It is a year of celebration for the Open University Business School, which announced its 20,000th MBA graduate earlier this summer. The school is also marking its 25th anniversary — a quarter of a century pioneering the concept of distance-learning business education and awarding more than 90,000 qualifications along the way.

The business school has certainly made an impact in the MBA world, acknowledges Jeanette Purcell, chief executive of the Association of MBAs. “It is a shining example of achieving credibility for distance learning and flexible learning, proving that high-quality MBA programmes can be delivered by that route,” she says.

Dr Chris Martin, associate director of strategic alliances at Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant, was thrust into the spotlight in June when he was announced as the 20,000th MBA graduate. Martin, who also has a PhD in chemistry, opted for an Open University MBA after moving from a specialist scientific role into a management position.

He says: “Six months into the job I realised that, if I was going to be serious about making the move from science into a business career, I needed more management skills and to be able to demonstrate to others that I could succeed in that role.”

One of the most important features of the learning experience is the teaching philosophy — a blend of theory and practice. Postgraduates are encouraged to apply what they learn to their work.

Distance-learning programmes are not without their critics. Some argue that this method lacks student interaction, an important element of the learning experience on conventional face-to-face MBA courses.

This criticism is rejected by Rob Paton, professor in social enterprise, who has been with the business school since it was founded.

“It is true that people learn as much from their fellow students as they do from their teachers and that is why peer interaction is written into the MBA programme in a big way. There is a lot of online collaboration, for example, which is important because it mimics virtual teamwork in the real world, a skill that people must learn.”

Other programmes that can be done off campus include Henley Business School’s global distance learning MBA. In America the John Sperling School of Business at the University of Phoenix is listed as having an astonishing 40,000 students working towards the qualification by distance learning.

Another bonus of distance learning is the ever-expanding alumni network. Paton says: “We have a vigorous international peer and alumni group, numbering more than 50,000 across 70 countries.”

With postgraduate demand for management qualifications growing, the Open University Business School brand of practical distance learning could be the ideal way to deliver business education to time-pressed executives.

“It was hard work but I really enjoyed my MBA,” Martin says. “It was definitely worth the investment. “If I were 20 I wouldn’t do a PhD again but I would do the MBA.”

High achiever

Christian Thein, an airline pilot, enrolled on a distance-learning MBA through the Open University Business School after being “parachuted” into a middle management job at Luxair.

“I had no knowledge of management. It was learning by doing, which is a very painful process,” says Thein, whose efforts were rewarded when he was named the business school’s MBA Student of the Year 2008.

Thein had been promoted to assistant vice-president of crew training for Luxembourg’s national carrier, while continuing to fly.

He subsequently became an airline captain as well as a ground course instructor but felt he needed the expertise for any future management assignments. The distance-learning MBA fitted in with his job and Open University support was available in Luxembourg.

Thein found the business school’s practical approach particularly useful. “For my strategic level project I did a culture analysis of my company and introduced a set of corporate values. I now know my airline much better.”

He adds: “The MBA changes your thinking; you challenge other people’s assumptions. It teaches you that theory does not provide all the answers.”