By Lindsey Stokes
Staff Writer

Simmons’ women-only Masters Degree Program in business—the only one of its kind in the U.S.— will become a co-ed, online only program beginning spring semester 2016.

In an Aug. 25 meeting, Dean Cathy Minehan told current students and alumnae that as other MBA programs continue to aggressively recruit women, Simmons is unable to compete in Boston as a traditional, brick-and-mortar business school.

“At the graduate level…we can’t seem to get beyond a regional influence,” said President Helen Drinan. “The cold, hard reality is, the further away from Boston you get, it’s ‘Simmons who?”

As an alternative, Simmons has employed tech company 2U which, according to its website, “partners with leading colleges and universities to deliver the world’s best online degree programs so students everywhere can reach their full potential.”

Drinan told the Boston Globe the decision to replace the current program came after a steady decline in enrollment from 2008 to 2015 by 38 percent. “It’s not a good financial model,” said Drinan.

Though current research by U.S. News and World Report suggests that employers perceptions about web-only degrees are rapidly evolving, a CBS News report released in 2009 revealed that only 9 percent of companies actively recruit online-degree holders, while 77 percent pursue traditional MBA grads.

Reaction to the decision, tracked with the Twitter discussion forum #SimmonsMBA was largely negative. Many questioned the worth and weight of their degrees with one user saying, “My Simmons MBA will devalue faster than my student loans accrue #sadfacts.”