The fallout of the global economic crisis has meant lean times for many business schools, but despite this the number of MBAs being delivered online is expanding.
全球经济危机的冲击波使许多商学院进入了困难时期，尽管如此，在线MBA课程的数量却在增加中。
Since 2009-10, the number of schools offering online MBAs has increased by a quarter, according to figures from AACSB International, the accreditation body. By 2013-14, online degrees accounted for 11 per cent of the total.
根据认证机构国际商学院促进协会(AACSB International)的数据，自2009-2010学年以来，提供在线MBA学位的学校增加了四分之一。至2013-2014学年，在线MBA学位课程的数量占总MBA课程数量的11%。
John Fernandes, president of AACSB, says the proliferation of online options reflects the changing needs of students and the growing number who are unable to put their careers on hold.
AACSB主席约翰•费尔南德斯(John Fernandes)表示，在线MBA课程的激增，既反映了学生们不断变化的需求，也说明越来越多的学生无法搁置自己的职业生涯。
“Many students taking online degrees are doing so to converge their working lives and study,” he says
费尔南德斯说：“许多学生之所以选择攻读在线学位，是为了兼顾他们的工作生活和学业。”
Robert Monroe, director of the online MBA at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), says there is only one fundamental difference between its online and campus-based students. The former are “working professionals”, many have families.
卡内基梅隆大学(Carnegie Mellon University)泰珀商学院(Tepper School of Business)在线MBA学位负责人罗伯特•门罗(Robert Monroe)表示，在线学生与在校学生只存在一点根本区别，那就是前者为“职场人士”，其中不少人都已成家。
For schools, it’s imperative to figure out how much working professionals can handle without it being excessive.”
门罗说：“对于学校来说，必须了解职场人士能应付多少课程，而不觉得课业过于繁重。”
Advances in technology allow some courses to recreate interactive campus learning through live video classroom sessions. CMU’s online MBA and the MBA@UNC from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler business school are two examples.
科技的进步令部分课程可以通过视频直播课堂教学，再现校园学习的互动氛围。卡内基梅隆大学的在线MBA和北卡罗来纳大学(University of North Carolina)凯南-弗拉格勒商学院(Kenan-Flagler Business School)的MBA@UNC就是两个例子。
The interactivity provided by premium online programmes is attracting the same calibre of students as campus MBAs, says Prof Monroe and the groups are now “remarkably similar”.
门罗教授表示，优秀在线课程所提供的互动氛围，吸引着与在校MBA学生同等素质的学员，而且这两类学生现在“惊人相似”。
This view is echoed by Professor Idalene Kesner, dean of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. She says online courses were once taken by older students looking to move up within companies, but now “we are beginning to see convergence in [student] age and levels of professional experience”.
印地安纳大学(Indiana University)凯莱商学院(Kelley School of Business)院长伊达莱妮•克斯纳(Idalene Kesner)教授对上述观点表示赞同。她说以前选择在线课程的，都是一些希望在公司里获得升职的、较为年长的学生，但现在“我们开始看到（学生的）年龄以及职业经验水平正在趋同。”
While those enrolled on Kelley’s full-time MBA have on average four to five years in the workplace behind them, those studying online will have six to seven years, she says.
克斯纳表示，就读于凯莱商学院全日制MBA的学生平均有四到五年的工作经验，而那些在线学生则为六到七年。
Caroline Bussenius, a student on the Kelley online masters of strategic management, runs a start-up business and needs flexibility. “I realised that a traditional campus-based programme wouldn’t work for me,” she says.
卡罗琳•布塞纽斯(Caroline Bussenius)是凯莱商学院战略管理硕士在线课程的一名学生，她运营着一家初创企业，需要弹性的学习时间。她说：“我意识到传统的在校课程不适合我。”
While the Kelley MBA includes live online sessions, they are not mandatory, and can be accessed later.
虽然凯莱商学院的MBA课程也有在线直播课程，但这些课程不是强制性的，而且可以过后再上。
Despite the global reach of online MBAs, figures from the Graduate Management Admission Council, which runs the standard entry GMAT exam, show 87 per cent of test-takers sending scores to online and distance MBA degrees in 2014 were from the US.
尽管在线MBA课程能够覆盖全球，但根据美国管理学研究生招生理事会(Graduate Management Admission Council)——GMAT考试的主办者——的数据，2014年向在线及远程MBA学位课程发送成绩的考生中，有87%来自美国。
AACSB’s Mr Fernandes says some students’ time zones hinder regular interaction, but he adds: “As technology gets better at shrinking time differences, we can unlock the global classroom.”
AACSB的费尔南德斯说，一些学生受时区阻碍，无法进行常规课程互动，但他补充道：“随着缩小时差技术的提高，我们可以开启全球课堂。”
Financial barriers can remain. Fees for an online MBA at a top school are often comparable with campus costs. Tuition fees for CMU’s online MBA, for example, are $45,000 in 2015-16, while full-time campus students will pay $60,000.
经济方面的障碍依然存在。一流学校的在线MBA费用通常与在校费用不相上下。比如，2015-2016学年，卡内基梅隆大学在线MBA学费为4.5万美元，而全日制在校生的学费则为6万美元。
Scholarships are widely offered by leading schools, however, and online delivery of MBAs is widening the potential catchment for sponsored students, says Gayle Allard, a professor at IE Business School in Spain.
不过名校会提供大量奖学金名额，西班牙企业商学院(IE Business School)教授盖尔•阿拉德(Gayle Allard)表示，在线MBA学位扩大了获资助学生的可能性范围。
Prof Allard says online delivery is having a democratising impact on the student demographic. “We can now offer scholarships to people who could never afford to live in Madrid.”
阿拉德表示，在线学位正对学生的人口分布产生民主化影响。他说：“对于那些可能永远负担不起马德里生活成本的人，我们现在也能向他们提供奖学金了。”