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Duke University
#1: Fuqua School of Business
Fuqua is located in Durham, NC. In 2008, Fuqua announced plans to go global as plans come to fruition in redesigns of its cross continent MBA and executive education programs.
Northwestern University (Kellogg)
#2: Kellogg School of Management
Kellogg offers executive education courses classes take place at the James L. Allen Center, a state-of-the-art lakefront facility in Chicago. It recently opened the Miami campus next to the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables as a gateway to better connect with South American business leaders.
Harvard University
#3: Harvard Business School
Located in downtown Boston and next to the beautiful Charles river, HBS is the leading business institution for producing future CEOs. Its Executive Education program continues to prepare executives from all over the world for new levels of leadership in their careers and within their organizations.
Babson College
#4: Babson College
Located in the suburbs of Boston, Babson has been ranked number 1 for its entrepreneurship programs for 16 consecutive years. Babson's distinct faculty teaches the spirit and practice of entrepreneurship like no other.
University of Chicago (Booth)
#5: Booth School of Business
Located in the heart of Chicago next to the Chicago River, the Booth School of Business was one of the first schools to offer the Executive MBA program and a PhD program in business.
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
#6: Wharton at UPenn
Located at The Aresty Institute of Executive Education in Pennsylvania, Wharton's executive education programs further expand upon the school's core of strategic management, leadership and focus on finance.
Thunderbird School of Global Management
#7: Thunderbird School of Global Management
Located in temperate Glendale, Arizona is the Thunderbird campus. The school and its executive education program is best known for its thought leadership on global business issues and worldview of businesses in different countries.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
#8: Wisconsin School of Business
Located in the City of Madison between Lakes Mendota and Monona, the campus is one of the most beautiful in the country. The executive education program is well known for its value for money, strong clientele retention and excellent food and accommodations.
Which executive education program is right for me?
Choosing the right executive education program can be a difficult task. We have put together this website with the intention of making this task a little easier. In putting together all of the schools, we came across the following attributes that can affect the quality of your education and your decision criteria for the right program.
A. Who are you? / Audience Profile
Mid level business manager
The middle level manager has been in industry for at least 5 years. He/she is someone who is looking for the knowledge to reach that next level in their careers, as well as develop new patterns of thinking in strategy and management, or in a particular industry and field. A renewed focus on strategy and leadership may be topics of choice for this person, or perhaps a deeper specialization within an industry, such as advance public policy, or advanced finance courses for management.
Senior business manager/ Senior Executive
The senior executive is often at the VP level and has many years of experience under his/her belt. The person is likely looking for a more general subject matter, such as strategic courses like marketplace analysis, mergers and acquisitions or change management. Sometimes, the senior executive is the one choosing the program for his team, rather than attending it himself.
Up and coming Executive
The relatively young executive, who has great potential and is chosen to participate in a company specific executive education off site.
B. Factors that affect the quality of education
Rankings
Many publications detail worldwide school rankings for MBA, eMBA and executive education programs. More information can be found on the ranking section of this website.
Where is it?
Location can be very important for corporate clients. Is it close by? Is it in my city? What is the climate like? How close or far is it away from a major urban area, where business can be conducted? Choosing the country and city of the school can be very important decision criteria.
Professors and Faculty
Do we have colleagues that have associations to this school? What is the faculty for this school known for? Have they written any thought leading publications, books or research papers? How can the professors at this university help our company get to that next level? These are the questions an executive is thinking before sending the team to one of these programs.
Time
How much time is spent on this program? Will a 3 day session be enough, or is it a corporate retreat of 2 weeks to generate a new product innovation roadmap?
Cost
How much is the cost per person? Is there a membership program or continued business? Is the company paying, or am I paying for this?
Amenities
How nice is the campus executive education center? Will we be able to conduct business there (Internet access, meeting rooms). Is the food good? How many executives can the center hold at any given time?
C. Channels / How the program is delivered
Campus setting
Where is the executive education center located on the larger campus or university? What type of temperature, gardening and atmosphere is it? (Urban, suburban, countryside, seaside)
Online
Are there online/in person programs available? For example, can students come on campus for 1 week, go back and continue online courses for 90 days, and reconvene on campus after 3 months to check their progress in what they have learned in the first week?
How good is the material of the online programs and courses and are they efficient and effective as a delivery mechanism in the website’s setup and feedback process?
1on1s / Individual vs. Organization
Are you attending this as a individual executive looking for additional coaching from professors or faculty members?
Or is this an evaluation by the CEO / HR VP to assess the right executive education program for a division of his team? (I.e. marketing managers / product innovation engineers retreat)
On-site coaching
Schools have also been offering on site coaching, especially in the recent economic downturn. Faculty and staff have presented classes and delivered in the client’s meeting rooms, for the convenience of the client.
D. Network
Alumni
Who are the notable alumni for this executive education program and what are they dong now? Can I develop a network with them and have ongoing relationships?
Certificates
Does the school offer certificates of completion, which will help with my resume, or credits that go towards an eMBA?
E. Program Type
Open Enrollment
An open program curriculum includes an array of pre-arranged classes to be taught in a specific business functions and industries.
Professors and staff that deliver open programs have a stronger consistency in delivering a solid curriculum that they know that works. (As open programs are maintained with a similar course structure) Over time, a university’s offered open programs are usually the best taught due to constant demand over its popularity.
Custom Programs
Based on market conditions and business needs, sometimes client require custom tailored programs. These are often pre-planned, pre-negotiated and extremely tailored company-specific seminars. These classes are crafted by well known professors (often specializing in that function or industry) working with the senior management team of the particular client.
While custom programs are very specific to a company’s needs, it can be experimental and innovative, and may be less structured and more fluid than open programs. Custom programs are usually very good when very specific functional or industry knowledge is required for the development of an executive group.