Back to School for an MBA Graduate programs are taking on a new look one that includes online courses in leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, law, and other key areas. E xecutive MBA programs, geared for full-time employees who want to add the skills and knowledge that an advanced business degree course can provide, are growing and taking on a new look. Schools are adding electives, altering program design, and offering online courses. Since 2009, the number of business schools that have taken these steps has tripled, according to a recent survey of 314 graduate management programs by the Executive MBA Council, which coordinates partnerships, conferences, research, and outreach activities for its worldwide members in the executive MBA space. If we decide we re not changing curriculum for two years, we re not giving anyone the tools to be successful, says Cheryl Oliver, assistant dean for online and graduate programs at Washington State University College of Business. Oliver reports that 98% of students complete their two-year coursework, thanks in part to enrollment advisers who support them and work to make things happen. Students who enter executive MBA programs these days have, on average, 13.7 years of work experience with 8.5 years in management, stats the EMBA Council says have remained level for five years. The average age of students now hovers around 37. Women enrollees comprise 25% 26% of students in programs in the U.S. and Canada. The average class size is 43 students, and a typical program takes 20 months to complete. Keeping Up To Date To stay current, schools are unveiling courses in leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, and law. Online options emphasize user-friendliness and group interactions. Fewer class meetings accommodate students with busy work schedules. In 2010, schools surveyed by the EMBA Council delivered slightly more than 10% of their course materials electronically. In 2013, the figure had climbed to 38%. To attract students, schools must enrich programs while minding costs. Average tuition has edged past $73,000. Employers with more urgent uses for cash have trimmed subsidies. In the latest EMBA survey, schools report that employers pick up the full cost for one in four students and partial tabs for a third of students. Roughly 41% of students now pay their own way, capping a 10-year upward trend. Because so many students are digging into their own pockets, 53% of executive MBA programs extend financial aid or scholarships and two-thirds offer career services. Alumni networking, once an afterthought for mature students, has become a priority. But do not confuse career guidance with recruitment or placement, says Michael Desiderio, EMBA Council executive director. Students who self-finance their MBA studies don t necessarily switch employers. Instead, says Desiderio, they want advice that will put them in charge of their careers, and coaching that can help them rise in management ranks where they work already. Was it worth the price? Yes, says Dustin McLemore, who credits his success in business
executive education to a two-year online program given by Colorado State University. I doubled my ROI in less than a year. McLemore is now director of quality and compliance for Metro Community Provider Network, a community health center in Colorado. The decline in corporate support compels individuals to ask What kind of return am I personally going to get on this investment? says Larry Murphy, the Carol L. Newcomb- Alutto director of executive education at the Ohio State University s Fisher College of Business. With an eye toward answering the question, the school is adding a new dimension next December to its executive MBA program, joining a growing list of schools that tailor programs to special interests. When it s time for fellow students to choose electives during their 17-month program, a selfselected energy cohort will, for instance, follow a predetermined energy track. Blueprint for Success This new focus might furnish a blueprint for EMBA specializations in health care, agribusiness, innovation, or technology. Specializations such as energy complement the executive MBA program but do not depart from or replace it, says Murphy, a former managing director of custom programs at Harvard Business School. Men and women embark on executive MBA programs these days with a distinct mindset, says Robert Sullivan, board chairman of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), which confers accreditation on business schools around the world. Students go back with a purpose, not just for a credential, says Sullivan, who is also dean at the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego. They know exactly what they are going to do. Stanley Harris, associate dean for graduate and international programs at Auburn University s Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, concurs. Students want to know that they are learning something that broadens and deepens their expertise in areas they know already, Harris says. An executive MBA can secure a seat at the table where top management makes important decisions. Better yet, says Harris, You don t give up a job to get there. Students who enter executive MBA programs these days have nearly 14 years of work experience and 8½ years in management. TO ADVERTISE IN OUR EXECUTIVE EDUCATION SECTIONS, CONTACT PETE FRANCO AT 212.522.4227
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executive education TO ADVERTISE IN OUR EXECUTIVE EDUCATION SECTIONS, CONTACT PETE FRANCO AT 212.522.4227