Executive MBA Council Announces Program Survey Results

The Executive MBA Council, with whom GMAC has a strategic alliance, has announced results of its 2007 Membership Program Survey and Student Exit Benchmarking Survey, which explore the perceptions and opinions of executive MBA program graduates.

Executive MBA Council member programs reported that the average number of applicants per program in 2007 was up 25 percent from 2005, but that program and class sizes are down slightly. The acceptance rate in 2007 was 63 percent compared to 67 percent in 2005. Due to the increase in applicants, 57 percent of the surveyed programs are considering increasing capacity or opening programs in new locations. Thirty-six percent of Executive MBA member programs are implementing special outreach efforts; of those efforts, 59 percent target women. (Twenty-seven percent of Executive MBA students in 2007 were female.) Other top niche markets are ethnic minority, entrepreneur, nonprofit, and public sector audiences. The average total program costs for all Executive MBA Council member programs worldwide rose slightly from $54,295 in 2005 to $57,954 in 2007.

Executive MBA students participating in the Student Exit Benchmarking Survey reported that it took 23 months for their organization to gain the return on its investment, down from 28 months in 2006. It also took less time for students who funded their own education to enjoy a return on their investment: 45 months in 2007, compared to 52 months in 2006. Students reported a 21 percent salary increase as a result of their program participation; students’ salaries rose from $107,097 when they entered the program to $130,056 when they completed the program. Thirty-seven percent of students exiting an Executive MBA Council member program expected a promotion; 43 percent actually were promoted.

Columbia Announces Curriculum Reform

Columbia Business School has announced that it will launch a new, more customizable core curriculum this fall. The revised core will allow students to tailor their education to personal interests as they study business basics. Students will be required to complete courses in such foundational areas as finance, accounting, economics, strategy, and leadership. In addition, they will have several options for focusing further study in each of three designated areas—organizations, performance, and markets. Several foundational courses have been condensed into half a semester to make room for the flexible courses and an additional elective in the first year.

Helping Family Businesses

To meet the demands of the growing number of family-owned businesses in its region of south central Connecticut, the School of Business at Quinnipiac University has started a Family Business Center. The center will sponsor educational programs where owners and employees of family-owned, emerging, and entrepreneurial businesses can learn best practices, exchange ideas, and network. “Family and small businesses make up the bulk of the economic activity in our state and region," said Mark Thompson, dean of the business school. "Our hope is that by helping the area’s small businesses we will in turn have a positive impact on the overall economic health of the region.”

Wake Forest Students Serve Nicaraguan Businesses

Mid-December found a team of students and faculty members from the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University volunteering to make a difference in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. The group was part of school’s ongoing Nicaragua Project, designed to help improve the impoverished area’s stagnant economy. One group of students hosted a two-day business seminar for owners and would-be owners of small- to medium-sized businesses. Another group consulted with students in a blacksmithing vocational school who hope to have their own businesses one day. Babcock students started the Nicaragua Project in 2006; the December outreach was the project’s third trip to the country.