Launching an Online Business Program at Scale: A Retrospective Case Study of Disruptive Innovation Before the Pandemic

Abstract

How does an online graduate business program become the fastest growing program in a short span of 5 years, in a category that has been showing constant decline in the last decade? This article takes a retrospective look at the journey from conception to launch and early implementation of an innovative online program at a large public university about half a decade before the pandemic. Extant research about online learning focuses on educational strategies, the changing roles of faculty in a new environment, or students’ satisfaction and performance in online learning programs or courses. This article takes a broad-based view to discuss details on the strategy, design, and development of a disruptive online graduate program built for scale. Given the accelerated transition into remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, our journey also has important implications from the forward-looking approach of half a decade ago for how higher education should navigate the digital future.