Getting value from executive MBA programs: select candidates and programs wisely for the best return on investment

HR Magazine, July, 2004 by Kathryn Tyler

"I would look at the course content and the method of delivery" to determine the value of the program, he says.

The Retention Challenge

Many EMBA students receive their degrees--often at the company's expense--and move on to new positions at other companies. If you don't plan to increase advancement opportunities for your EMBA graduates, you will lose them.

"You've created a person who is more salable and knows it," says Conway. "Now they know a lot of people in different industries. It's easier for them to find new jobs."

Says George Bobinski, associate dean at the School of Management at Binghamton University in Binghamton, N.Y.: "Don't wait until graduation weekend to think about how you plan to increase this person's responsibility."

It's important that you "keep an open line of communication," Oslund says. "Be clear about the expectations. Do long-term career planning together."

Molony advises employers to keep up with what the student is doing. For example, Wharton has Sponsors Day Open House. "It's like a PTA meeting. We discuss the challenges of managing an employee in this type of program, and retention strategies."

Attaching strings to the funding you provide can also boost retention. Kalnitz's recommendation: "Instead of giving them the money to go to school, lend them the money and forgive one-third of the loan [each year] for three years. If you lend them $60,000 and they stay with you one year after graduation, then they owe $40,000. If they stay for three years, the entire loan is forgiven. It minimizes losses."

Such arrangements have become commonplace. "It's quite reasonable, and I encourage companies to do this," Armstrong says.

Kalnitz says, "Companies that plan for what to do with the students when they come out of the program are the ones [that] retain their employees."

Online Resources

For more information about executive MBA programs, and employee training and development, see the online version of this article at www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/04July. There you'll find links to:

* The Executive MBA Council web site.

* Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) white papers on career development.

* SHRM's Career Development Program and Training and Development toolkits.

KATHRYN TYLER, M.A., IS A FREELANCE WRITER AND FORMER HR GENERALIST AND TRAINER IN WIXOM, MICH.