Analysis Shows Trends in Executive MBA Programs

Applications to Executive MBA Programs worldwide increased steadily over the last five years, according to an analysis from the Executive MBA Council of its 2009 membership program survey. Data from the survey show these trends:

• In 2009, the average number of applications per program was 92.6, up from 71 in 2005.
• Applicants’ average years of work experience (approximately 13.1) and years of management experience (8.3) have stayed about the same over the past five years.
• Applicants’ average GPA has also held steady (3.18 in 2009; 3.15 in 2005).
• Sixty-eight percent of Executive MBA students received tuition reimbursement from their employer in 2009. Thirty-six percent of students received partial reimbursement, about the same as 2005 (35 percent). Thirty-two percent of students received full tuition reimbursement, down from 2005 (37 percent). Thirty-four percent of students were self-sponsored, up from 30 percent in 2005.

Among other findings, the survey shows that the percentage of female Executive MBA students remained steady at 26 percent. The average student age is 37, relatively stable over the past five years. The number of Executive MBA programs has held steady over the past five years, with the greatest growth taking place outside North America.

The average cost of an Executive MBA program in 2009 was US$63,420, up from US$53,180 in 2005. The average class size in 2009 was 45, up from 42 in 2005. The percentage of programs requiring an international trip was 63 percent, up from 56 percent in 2005. China was the most popular destination, followed by India and Brazil.

Approximately 311 member programs participated in the 2009 survey. Data were collected last summer.

The MBA Makes a Difference for CEOs

In a ranking of the “Best-Performing CEOs in the World,” published in the January-February 2010 edition of the Harvard Business Review, three professors from INSEAD and the University of California-Berkeley found that CEOs who had an MBA ranked, on average, 40 places better than the CEOs without an MBA. “Even in the beleaguered financial sector, the MBAs tended to rank better than the non-MBAs,” report authors Morten T. Hansen, Herminia Ibarra, and Urs Peyer.

Students First?

Are students in business schools students first, or should they be thought of as customers? The New York Times recently sponsored an online debate of that topic featuring two business school deans—Edward A. Snyder from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and David Bejou of the School of Business and Economics at the Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina—along with the president emeritus of a major university and two other experts.