MBA
The Future of Online MBA: How Digital Learning Rivals Classroom
In the AI era, what skills truly matter for business leaders? Quantic CEO Bill Fisher recently answered this in an interview with Studyportals, sharing his vision for the future of online MBAs. He discusses how Quantic’s AI-first model moves beyond passive lectures to actively prepare graduates for the strategic challenges and opportunities of a world shaped by artificial intelligence.
So how does this vision translate into a practical, effective learning experience for the modern professional? The full interview, republished below, provides the definitive answer.
Bill Fisher has spent more than 30 years at the intersection of education and technology. He co-founded Englishtown.com in the 1990s, grew EF China into one of the largest education providers in Asia, and led the digital learning division of EF Education First. Today, as CEO of Quantic School of Business and Technology, he heads the world’s first US-accredited, mobile-first graduate school.
Studyportals sat down with Fisher to discuss how online MBAs are different from traditional programmes, what makes them engaging, and how students can judge whether an online degree is truly high quality.
- Online MBAs are no longer about long video lectures, they use interactive, game-like lessons that keep you engaged.
- Project-based teamwork and global networking are built into the learning experience, so you gain connections as well as knowledge.
- Studying on mobile makes degrees flexible for busy professionals, without losing academic depth.
- AI is starting to personalise learning, and in the next few years it will transform how online programmes are taught.
- The best way to judge an online degree is to speak directly to alumni and hear their experiences.
Turning lectures into games: the secret to engagement
Studyportals: Why did you choose a career in online education?
Bill Fisher: When I was 19 years old, I took a course called Interactive Educational Software Design and fell in love with the intersection of education and technology. That led me to launch one of the world’s first online schools in the 1990s, Englishtown.com. Since then, I’ve spent three decades in education and technology, and for the last five years, I’ve been focused on higher education at Quantic.
Studyportals: With so much free content online, why should someone pay for a degree?
Bill Fisher: Platforms like YouTube and others are incredible tools, but they work best if you’re a hobbyist and deeply passionate about what you’re watching. An online degree is a bundle of skills. If you plan to study for an MBA, for example, you may love marketing, but you’ll also need accounting and macroeconomics, and those aren’t always subjects you’d choose to study on your own.
The problem with most online education has been that institutions took offline methods – lectures plus textbooks – and simply moved them online. That gave access, but it didn’t address the specifics of digital learning. What works better online is active learning: highly interactive, game-like lessons with constant engagement. We’ve seen through our 17,000 graduates that this approach is more effective than passive video learning.
Studyportals: How do you keep students engaged when they’re learning online?
Bill Fisher: We don’t have lectures. We don’t believe in long-form video or readings. Instead, we’ve gamified lectures and readings, so the average student interacts with our app every eight seconds. It’s like how Duolingo teaches languages — except we’re teaching accounting or finance.
This bite-sized learning is combined with project-based collaboration. Students work with peers around the world to solve problems. The combination of quick, interactive lessons and real teamwork keeps learners engaged, even in subjects they might not naturally enjoy.
“We don’t believe in long-form video or readings. Instead, we’ve gamified lectures and readings, so the average student interacts with our app every eight seconds”
Yes, you can earn an MBA on your phone
Studyportals: Can you really earn an MBA on mobile?
Bill Fisher: Yes. We designed Quantic as a mobile-first app, though about half of our students also use desktop. This means you can study anywhere, even offline, and fit your degree into your life. That’s essential for busy professionals with demanding jobs or families.
At the same time, we maintain academic quality through faculty support, events, and deep human interactions. We just deliver them in a more flexible way.
Studyportals: Online study can feel isolating. How do you build community?
Bill Fisher: Top quality programmes are not isolating at all. Students can always connect with peers worldwide. In our case, a quarter of the curriculum is project-based, so students form teams, often across continents, to work on real challenges. The final capstone is a start-up project, ending with our Quantic Moonshot competition, where teams can win funding. We also host international conferences, the next one in Vancouver, and city meetups. Many students leave with lifelong friends, and some with co-founders for their companies.
“Students can always connect with peers worldwide. In our case, a quarter of the curriculum is project-based, so students form teams, often across continents, to work on real challenges.”
Studyportals: Can you think of an example of a project that only worked because students came together online?
Bill Fisher: Almost all of our Moonshot start-ups began with serendipitous connections. Students were asked to form teams, often with people they didn’t know, sometimes in different countries. Many only met face-to-face for the first time at the Moonshot competition, but by then they had already built a start-up together.
The first winner, for instance, was an EV battery recycling company. The lead presenter worked in strategy at Kia in Germany, while her teammates came from across Europe. Without the online format bringing them together, that start-up would never have existed.
Keeping things simple… takes a lot of effort
Studyportals: Isn’t online learning overwhelming with all the platforms and clicks?
Bill Fisher: Many institutions rely on complex learning management systems, sure. Not our case. We built everything from the ground up, so students see only the next step in their course. Our content is written as narratives (case studies told like stories), which means students move forward linearly. This intentional simplicity helps keep focus, and our graduation rates are at least twice the norm in our sector. Top online schools invest a lot in simplicity.
Studyportals: Do online MBAs help students build skills they wouldn’t on campus?
Bill Fisher: The biggest one is remote collaboration. Today’s workplace is global and distributed, so being able to work effectively with teams across time zones is an advantage. Beyond that, we have the same goal as top schools like Harvard Business School: to make students strong in business fundamentals. I believe online learning will soon surpass traditional lectures, especially as AI makes personalisation possible.
“I believe online learning will soon surpass traditional lectures, especially as AI makes personalisation possible.”
Studyportals: How is AI changing online learning?
Bill Fisher: We’re still at the starting line. Most institutions are cautious. At Quantic, we’ve added AI in a supplemental way. For example, at the end of each lesson, students explain what they’ve learned to an AI tutor. If they can’t, the AI helps them review until they can.
The next five years will be spectacular. We’re developing AI to moderate group discussions, like a Harvard case study class. Imagine running those discussions in any language, 24/7, with AI peers if no humans are available. This kind of personalisation (adapting every course to each student’s strengths and weaknesses) is where online education will leap ahead of campus learning.
How to spot a quality online degree
Studyportals: Before a student applies to your university or to any online university, how could they know that it’s a quality program and it’s not a scam?
Bill Fisher: The best way is to talk to alumni. Use LinkedIn, reach out, and you’ll often get a response. At Quantic, we encourage prospective students to do this because it’s the most transparent way to understand the experience.
Our net promoter score is 60, which is higher than Wharton and Harvard Business School. That doesn’t mean we’re the same as them, but it shows how satisfied our students are. Ultimately, no marketing can replace the insight you’ll get from people who’ve been through the programme.
“The best way to judge a programme is to talk to its alumni.”
Quantic School of Business and Technology is licensed by the District of Columbia Higher Education Licensure Commission in Washington, DC and accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). The DEAC is listed by the United States Department of Education as a recognized accrediting agency and is also recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
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