual classroom. Therefore, the results are expected to be better.
The hybrid MBA program is especially valuable for the companies, which want their employees to enhance their business skills and, at the same time, do not want to loose them for two years. The same concerns the candidates, who would like to get to a higher position in the company and the employer will not allow their two-year absence for the full time MBA program.