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Sabrina White
Vice-President, Market Development
Americas & Europe
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Colleagues—
Happy New Year!
I hope your holiday break was restful and that you are full of energy for the year ahead! Although 2017 came with its hurdles and potholes, I hope there were enough wins (great applicants, innovative programs, impactful alumni, etc.) to remind you of the impact you have at your school, on your campus and in the industry.
Thanks to a number of you, we had a few wins in Q4: Master's Symposium, Masters Research, EA session and URM event–MBAs of Impact.
Masters Symposium
In continuing our efforts to better understand and support the Masters segment of GME, GMAC held its first symposium for pre-experienced/specialized Master's programs. Twenty-five senior leaders responsible for a portfolio of master's programs from schools across Europe, North America and Asia gathered at IE Business School on November 15 – 16 to discuss the opportunities, challenges and ways GMAC can best support this growing segment of graduate management education. (As this was a working symposium, we capped attendance.)
Through a carefully crafted agenda, we managed to tease out the strengths and opportunities within this segment, discussed what makes undergraduates tick, explored the pains of growing a portfolio and examined the challenges faced when marketing that portfolio to candidates and employers.
Matt Hazenbush (our Research Communications guru) presented GMAC's latest whitepaper on the MiM (Understanding the Role of the Master in Management in Global Business Education) and the event culminated with a workshop designed to "carve out the space" or identify the research, evaluation/assessment, community (professional development, conferences, etc.) and candidate needs of the segment.
We left with a laundry list of things to do, with the top priority being hiring a Master's Program Director at GMAC to craft the way forward. Stay tuned!
Masters Research
GMAC's most recent whitepaper Understanding the Role of the Master in Management in Global Business Education examines one of the fastest growing management degree, shares insights on key questions related to MiM programs and makes recommendations to help business school leaders best position their program and plan for a sustainable future.
The content of the paper is relevant across function in the business school. Download it when you have the opportunity.
EA
In October, GMAC attended the EMBA Council's Annual Conference in Seattle. This is not a new event for us, as we are long-time partners of the EMBA Council. This year however we partnered with Columbia and LBS to deliver a session on GMAC's newest assessment: EA.
GMAC designed EA (the Executive Assessment) in response to the needs highlighted by our schools in the EMBA space.
Columbia and LBS were two of the schools to pilot EA with their EMBA programs. As of December, approximately 20 schools are EA accepting.
If you'd like to learn more about the assessment, please reach out to your GMAC representative.
MBAs of Impact
In December, we hosted an MBAs of Impact Google Hangout for under-represented minorities interested in graduate management education. More than 250 URMs participated in this event designed to showcase successful alumni of color who are making an impact in their professional and social communities. (Alums participating in this hangout were from UVA, U of Maryland, ASU-Thunderbird and Duke.) The series also showcases the diverse motivations for pursuing and expected outcomes of earning an MBA. A special "thank you" to those of you who promoted the event to your candidates!
I will wrap up this note, but invite you to connect with me and/or any member of the team if you have questions or wish to share your thoughts, ideas or pain points.
We hope to see you this Spring.
Best,
Sabrina
Americas Market Development Team