What should you be able to do after earning an MBA that you couldn't do before?
To Dr. Dana Hart, that question is much more useful than simply asking if an MBA still matters. As Senior Assistant Dean and Director of Operations for the E. J. Ourso College of Business, as well as Director of the Flores MBA program, he prefers to focus on real capability.
Dr. Hart has been at LSU for 18 years. He started his career in financial services before working in admissions and enrollment at Harvard Business School and later at MIT Sloan, where he supported MBA students and worked with companies around career development, recruiting, and corporate engagement.
Today, he leads the Flores MBA program and remains closely connected to its students. That experience informs how he thinks about the purpose of an MBA, particularly as technology changes the work people do and the way organizations operate.
An MBA Can Support What Comes Next
Professionals contemplating a graduate business education often consider the return on investment as a factor in their decision. He’s often faced with the question “Is an MBA still worth it?”
“This is always an interesting narrative and critique of business schools and higher education more generally,” Dr. Hart said. “There have been countless articles for many years now about the decline of the MBA and the degree's value.”
Compensation is part of the calculation, but the value of an MBA can extend to other aspects of a career.
“I think the first thing to recognize is that the ROI of an MBA extends far beyond the salary gains someone might see immediately after graduation,” he advised. “Certainly, compensation matters, but I would also look at career mobility, the ability to pivot into new industries or functions, the professional network you build, and the broader business and leadership capabilities you develop.”
The MBA also gives students an opportunity to build breadth across business disciplines and depth in areas that align with their career goals. As professionals advance, Hart said, skills such as judgment, communication, leadership, and the ability to work across functions become increasingly important.
“So, when someone asks me whether an MBA is still worth it, I think the better question is: What do you want the MBA to enable you to do?”
For some professionals, that could mean moving into a different industry or function. For others, it could mean preparing for a different stage of their career.
If the program helps you create opportunities that would otherwise be difficult to access, then the return can extend well beyond your first job after graduation. You’re really investing in the longer trajectory of your career.
Human Skills Can Create a Competitive Edge
The question of what an MBA should prepare someone to do has new relevance as artificial intelligence takes on more business tasks.
“As AI plays a greater role in nearly every aspect of our lives, I think it becomes even more important to focus on the human side of work: the relationships we build, the connections we make, and our ability to collaborate with others,” Hart noted.
Though AI is becoming better at producing, analyzing, organizing, and synthesizing information, Hart believes people will continue to play a central role in deciding how that information should be used.
“Our human contributions will center on deciding what matters, what should be done, how people should be treated, and how decisions should be made within a particular context.”
Creativity, judgment, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and ethical awareness remain important alongside business fundamentals. “Organizations that invest in human skills will maintain a competitive edge because human abilities will undeniably endure,” Hart said.
Collaboration and teamwork are also part of that preparation, and Hart sees the MBA classroom as an important place for students to develop those skills.
Classroom Benefits Extend Beyond the Coursework
“Our students come from different industries, organizations, career stages, and backgrounds, and they all bring something different to the virtual classroom,” Hart said. He sees that unfold firsthand in Leadership Essentials, a course he teaches.
“For example, someone coming from healthcare may look at a business problem or leadership dynamic very differently from someone in finance, technology, manufacturing, or the military,” Hart said. “Those different perspectives challenge you to question your assumptions and see problems in ways you may not have considered.”
“You’re certainly learning from the faculty and our broad-based business fundamentals, but you’re also learning from the people around you.”
Hart said students also learn how to work with people who think differently, build greater empathy and perspective, and develop a professional network that can continue beyond the MBA.
For many online students, the learning experience happens alongside other responsibilities. This can be a surprising benefit.
“An MBA requires real commitments of time, energy, and financial resources, and our online students are balancing that with careers, families, and everything else happening in their lives,” Hart said. “They’re still challenged academically, learning from faculty, engaging with classmates from different industries and backgrounds, and applying what they learn directly to their work in real time.”
