MBA Evidence-Based Innovation

Promoting your MBA Rankings: Lessons from the Red Carpet

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:34:00 GMT

There’s plenty of speculation leading up to the Academy Awards. Will the first silent film in 85 years win Best Picture? Will the most photographed actor in the world take home the most recognized trophy in the world? Will the most nominated actress win her first Academy Award since 1982?

All this anticipation and nail-biting is just like a scene from the higher education equivalent of awards season. Each time a media ranking is published MBA admissions officers take a deep breath and click on that “virtual envelope” in their inbox.

Here are some tips on promoting your media rankings, no matter what the result, that come straight from the red carpet in Hollywood.

1. You won Best Foreign Film!!!

You don’t have to win Best Picture to promote excellence. Cinematography and original screenplay also play an important role in creating a star. Be sure to analyze all of your MBA rankings results and define the categories in which you excelled. Maybe you have a leading role in your percentage of female or international students. Consider your position on the national or global stage from a regional perspective as well. Create your own headlines.

2. Display your Million Dollar Baby

Gwyneth Paltrow reportedly keeps her trophy in storage. Jack Nicholson is rumored to use one of his three Oscars as a hat stand. Don’t hide your rankings results. Channel Morgan Freeman who proudly displays his statue in a trophy cabinet. Showcase your results in prominent places throughout your business school. Create colorful and eye catching banners that display all of the years of your rankings results in your lobby. Display the results at information sessions, on your website, in advertisements, brochures, and your email signature – anywhere prospective MBA students will see it.

3. Create a Hollywood Walk of Fame

Notice how movies always emphasize Oscar winning actors in their trailers no matter how long ago they received the award. Be sure to promote all of your rankings results over the years in your communications including your website, brochures, and information sessions. Consider building a “wall of fame” that displays all the years of MBA rankings results in a high traffic area. Collectively, it sends a powerful message about the reputation of the brand to MBA prospects and visitors who will spread the word.

4. “You like me, you really like me!”

Acceptance speeches are one of the highlights of awards shows and there have been some truly memorable ones over the years. Who can forget Sally Field’s heartfelt speech for her award-winning performance in Places in the Heart? Think about your message as you step on the virtual stage to accept your award. Create a memorable marketing collateral announcing your MBA ranking result to generate applications to your programs. Include congratulatory quotes from the CEOs of well-known companies in your business community. Also, some of the most meaningful speeches are from actors who pay tribute to veteran nominees in their category. In your rankings communications, be sure to mention elite business schools also included in the ranking to highlight the prestigious company that your MBA program keeps.

5. What do Julia Child, Karen Blixen, and Miranda Priestly have in common?

Although Meryl Streep has only taken home the Oscar twice, she has been nominated for Best Actress 17 times. How do you increase your chances for a "nomination" in future MBA rankings or boost your rankings position? Like the Academy Awards, media rankings will be back next year. Establish a media rankings strategy committee to evaluate all the rankings your business school is participating in and identify the best ones to pursue. Think about a mid-term or exit survey of your students to drive continuous improvement. Develop strategies to encourage student and alumni participation in surveys to meet the response threshold for MBA rankings eligibility.

Barbara Coward, author of this article, is a marketing communications consultant at Percept Research. Barbara welcomes your questions and comments

Increase MBA Applications in 2012: Lessons from the Campaign Trail

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:15:00 GMT

The presidential election season is in full swing as contenders travel throughout the country delivering stump speeches and courting voters in anticipation of the general election in November.

Meanwhile, business schools are embarking on a lengthy campaign of their own. With an eye on enrollment goals, directors and deans are also looking to the fall when they will welcome a new cohort of students to campus.

But MBA recruitment can be even more challenging than running for office since “election day” (or the first day of classes) occurs not every four years but annually – and more frequently for multiple or part-time programs.

Here are five lessons from the presidential campaign trail to increase MBA applications.

1. It’s a long road to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Some of the most successful presidential candidates start planning their campaigns well before election year. Likewise, many MBA hopefuls start mulling the idea of graduate school years before they actually apply.

I know of several EMBA students who started researching business schools ten years before they filled out an application. As part of your marketing strategy, collect data on your prospects and cultivate them with tailored marketing communications throughout long lead times.

For this year, identify and re-ignite interest with prospects going back as far as possible. Also, reach out to applicants who deferred their acceptance in prior years. Even one or two re-activated applications can move you closer to enrollment objectives.

2. Field of dreams

The corn is high and the candidates are plenty at the time of the Iowa straw poll – but then it quickly starts to winnow down as caucus and primary season gets underway.

Many business schools are justifiably proud of their achievements and accolades but it’s important to remember you are not their only choice.

