哈佛商學院正式推出在線課程大綱

(Poets&Quants) — After a pair of highly successful pilot runs, Harvard Business School is now opening its online program in business basics to students worldwide. The school is also inviting admitted MBA students to enroll in the program as a pre-MBA boot camp experience, particularly for non-traditional admits or those who need more basic quantitative work before showing up on campus.
經過兩輪非常成功的試運行後，哈佛商學院正式向全世界的學生開放其在線商業基礎課程。此外，這所商學院還將其作爲MBA新生入學訓練營，邀請已被錄取的MBA學生報名學習，尤其是那些來自非傳統專業，或者需要在入學前學習定量分析基礎課程的學生。

All told, slightly more than 1,100 students have now taken the primer on the fundamentals of business called CORe (Credential of Readiness) program. In the first beta starting last June, the trio of courses—Business Analytics, Economics for Managers, and Financial Accounting—were open to only undergraduate students attending colleges in Massachusetts and alumni. Some 600 students took the $1,500 two-month program. Harvard then tested the suite of courses on 500 managers at nine different companies in a B-to-B experiment.
目前，共有超過1100名學生報名參加了這個名爲“準備就緒憑證”（CORe）的商業基礎課程。在去年六月份進行的第一輪測試中，三門在線課程（商業分析、管理經濟學與財務會計）僅對馬薩諸塞州的在校本科生及畢業生開放。約有600名學生參加了這個收費1500美元，爲期兩個月的項目。在隨後進行的一項B2B試驗中，哈佛商學院面向九家公司的500名管理者測試了一套課程。

For the first time, HBS is now opening up the program—based on case studies and videos—to applicants worldwide, including adult learners who have been out of school up to 10 years, and students admitted to the school’s full-time, on-campus MBA program this fall.
現在，哈佛商學院首次向全世界的申請者開放在線課程，包括畢業10年以上的成人學習者，以及在今年秋季入學的全日制MBA新生。這套在線課程主要基於案例研究和視頻。

Initially, the program was designed largely for non-business undergraduates who needed the business basics to give them a leg up on the job market when they graduated from college. These latest changes could put the program in competition with more expensive Executive MBA programs, which demand a greater time commitment from managers with 10 or more years of work experience. EMBA programs cover a lot more ground, but Harvard’s imprimatur on this program of business basics could make it appealing to managers who otherwise would attend second-tier EMBA programs. CORe more directly competes with summer business programs for undergraduate students from schools like UC-Berkeley and Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business.
設計在線課程的最初目的，是滿足非商業專業本科生對商業基礎知識的需求，從而使他們在畢業求職時獲得一定的優勢。而最近對在線課程的修改，則使其可以與昂貴的在職高管工商管理碩士項目（EMBA）進行競爭。EMBA要求管理者有10年以上工作經驗，並且需要投入更多時間。EMBA課程涵蓋更多領域，但哈佛對在線商業基礎課程的認可，則會吸引更多本打算攻讀二流EMBA課程的管理者。CORe將對加州大學伯克利分校和達特茅斯學院塔克商學院等學校的本科生暑期商業課程構成直接威脅。

In its beta test, Harvard discovered that the program attracted a much broader group of students than it expected. “We positioned it as a program for Humanities and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) majors,” explains Bharat N. Anand, faculty chair of HBX, the name of Harvard Business School’s online initiative. “We ended up getting roughly a third from the humanities, a third STEM, and another third from from economics, social science, and business undergraduates. That was the rough breakdown.”
在試運行測試中，哈佛商學院發現，被課程吸引的學生範圍要比此前的預期更加廣泛。哈佛在線教育平臺HBX首席教授巴拉特o阿南德解釋說：“我們最初的定位是針對人文科學專業和STEM（科學、技術、工程和數學）專業的學生。最終的結果是，有三分之一的學生來自人文科學專業，三分之一來自STEM，另外三分之一則來自經濟學、社會科學和商學專業的本科生。這只是粗略劃分。”

In a surprise, 20% of those who enrolled in CORe were graduate students, including students from medical and law schools, and even one PhD in natural science. Almost 20% of the students were international and 40% were women. “When we opened up the website, we were thinking of only rising juniors and seniors, but we also opened it up to rising sophomores because that is the time when students are trying to get themselves in line for internships,” adds Anand.
令人意外的是，報名CORe課程的學生中有20%是研究生，包括醫學院和法學院的學生，甚至還有一名自然科學專業的博士。約20%爲國際學生，40%爲女性。阿南德補充說：“網站剛上線時，我們只考慮到大三和大四學生，但我們也向大二學生開放，因爲在那段時間，許多學生正在爲實習做準備。”