Our online students can learn something in class and apply it in a meeting or business decision the next day... So, for us, flexibility and rigor really aren’t competing priorities. I believe flexibility makes the MBA accessible, and rigor is what makes it valuable.
One misconception Hart sees about online MBA programs is that the experience begins and ends with completing the courses.
“I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that earning an MBA online is simply about taking a series of courses, learning the content asynchronously, and ultimately earning the degree,” he said. “It really should be much bigger than that.”
Students still need to dig deeply into finance, accounting, marketing, strategy, and other business fundamentals. But Hart wants them to consider how those disciplines change the way they see their organizations and the problems they encounter.
“I always encourage our students to ask themselves: What problems can I now solve that I couldn't solve before? How am I thinking differently? How can I bring a broader perspective to my organization, make better decisions, or add value to the people around me?”
Hart also thinks students get the most from an online MBA when they engage beyond the coursework, build relationships with faculty and peers, and consider perspectives outside their own experience.
Leadership Still Starts with People
Remote and hybrid work, multigenerational teams, and new technology have changed the environment in which leaders work. Still, Dr. Hart believes what makes an effective leader hasn’t changed at all.
“I don’t know if the fundamentals of effective leadership have really changed,” he said. “I think the environment in which we lead has changed considerably, but the practice and human connection remain the same.”
Whether a team works across the hall or across the country, Hart said leadership remains about connecting with people, building trust, listening, and empowering them to contribute.
“What has changed is that leaders have to be much more intentional about how they create those connections,” he said.
Remote and hybrid work can remove some of the informal interactions that happen naturally when colleagues share a physical workspace. Leaders also have to recognize that people from different generations and with different work and communication habits may need different things from their leaders.
So, I think empathy, listening, adaptability, and emotional intelligence become even more important. Technology gives us so many important tools to communicate and collaborate, but it doesn’t replace the human side of leadership.
Ultimately, people still want to feel valued, trusted, connected to their work, and empowered to contribute.
And that same willingness to listen and learn also matters for professionals building their own careers.
“I think one of the most important things people should be thinking about is their willingness to get outside of their comfort zone and continually learn,” Hart said. “Careers are changing so quickly that you have to be comfortable admitting that you don't always have the answer and be willing to learn from people who have different experiences and perspectives than you do.”
Dr. Hart believes this means finding mentors, collaborating with people outside an immediate circle, asking questions, and listening closely to what others have learned.
“We sometimes reduce all of that to ‘networking,’ but I think it’s much bigger than that. It’s about curiosity, communication, confidence, and being willing to make yourself a little uncomfortable in order to grow.”
What Should You Be Able to Do After the MBA?
Hart's answer to that question comes back to what he hopes students carry with them long after they finish the program.
“Years after they graduate, I hope our students can look back and say the online Flores MBA changed the way they think, the way they lead, and the way they contribute to the organizations and communities around them,” he said. “I want them to be able to walk into a complex situation, ask good questions, bring different perspectives together, exercise judgment, and help solve problems that matter.”
He also hopes graduates stay curious. “The world is going to keep changing, and none of us will always have the answer,” Hart said. “Being willing to listen, learn from others, adapt, build relationships, and empower people around you will continue to matter.”
For Hart, that is what an MBA should ultimately prepare someone to do: approach unfamiliar problems with better questions, make thoughtful decisions, work effectively with others, and continue learning as the work changes.
The online Flores MBA from LSU gives working professionals a flexible path to a rigorous business education that helps them build these skills. The program covers core business disciplines and offers customizable coursework, allowing students to align their education with their career goals.
Hart also sees the LSU connection as part of what students carry with them after graduating.
“People are proud of LSU, they stay connected, and they genuinely want to help other Tigers succeed,” he said. “For our students, that creates a network that extends well beyond the classroom. It can open doors professionally, certainly, but it also gives them access to people who are willing to share their experience, offer guidance, and invest in their success.”
“I believe that sense of connection is one of the things that has kept me at LSU, and I think it’s one of the great advantages of being part of this university.”
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