Harvard Business School Increases Accessibility of MBA Program: MBA News

Harvard Business School is undertaking a campaign to raise US$1 billion for student aid, faculty research and various other initiatives to increase access to its MBA program and enhance the overall business school experience.

The campaign for funding began April 25, with students, faculty, alumni, staff and friends of the school all participating in a day-long event consisting of case discussions and student/alumni panels on key business issues.

The drive is part of a larger campaign to raise US$6.5 billion, launched in September 2013, for which US$600 million has already been raised.

Other big name business schools are also currently engaging in large-scale fundraising projects. Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Columbia Business School and London Business School are seeking US$350 million, US$500 million and US$150 million respectively.

Yet the sheer scale of Harvard Business School’s campaign massively eclipses these smaller examples. The institution already boasts the world’s biggest endowment, with top notch facilities that include an 118,000 square foot sports and fitness center, a number of examples of Georgian revival architecture and, with US$32 million available to almost 2,000 students, and more scholarship money than any other institution.

Increasing access to Harvard Business School MBA program

Living expenses at Harvard are now estimated at approximately US$ 95,000 a year by the school. This doesn’t take into account opportunity costs either, as for the time candidates spend studying an MBA program, they lose their – usually not inconsiderable – salaries. Debt is almost inevitable, which can prove an insurmountable obstacle to some.

By increasing access to its MBA program through financial aid, Harvard Business School aims to address this problem. The money will go into more fellowship funding, which should attract students from diverse backgrounds who otherwise would not be able to attend the institution. “Business leadership matters more than ever…not just in business but in areas such as healthcare, education, government, social enterprise, non-profit organizations and the arts. It all comes back to our being able to fill our classrooms with folks from different backgrounds" says Youngme Moon, Harvard’s senior associate dean and chair of the MBA program.

Notably, Harvard Business School gets most of its revenue from non-degree executive programs and the publishing of journals according to a Bloomberg Businessweek report by Patrick Clark.