Asked to grade how engaging the course materials were on a scale of one to five, with five being the highest grade, 80% of the first batch of students awarded a grade of four or five. On course quality, the approval figure hit 86%, while the quality of the course instructors—all endowed professors who teach in Harvard’s full-time MBA program—won a four or five grade from 90% of the participants. “The results are very encouraging,” says Anand. “We are still in the early stages of this journey, but it is really exciting. We have high engagement from participants. We have an established revenue model and, most important, the program reflects who we are.”
學生們被要求按一至五分的標準，對課程材料的吸引力進行評分，五分爲最高。第一批學生中有80%給出了四分或五分。在課程質量方面，認可率達到86%，另外有90%的學生對課程講師的水平給出了四分或五分的評價。在線課程的所有講座教授同時也在教授哈佛商學院的全日制MBA課程。阿南德說道：“這樣的結果令我們倍受鼓舞。我們尚處在起步階段，但我們真的感覺非常激動。學生有很高的參與率。我們有穩定的收入模式，最重要的是，在線課程詮釋了哈佛商學院的本質。”

HBS says it will now accept applicants from anywhere in the world as old as the mid-to-late 30s to apply for start dates in February, April, and June. The deadline for applications for the April 15 intake is March 25, while the deadline for the cohort that begins on June 3 will be May 13.
哈佛商學院表示將分別從2月、4月和6月開始接受世界各地申請者的申請，申請者的年齡最高爲35至40歲。4月15日開課的課程申請截止期限爲3月25日，6月3日開課的課程申請截止期限爲5月13日。

“We are gradually increasing the eligibility,” says Anand. “There are a lot of career switchers who want to understand business better, even entrepreneurs who have run their own companies but now want to run their firms more systematically. The number of applications we received from people who are 13 or 15 years out of college was fascinating.”
阿南德說道：“我們在逐步提高資格條件。有很多學員正在考慮改變職業，他們希望對商業有更好的瞭解，甚至有經營自己公司的創業者，他們現在希望更系統性地經營公司。離開校園13至15年的申請者人數之多，讓我們深感意外。”

Anand says the cohort starting Feb. 25 will likely number 500 to 1,000 participants and will include a relatively small group of Harvard admits who will come to campus in September for their first year in the MBA program. Like many other business schools, HBS typically held a one-week program called Analytics to get incoming students up to speed on accounting and data. Harvard has decided to give those students who feel they need a jumpstart the option of taking CORe or coming to campus for the residential Analytics program in July or August. He expects roughly 20% of the next incoming class at HBS, some 150 to 200 students out of slightly more than 900, to take CORe this year.
阿南德稱，2月25日開課的課程將有500至1000名學生參與，其中包括數量相對較少的哈佛MBA課程一年級新生，這批學生將在九月份正式入學。與其他許多商學院類似，哈佛商學院通常會爲即將入學的新生提供一個爲期一週，名爲Analytics的課程，使他們能夠迅速掌握會計學和數據方面的基礎知識。哈佛已經決定讓那些認爲自己需要加快節奏的新生，自行選擇報名CORe或者在七八月份在校學習Analytics課程。他預計，今年，哈佛商學院900多名新生中，約有150至200人會選擇CORe，佔總人數的20%左右。

“This is really getting our students to do the program so they are ready to take advantage of the full experience on campus,” believes Anand. “The genesis of CORe was asking how can we create a wow experience online so they can get up to speed with the basics of data, accounting, and economics before they come on campus.”
阿南德相信：“通過參與在線課程，新生們就能儘快適應校園的學習生活。之所以開發CORe，是因爲我們希望解決如何創造一種受歡迎的在線體驗這個問題，幫助學生們在正式進入校園之前，掌握數據、會計和經濟學等領域的基本知識。”

HBS expects a significantly higher summer enrollment in June, when the price of the program rises by $300 to $1,800. Anand says he expects to have as many as 3,000 learners signed up, more than three times the intake at Harvard’s full-time MBA program. CORe students would be divided into cohorts of 300 to 500. The school will also increase the amount of financial aid available for students. “We are trying to scale up in a measured fashion,” explains Anand. “You want enough thickness on peer group conversations so that when someone poses a question it gets answered quickly and that requires a large cohort. But at the same time you don’t want a cohort that is so large it becomes impersonal.”
今年六月份，哈佛商學院的夏季入學人數將大幅增加，在線課程的價格也從300美元提高到1800美元。阿南德表示，他預計將有3000名學習者報名在線課程，這個數字是哈佛全日制MBA課程錄取人數的三倍以上。CORe課程的學生將被分爲300至500人的羣體。學院也會向學生髮放更多助學金。阿南德解釋稱：“我們正在審慎地擴大規模。你希望同學之間能有足夠的交流，有人提出問題時，能夠迅速得到回答，而這需要每一期有足夠多的參與者。但同時人數又不能太多，否則課程將變得枯燥。”

Unlike many other online business courses, CORe participants are graded in each course based on quizzes, a final exam, and their level of participation. The program is largely taught through case studies of issues and challenges at such organizations as Amazon, PepsiCo, The New York Times, and the American Red Cross. But there also are lessons from managers at small, local companies, including the Bikram Yoga studio near campus. Harvard awards a certificate of completion to each graduate and says it will maintain transcripts of the grades. Top performers receive an Honors or High Honors designation, similar to what Harvard MBAs get when they graduate from the school.
與其他許多在線商業課程不同，CORe學員每一門課程的得分取決於測驗分數、期中考試成績和參與程度。課程主要採用案例研究的方式，如研究亞馬遜、百事可樂、《紐約時報》和美國紅十字會等組織的問題與挑戰。此外還有當地小公司管理者們的經驗教訓，如校園附近的比克拉姆瑜伽工作室。學院會向完成學業的學生頒發結業證書，並且校方會保留學生的成績單。成績突出的學生可以得到“成績優秀”和“優異”的評價，與哈佛MBA畢業生的待遇類似。

