In a faltering global economy, online certificate programs can equip you with the skills you need to advance your career, jump into a new industry, or secure your next job. Plus, you can accomplish these goals on your schedule and learn from world-class institutions without even getting up from your couch.
Want to learn more about the benefits of an online certificate course? Harvard Business School Online recently partnered with market research firm City Square Associates to survey students about the impact our courses have had on their careers and finances. Here's a deeper dive into the results.
THE VALUE OF AN HBS ONLINE CERTIFICATE
The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Forty-two percent of the more than 2,000 respondents said an online course from HBS helped them increase their salary. The average increase was $17,000, meaning those who reaped such benefits saw a 10x return on their $1,750 investment in a course. Extrapolated to our global student base, the total global economic impact was nearly $700 million.
"We knew from previous performance surveys that we were helping people advance their careers, but we were excited to see how we could also help our students significantly increase their salaries," said Patrick Mullane, CEO of HBS Online. "It is gratifying to know that we are helping our participants by providing them with valuable courses that will allow them to expand their global networks, increase their confidence at work and improve their economic well-being."
Respondents were asked how HBS Online helped them get promotions, raises, bonuses and career changes. Here are some of the results included in the infographic below:
- Ninety-one percent of alumni said HBS Online had a positive impact on their career
- 42% received an average raise of $17,000
- 16% received a bonus with an average salary increase of $14,000
- 36% have changed jobs
- 31% were promoted
- More than three-quarters of respondents took their last training in the past two years
The overwhelmingly positive results surprised even HBS officials. "It's understandable that an MBA gives people the ability to make fundamental career changes, but I didn't expect students to achieve such results in a non-credit, non-academic course or program" , says Patrick. Mullane. CEO of Harvard Business School Online. "What we are doing has had an effect."
In the five and a half years since the launch of the first online offering, nearly 40,000 students have taken distance learning courses at Harvard Business School. Additionally, the school has expanded its online course catalog to include a dozen options ranging from a three-week Sustainable Business Strategy course for $950 to an eight-week Intro to Scaling Ventures for $4,500. $. HBS's first online work, the integrated trio of business fundamentals in business analysis, accounting and business administration called CORe for Credential of Readiness, has now been completed by more than 22,000 students, including almost a third of the latest generation of Harvard MBAs. .
For many who cannot afford the money or time for a full-time business program, online courses may be the best option. "We tend to feel that something can't be transformative unless it's a two-year residential program," Mullane adds. “But transformation is really in the eye of the beholder, and we need to be aware that how we think about it is not how others will think about it. In general, people say it changed their careers and their lives.
"The value is there for people who need the business education they need to ask the right questions and talk business intelligently," Mullane believes. “Someone with business acumen who just needs some basic training in negotiation, finance or entrepreneurship can get what they need quickly and make a difference fairly quickly. I met a man who was a minister in a church in the South and he realized that running a church is like running a business. And he found CORe incredibly valuable. Here, it offers value well beyond its drill rate. »
Mullane gives other examples. A person who has gone from junior administrator to college campus president and been admitted to a doctoral program at Johns Hopkins University; . a biochemist who wanted to get started and needed skills, or a dancer who needed to become a choreographer. "So we want to be more connected to the brand because of the impact it has on our students," Mullane adds.
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