Online MBA students' perceptions of online learning: Benefits, challenges, and suggestions

Online MBA programs have seen a rapid rise in student enrollments in recent years and institutions of higher education have keen interests in offering quality online MBA programs to meet the demands. The present study reports the results of a case study in which over 100 students enrolled in a top-ranked online MBA program were interviewed and surveyed to investigate their perceptions of the benefits and challenges in online learning and their suggestions for improving the quality of the online MBA program. It was found that virtual teaming was a major factor that influenced the students' online learning experience; they viewed virtual teaming experiences as valuable for preparing them for the increasingly global business environment; at the same time, it also served as a key challenge to their learning in the online environment. Students' suggestions for improving the quality of online MBA program are discussed as well.