Market 'messy' for Chinese MBA programs

(Ecns.cn) -- More than 1 million people in China will apply for master's degrees in business administration (MBA) programs this year, according to People's Daily Online.

They can either take the national entrance examination or use GMAT test scores to try their luck, but the final results may not necessarily depend on exam performance.

Over the past two decades, those who aim high have created a massive market for MBA education in China, and now there are 230 institutions with qualified MBA programs (some are joint programs with foreign schools).

Although China has become one of the hottest places to study for an MBA, its number of globally top-tier business schools is very low.

According to the 2012 Financial Times MBA ranking of the world's top 100 programs, only two of China's 230 educational institutions made the list: the China Europe International Business School and Peking University's Guanghua School of Management.

Business schools with poor records for academic achievement, research capability, level of internationalization and career development for students will not survive in the near future, says John Quelch, dean of the China Europe International Business School. And the MBA education market in China is "messy," he adds.

As that market rapidly expands, some legitimate parties have begun to exploit loopholes to make profits through improper means, according to People's Daily Online.

Even without taking the national entrance examination or showing GMAT test scores, those who are willing can get early admission to business schools as MBA students simply by paying enough money, says an anonymous insider.

In 1991, when MBA programs were officially introduced to China, there were little more than 100 students enrolled. Now the figure exceeds 28,000, according to a report released on a Ministry of Education website.

Some people seek MBA programs not for knowledge but to widen their connections, as the "club" effect is very strong at business schools in China, says Nicole, a manager at a headhunting company.

Because of this, returnees with MBAs are more welcomed by companies at home than those who get them in China, she says.

According to Guangming Daily, China's MBA course takers are generally younger than 25, yet the average age in 1997 was 32.

Young MBA students have little or no experience in management, so they can't fully understand the case studies in class, which affects the quality of the programs, points out Liu Qiang, an MBA graduate from the School of Business of Shanghai Jiaotong University.

This is a very serious issue, and such problems are scarce at EMBA programs because the students are all experienced managers, he adds.

The quality of China's EMBA education is definitely higher than MBA education; the country's five EMBA programs entered the top 11 spots on the 2012 Financial Times EMBA rankings, according to China Daily.

As China's management education market grows rapidly, the quality of MBA programs must be brought to the forefront, so it becomes very necessary to focus on student selectivity, says People's Daily Online.

Outstanding faculty will draw outstanding students, which will then create a successful alumni body; reputation and alumni networks are very important in the eyes of students, explains John Quelch.

Some elite business schools, including the Business School of Fudan University and Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, are using international certifications such as EQUIS and AACSB to prove their quality of education. However, the remaining 220 institutions with qualified MBA programs are struggling to survive.