So, what has Harvard learned after sending two cohorts through the program? The second B-to-B cohort had an 80% completion rate and engagement rates off the chart, much like the pioneer cohort. The completion rate fell by five percentage points, largely because the second cohort was comprised entirely of full-time managers and employees who often found it difficult to complete all the work. Learners find that it takes about 10 hours a week over the two-month program to get all the work done. Participants also are prevented from moving forward unless they complete a module within a two-week timeframe, a deadline that makes it hard to catch up when students fall behind.
那麼，送走了兩批學生之後，哈佛從中總結出什麼經驗教訓？第二批B2B學生完成率達到80%，學生參與率同樣很出色，與第一批學生類似。學業完成率下降了5個百分點，很大程度上是由於第二批學生全部由在職的管理者和員工組成，經常難以完成所有學習任務。學習者發現，在兩個月課程期間，完成所有功課需要每週拿出10個小時。而且，參與者只有在兩週內完成一個模塊才能進行下一個模塊，這個最終期限讓落後的學生很難趕上進度。

Anand says that they initially tweaked the program to strike a balance between taking advantage of the asynchronous nature of online learning while preserving some synchronous activity so that students can help their classmates at certain points. “In the first cohort, we had five gates—or deadlines for the completion of work—across all three courses,” he says. “In the fall, we moved to a slightly different structure. If you have all three deadlines on one day, it becomes very hard to catch up. So we put in many more deadlines, 17 in all, in the fall. The moment you go to 17, students have to keep up continuously but you also want to preserve some flexibity for them. So we are now moving back to something in the middle, about 10 deadlines with some overlap for when material is released to allow some students to move faster.
阿南德表示，他們最初對課程進行了調整，一方面利用在線學習的異步特性，同時保留一些同步活動，努力實現兩者之間的平衡，使學生們可以相互幫助。他說道：“在第一期，我們爲全部三門課程設置了五個時間截止點。在秋季，我們對結構進行了微調。如果你一天有三個時間截止點，你便很難跟上進度。所以我們在秋季增加了時間截止點數量，共計17個。當你有17個時間截止點的時候，學生必須持續下去，但你同時也希望爲學生保留一定的靈活性。所以，我們進行了折中，規定了10個時間截止點，在材料發佈的時候會有部分重疊，使學生可以更快進步。”

“With 17 deadlines, if you miss one or two it becomes really, really hard. So with the next cohort we are creating a slack week in between the program so you can catch up. We’re extending the program from 10 to 11 weeks. Things happen in people’s lives. The completion rates are high, but we would love to see them higher.”
“實行17個最終期限的時候，如果你錯過了一個或兩個，後續的學習就會變得非常困難。所以，我們在下一期課程之間會設置一週寬鬆時間，使學員跟上進度。我們將課程從10周延長到11周。每個人生活中都會遇到各種事情。學業完成率已經很高，但我們仍有更高的期待。”

Despite the decline in the completion rate among full-time employees, engagement remained extremely high. Harvard attempted to determine how many students came on the platform because they wanted to be there. “The pioneers said that for every two hours they spent learning on the platform, they were spending an extra hour engaging with their peers,” says Anand. “This is striking because that is entirely voluntary work. Many students said you could get through the material in 10 hours a week, but a good number chose to spend 15 hours a week because they were enjoying it so much.”
雖然全職員工學業完成率有所下降，但參與率依舊很高。哈佛希望確定有多少學生是真心希望選擇在線平臺。阿南德稱：“首批學生表示，他們在平臺上每學習兩個小時，與同學交流的時間便會多一個小時。這令人意外，因爲這完全是自願的工作。許多學生表示，每週可以拿出十個小時研究資料，但許多人會選擇每週花15個小時，因爲他們喜歡這麼做。”

Do online students learn more or less than students in a traditional classroom? Anand says the school is in the process of studying this and plans to release a report shortly. He shares one anecdote from a student who took his exam a month after finishing CORe last summer. “He sat down to prepare three days before and he told me that for the first time in his educational career he didn’t need to revisit the material,” recalls Anand. “He retained everything. He said it was part of the educational experience. It was engaging throughout. He wasn’t a passive learner.”
與傳統課程相比，在線學習學到的更多還是更少？阿南德表示，學院正在進行這方面的研究，並計劃在近期發佈相關報告。他分享了一名學生的故事。去年夏天，這名學生在完成CORe課程一個月後參加了考試。阿南德回憶稱：“他之前準備了三天，他告訴我，這是他在學習生涯中第一次不需要複習資料。他記住了所有知識。他說這是學習經歷的一部分。他一直在全情參與。他不再是被動的學習者。”