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Executive
Education Trends
Mini-EMBA program at ODU
Old Dominion University’s Executive Development
Center is offering a mini-EMBA certificate program designed
to give busy executives a broad understanding of how
business operates. Developed in collaboration with the
Hampton Roads business community, the program covers
a full range of executive-level topics, condensed into
a 14-week time frame with participants meeting on alternating
Fridays (8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) along with three Saturday
sessions. “There are many professionals out there,
like engineers and IT people, who are in the business
world and need a solid business foundation as they rise
up through the organization,” says Sheila Powell,
the center’s executive director. “We went
to the Hampton Roads business community and asked what
kinds of training their executives need, and then developed
this program from their feedback.”
According to Powell, not all executives need an MBA
to advance in their careers. The abbreviated program
covers topics designed to give professionals increased
depth on business issues. Topics include: personal leadership
development, strategic planning, creative thinking,
financial analysis, accounting for decision making,
negotiation and influencing, marketing concepts, managing
technology and e-commerce, communication for leadership,
operations analysis, the globalization of business,
HR system and legal issues and business plan development.
Along with the course work, students learn from each
other and forge business relationships.
Business schools evolve to compete in an Internet
world
`”These are volatile times for management schools.
By and large, it is clear that to be competitive we
need a range of offerings to satisfy business school
students, whether they are undergraduate, graduate or
executive-level,” says Richard J. Klimoski, Dean
of the George Mason University School of Management.
“At George Mason we strive to address the needs
of our traditional students while simultaneously appealing
to a totally new group of potential students.
“We are seeing competition from a host of new,
for-profit entities that offer teaching through distance
learning. From our perspective, we have to develop products
that can compete with these online institutions. Currently,
the School of Management has several offering that include
residency and distance learning (both synchronous and
asynchronous) to fit in with a busy executive’s
lifestyle. We call this a blended learning environment,
where the importance of electronically mediated programs
is recognized. We are also offering more Web courses
that have both a traditional classroom version and Web-based
instruction. Finally, we are looking into Web-cam office
hours for our faculty, so they can expand their interaction
with the students from their home or office.”
“One other effort we are involved in is our Minor
in Business program here at GMU. All students, regardless
of their major, will have to work in a business or work
with business people. With that in mind we created a
minor in Business that prepares students and working
adults for what to expect in the business world. This
can also serve as a good refresher for working adults
who have been out of school for some period of time.”
JMU rolls out Impact3 leadership
program
James Madison University has recently graduated its
first group of faculty in a new program called Impact3,
designed to enhance the leadership skills of JMU department
heads and administrative directors.
The program originated from the vision of JMU President
Linwood H. Rose to
create a training program for faculty and staff that
would enhance the leadership
of academic and administrative staff members, create
a culture of leadership at JMU and prepare staff at
all levels to assume advanced positions on campus.
Participants met for two hours every other Friday morning
for one year to complete the course, which takes an
unusual approach to learning. Program topics include
executive swap, where faculty take turns doing each
other’s jobs; student for a day, in which faculty
members spend a day as a student; and the horse whisperer,
which includes a trip to a horse trainer to learn about
communication and leadership.
The Impact 3 program was developed by Dr. Mark Warner,
senior vice president for student affairs and planning;
Rick Larson, associate vice president of student life;
and Brian Charette, director of human resources. The
name comes from the intended outcome for the program
(to have an impact), and they chose a tree for the logo
because it symbolizes growth and branching out. The
inspiration for the graphic is an existing American
elm that is the oldest tree on the JMU campus.
Businesses demand more from executive education
“Companies are becoming more demanding in their
expectations of continuing education for their executives,”
says Nettie Meluch, associate professor of management
development at the University of Richmond. “They
expect extensive consulting during the development phase
of the courses to ensure that curriculum and case studies
focus on a particular challenge the company actually
faces in the business world. This is in contrast to
the generic programs that colleges and universities
develop and offer on a ‘take it or leave it’
basis.”
According to Meluch, companies also want courses to
be taught in a compressed timeframe so employees are
not off the job for too long. The average length of
a certificate program is only three to five days. And
the expectation is that students will return from training
with skills they can apply immediately, having tackled
real business problems during the training, without
the extensive study of business theories. Finally, more
businesses are demanding on-site training as opposed
to sending their employees to a local campus or conference
center. This allows more executives to be trained at
one time and keeps them in touch with the office during
breaks.
Roanoke College forms alliance to
create unique educational experience
Beginning in the summer of 2004, Roanoke College will
establish a Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurial
Innovation in partnership with The Egg Factory, a developer
of innovations for Fortune 500 companies and private
equity firms. The center will focus on two primary initiatives
for students enrolled in the Roanoke College business
curriculum: an academic concentration in business leadership
and the development of entrepreneurship and innovation
skills through the alliance with The Egg Factory. The
initiative is being supported by a five-year grant of
$651,000 from an anonymous foundation.
“The center will offer cutting-edge programs that
very few private liberal arts colleges make available
to undergraduates,” says Dr. Larry Lynch, chair
of the Department of Business Administration and Economics.
“Roanoke College now has an opportunity to be
a leader in the field of business education by developing
and offering these innovative and highly relevant programs.
The alliance with The Egg Factory prepares Roanoke College
business graduates to deal with the complexities of
leadership in an innovation culture and to develop entrepreneurial
skills through student participation in The Egg Factory’s
intensive summer Innovation Challenge program as well
as individual internships with The Egg Factory during
the academic year.
The Egg Factory LLC is dedicated to the creation and
development of significant consumer and industrial innovations.
The company creates transformational technology and
global innovative solutions and then sells or licenses
them to Fortune 500 companies and private equity firms
for their commercialization. Today, The Egg Factory
has more than two-dozen innovations at various stages
of development.
Trying to find balance in a busy world
“Today’s adult learners are balancing the
demands of a full-time job, family and the need for
higher education,” says Robert S. Silberman, Chairman
and CEO at Strayer Education Inc. “To gain the
required education for professional advancement, many
are turning to online educational offerings such as
Strayer University Online. Whether students are seeking
an MBA or undergraduate degree, online offerings provide
unprecedented access to education that would otherwise
be unattainable.”
Strayer University Online is a fully integrated extension
of the university’s commitment to the success
and advancement of its students and graduates. Strayer
University offers two Internet-based delivery platforms.
The synchronous option allows students to take classes
in real time on a predetermined day and time, while
the asynchronous platform allows students to take classes
on demand at anytime. Strayer University prides itself
on offering flexibility so that students may take classes
online or at a campus based on their unique needs.
Business dean at Shenandoah University
to retire
Stanley E. Harrison, dean of the Harry F. Byrd, Jr.
School of Business at Shenandoah University in Winchester,
is retiring from the position he has held since 1999.
He was a member of the Virginia State Council of Higher
Education and a member of the George Mason University
Board of Visitors. He has also served as chairman and
president of the Potomac Foundation, a non-profit corporation
in Fairfax, Va., dedicated to the advancement of knowledge
in science and technology, education, social development
and national security. Harrison served as president
and CEO of the BDM Corporation, a Northern Virginia
knowledge-based company, until his retirement in the
fall of 1988.
Return to Virginia Business - July 2004
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