MBA prospects are also going through a winnowing down process – especially as visitors to information sessions shopping different programs. How well are you marketing your MBA program in your information sessions? Are you optimizing your student and alumni testimonials to demonstrate the MBA return on investment? Think about the best way to reach out in your pre-session communications to increase attendance and provide a compelling experience during their visit so they elect your school.

3. What’s your Stump Speech?

Presidential candidates have a carefully scripted message they articulate to constituents to differentiate themselves in a crowded field. Perhaps it’s a catchy phrase like 9-9-9. Make sure that the content on your website and your marketing communications resonates with your prospective students so that they remember you. What is your unique value proposition? How do you stand out? How will your program provide them with a better future?

4. Shaking Hands and Kissing Babies

Retail politics is an old-fashioned yet tried and true strategy to elected office. Candidates go door-to-door in an effort to get to know voters on an individual basis. It can bring impressive results – especially if a lesser-known candidate doesn’t have the organization or big money of some of the frontrunners. (Think Rick Santorum visiting all 99 counties in the Iowa).

How well are you connecting with your prospective students? Do you know their goals, their concerns? How will your program help them achieve their dreams?

Also, presidential candidates spend countless hours in planes and campaign buses to cultivate voters all across the country. Think about taking your message on the road and hosting information sessions at some of your top feeder employers.

5. Who will endorse you?

Presidential candidates pick up influential endorsements from respected leaders to enhance their appeal and credibility with the electorate.

Who is advocating on your behalf? Make sure you have compelling testimonials from high profile alumni and corporate leaders who discuss the mba return on investment and make the argument for your business school. Include their testimonials on your website, in your brochures, in your advertising.

Increase your applicant pool and diversity by featuring testimonials from students or alums of under-represented groups.

Barbara Coward, author of this article, is a marketing communications consultant at Percept Research. Barbara welcomes your questions and comments.

MBA Lifecycle Decision Support: Dean’s Dashboard

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:40:00 GMT

Percept Research is offering a new tool for business schools that utilize the MBA Lifecycle Survey Suite -- a Dean's Dashboard that organizes information relevant to student loyalty and tracks key performance indicators throughout the MBA Lifecycle.

This tool is designed for the school leadership to monitor strategic plan progress for the school, saving time and making better decisions. The dashboard framework encourages effective collaboration across and within academic and administrative teams.

This executive-level summary consolidates the in-depth Competitive Intelligence Reports and Executive Summaries into at-a-glance key performance indicators (KPI), a series of assessment measures for all of the participating programs within the school. Beyond the visual summary of the key indicators, the Dean's Dashboard also includes analyst commentary indicating points of action based on internal trending as well as external and internal benchmarking.

The Dean's Dashboard is customized for your school to provide:

Metrics of greatest brand and delivery impact (we will work with your team to isolate measures targeted by the school along with our data-based recommendations)
Intra-school comparisons of full-time, part-time, and executive programs in a single display view
Three-year internal trends from each MBA Lifecycle survey (Entry, Midterm, Exit)
External benchmarks to industry from each MBA Lifecycle survey (Entry, Midterm, Exit, Alumni)
External benchmarks to self-selected peers from each MBA Lifecycle survey (Entry, Midterm, Exit, Alumni)
Summary of findings relevant to each comparative display

Dean’s Dashboard Excerpt: Exit KPI Comparison of Two Programs

This evidence-based management tool empowers the school leadership to improve the delivery of the MBA programs. In addition to providing great convenience for deans and MBA administrators, these dashboards will increase the transparency and visibility of the decisions on marketing and operational delivery of the MBA program.

The development of the Dean's Dashboard is customized to the school and cost is based on the number of programs and number of MBA Lifecycle survey assessments being compared. Click here to download a copy of the fictional Dean's Dashboard and request a free initial consultation.

By-line:

Brian Mahoney, author for this article, is a marketing research consultant and Managing Partner of Percept Research. Brian welcomes your questions and comments.

MBA Lifecycle Key Driver Analysis Format Enhanced

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:30:00 GMT

Percept Research is pleased to introduce an updated format for the Key Driver Analysis (KDA) offering. The Key Driver Analysis is a statistical analysis package available for all of the MBA Lifecycle surveys.

KDA is a powerful tool for business school administrators to identify factors that have the greatest impact on student loyalty and determine where to focus limited resources on the issues which are both important and performing relatively poorly.

More information about the KDA and how to utilize the tool for action planning is detailed in this blog article, Leveraging Limited Resources for Biggest Impact.

Change #1: From Correlation to Regression Analysis

The KDA is graphically represented by importance-performance maps for each dimension within the survey (e.g., Faculty, Curriculum, Course Areas, etc.). Previously, derived importance was based on correlation to the Percept Research Student Loyalty Index.

