Candidates that undertake an EMBA usually work full-time and are in their 30s already. Time to study for an exam is limited and to turn an entrance exam into one of the necessities for taking up expensive EMBA courses, is hurtful for the industry, according to the dean of Fudan University’s School of Management. Xiongwen Lu told the Financial Times (FT) that the number of people able to study for an EMBA across China has dropped to 2,500, down from 10,000 last year, since the new rules have been established.

Xiongwen Lu was quite outspoken towards the FT saying that the exam setting was “unreasonable and irrational”. “Students [of the EMBA] don’t have time to prepare,” Prof Lu told the newspaper. “It is harmful for high-end business education and it hurts the talent development for business and the economy.”

Fudan ignored the new rules in the past year and took students in that had not passed the test. That way the school increased its EMBA intake in 2017 from 460 to 600. Other schools that did not have the same significance and long-standing reputation would not be so brave, however, Prof Lu told the FT resulting in them suffering from the new regulations.

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