ANNUAL REPORT ON GIVING - Thunderbird Magazine ...

people ages 25 to 29—the age group that historically
pursues an MBA—hit a trough, and the
number of people pursuing an MBA followed
suit. Between 2001 and 2006, the number of
GMAT test takers—the best indicator of demand
for an MBA degree—declined by more
than 20 percent, with those showing interest in
a full-time program dropping off 27 percent,
according to the Graduate Management Admissions
Council, which administers the
GMAT.
“Thunderbird wasn’t the only business
school impacted at the time,” says Dan
LeClair, vice president and chief knowledge
officer for the Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business (AACSB), which
accredits schools. “There were a lot of factors
going on out there.”
Even though demand was dropping in the
United States, business schools began popping
up around the world like mushrooms after a
rainstorm, spurred on by the demand globalization
created for business managers. Between
2000 and 2007, the number of business
schools accredited by the AACSB increased
by nearly 50 percent, from 374 to more than 551.
China, which began the 1990s with no accredited
business schools, now has approximately
100, LeClair says.
“The number of schools out there has increased
substantially over the past decade and
half,” LeClair says. “And those in other countries
are more competitive than ever. Students
in Asia and Europe have good choices now in
their home countries.”
Prospective students in China and India—
countries Thunderbird has long attracted stu-
MBA seismic shift
Interest in full-time MBA programs is waning
140,372
62,864
dents from—now have the choice of staying
home and getting a decent MBA education.
Globalization’s rapid advance also prompted
just about every existing business school to
incorporate international business into their
core curriculums, infringing on Thunderbird’s
academic niche of international management.
To make matters worse
ON TOP OF a softening MBA
market came two events that
would impact Thunderbird
more than most other business
programs.
When that fateful day came in September
2001, nearly three-quarters of Thunderbird’s
full-time students were non-U.S. citizens. In
the aftermath of 9/11, the United States government’s
tightened security made it increasingly
difficult for potential students outside
the country to obtain student visas, and nearly
impossible for them to get a work visa following
graduation. The result: The flow of potential
students from abroad slowed to a trickle.
By fall 2002, foreign-born students made up
less than half the students in the full-time program.
“As it became more difficult for students to
study in the United States, they sought other
alternatives,” LeClair says.
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) epidemic that hit China and Taiwan
in late 2002 also impacted Thunderbird. Out of
fear of propelling the spread of the deadly disease,
which infected more than 5,000 in China,
Full-time
Part-time
107,986
48,304
1,989
Exec. MBA 9,640
17,282
Undecided
14,214
2001-02 2002-03 2003–04 2004-05 2005-06
Source: GMAC, estimated
unique degree-seeking test
takers in the United States.
thunderbird annual report on giving 7