Applications for full-time two-year MBA courses fell in most US business schools last year, according to the latest figures from the Graduate Management Admission Council, the owner and administrator of the GMAT admission exam.

管理专业研究生入学考试委员会（Graduate Management Admission Council，简称GMAC）的最新数据显示，去年大多数美国商学院两年全日制MBA项目的申请人数下降。GMAC是管理专业研究生入学考试(GMAT)的所有者和管理者。

The global trend for the flagship qualification of the business education sector also remained downbeat, according to GMAC’s research.

GMAC的研究显示，作为商科教育领域的旗舰学位，两年全日制MBA项目在全球的趋势也依然不容乐观。

In the US, 53 per cent of schools running full-time two-year MBA courses reported a decline in application numbers in 2016, while 40 per cent reported growth.

在美国，开设两年全日制MBA项目的商学院当中，有53%报告2016年申请人数下降，同时有40%报告申请人数增长。

The drop suggests a shift in attitudes to business education due to increased job insecurity and the opportunity to study overseas or online, with prospective students opting for courses that take less time to complete and the highest-ranked schools seeing an increase in applications.

申请人数下降表明，由于就业不安全感上升以及赴海外或在线学习机会增加，人们对商科教育的态度发生了变化，一些原本可能攻读两年全日制MBA项目的学生选择了学制更短的项目，顶级商学院的申请人数增加。

Meanwhile, the percentage of business schools worldwide reporting growth in applications declined for a third straight year, from 61 per cent in 2014 to 57 per cent in 2015 to 43 per cent this year.

与此同时，全球范围内报告申请人数增加的商学院比例连续第三年下降，2014年是61%，2015年降至57%，今年则进一步下降至43%。

Smaller courses tended to be worst hit while those with larger student intakes experienced growth.

学生较少的项目往往是受冲击最严重的，而那些学生较多的项目的申请人数则出现了增长。

Matt Symonds, a co-director of Fortuna Admissions, a business school admissions consultancy, described a “flight to quality”, with the US market fragmenting between a top tier of schools and the also-rans.

商学院入学咨询机构Fortuna Admissions的联席主管马特•西蒙兹(Matt Symonds)描述了“对质量的追求”——美国市场上顶尖商学院和不入流学校日益分化。

“There is a greater focus on the opportunity cost, and two years of full-time study needed for the typical US MBA does seem prohibitive to many,” he explained.

他解释称：“人们更加关注机会成本，美国典型MBA所需的两年全日制学习似乎的确让许多人望而却步。”

GMAC said Europe constituted a bright spot in its 2016 findings, with 65 per cent of European graduate business programmes reporting an increase in applications, compared with 46 per cent in the US and 41 per cent in East and Southeast Asia.

GMAC表示，欧洲是其2016年报告中的一个亮点，65%的欧洲硕士商科项目报告了申请人数增长，与之形成反差的是，美国的这个比例是46%，东亚和东南亚的这个比例是41%。

Applications for one-year MBA courses increased in 57 per cent of the schools that offer them worldwide, according to the GMAC figures, up from 51 per cent in 2015.

GMAC的数据显示，在全球范围内提供一年制MBA项目的商学院当中，有57%报告申请人数增长，而2015年的这一比例是51%。

IESE Business School in Barcelona is one of several highly ranked European business schools to increase its MBA course size in the wake of increased admission numbers, growing its student intake this year by 22 per cent.

在入学人数上升之后，欧洲数家高排名商学院扩大了其MBA项目规模，巴塞罗那的IESE商学院(IESE Business School)就是其中之一，今年该学院的入学人数增长了22%。

“We are seeing higher quality students that are better prepared,” said Iziar de Ros, IESE’s admissions director, noting that the average score on the GMAT exam applicants must take rose from 680 last year to 690 in 2016.

IESE的招生主管伊齐亚•德罗斯(Iziar de Ros)表示：“我们看到学生质量更高了，他们的准备也更为充分。”他指出，在2016年，GMAT考试平均分从去年的680升至690分，GMAT考试是所有申请人必须参加的。

For the second consecutive year, a majority of online MBA courses reported growing application volumes.

绝大多数在线MBA项目连续第二年报告申请人数上升。

However part-time MBA courses continue to struggle to raise demand, according to the GMAC figures, with just 43 per cent of these programmes reporting a rise in applications compared with half reporting a decline in volumes.

然而，GMAC数据显示，在职MBA项目依然难以提升需求，只有43%的项目报告申请人数增长，有50%的项目报告申请人数下降。

Sangeet Chowfla, GMAC’s president and chief executive, said: “Business degrees continue to be one of the most sought after educational credentials.”

GMAC总裁兼首席执行官桑吉特•乔弗拉(Sangeet Chowfla)表示：“商科学位仍然是最受追捧的文凭之一。”

But he added that the increasing number of tailored business qualifications, such as the master in data analytics degree, meant that there was a more “mixed picture” in terms of demand for specific business schools.

但他补充称，个性化商科学位（比如数据分析硕士学位）数量增加意味着，具体商学院的需求“情况更为复杂”。