New this year, the importance of each attribute will be derived from regression analysis based on an anchor question for each dimension instead of correlation to the Student Loyalty Index. For example, by selecting the question ‘overall satisfaction with faculty' as the dependent variable, we are able to determine the impact each of the faculty variables has on this overall satisfaction measure. This will allow for program managers to determine key areas of focus within each dimension.

The KDA will also provide a roll-up quadrant analysis to highlight the most impactful variables across all dimensions. This approach allows for the proper allocation of resources and priorities for your individual program based on overall impact to student loyalty.

Below is an example of an importance-performance map for Teaching Methods:

Teaching Methods Importance-Performance Map

Change #2: Key Driver Summary Tables

The new format of the KDA will also include key driver summary tables to supplement the importance-performance maps. These tables allow at-a-glance review of overall dimension strengths and weaknesses. The tables provide a list of the dimension attributes, sorted by priority for easy identification and then an aggregate snapshot of the information for comparative purposes across the dimensions.

KDA Summary Tables

These new enhancements to the Key Driver Analysis are designed to arm MBA program administrators with the data needed to drive change and raise program performance.

The Key Driver Analysis mapping will be integrated into the Competitive Intelligence Report for the 2011-2012 academic year so more business school can take advantage of this advanced analytical tool for data-driven decision making.

By-line:

Brian Mahoney, author for this article, is a marketing research consultant and Managing Partner of Percept Research. Brian welcomes your questions and comments.

MBA Student Exit Survey Fielding Year Adjusted

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:30:00 GMT

In response to requests from programs that graduate students during the summer months, Percept Research agreed to extend the fielding period for the 2010-11 MBA Exit Survey from June 30 to July 31. We implemented this change so summer-graduating programs would not have to wait for a year to receive their benchmark results. We now recognized this one-month change in schedule also caused other shifts in critical steps in our process.

This change in the fielding year caused the Exit Peer Selection Survey to shift from July to August. Peer Selection Survey is utilized by participating programs to choose six peer programs for comparison within the Competitive Intelligence Report (CIR). The impact was far more than anticipated, since August is a busy time for most program administrators with classes starting which means it takes longer for them to respond to the Peer Selection Survey.

After careful review of the feedback we received, we believe a November delivery is too late for the MBA Student Exit CIR to provide meaningful impact to the program for incoming students.

Accordingly, this is what are we going to do different…

We are reversing our fielding year extension from 2011 and moving back the end of the fielding year to June 30.
We will more strictly adhere to deadlines for participating in the Exit survey and selecting peers. This means if a program does not select their peers within two weeks of the Peer Selection Survey, the program will have to wait for the second batch of reports to be produced a month later.
Programs that graduate in the summer and fall months can order an Advance CIR to receive their results earlier with comparisons the previous year’s benchmark data.

We appreciate the client feedback helping us recognize that we should reverse course on the change made in 2011. This feedback allows us to learn and grow to prevent similar issues in the future. Delivering the best service to meet the needs of our clients is a key priority for us.

By-line:

Brian Mahoney, author for this article, is a marketing research consultant and Managing Partner of Percept Research. Brian welcomes your questions and comments.

Business School Market Research with Google Alerts

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:04:00 GMT

Do you know what web conversations are saying about your MBA program? Do you know what the web conversations are saying about competitor MBA programs? Do you know what the web marketing efforts of your MBA program look like to others?

In today’s competitive MBA marketplace, knowing the answers to these questions is a necessity. Automated search and web intelligence tools can provide busy MBA program managers answers to these and similar questions with relative ease. These simple-to-use tools not only search and organize the answers for you; they can deliver results to your inbox on a daily basis. One tool with which I am most familiar is Google Alerts.

Google Alerts has been around since 2003. I have been using Google Alerts as a business school qualitative research tool for approximately five years and find the tool extremely useful for monitoring topics of interest. Several months ago, I created two Google Alerts, one for monitoring MBA programs in general and the other for monitoring EMBA programs in general. Each morning, I receive two email alerts with everything Google found during the previous 24 hours relating to either subject. Usually, there are between 15 and 100 items. I then scan the list of topics for relevance and select the articles of interest to review.

Google Alerts Introduction

Google Alerts is free and is easily set up. You establish your search by selecting keywords that are appropriate for the subject you want to monitor. In preparation for this article, I established an alert for “Kenan Flagler MBA.” You can see the results of the search in the adjacent insert. The search found two items during a 24-hour period; one was a blog post and the other a web post. No news item appeared. In addition, there is a link to each source.

What You Can Do With Google Alerts

Google Alerts can complement business school market research to:

Monitor a developing news story that is about your MBA program, faculty member, student, or alumni
Keep current on an MBA program competitor
Learn where you or your MBA program is cited or quoted
Get the latest on your MBA program’s sponsored event
Find when someone links to your MBA program’s web site
Discover new websites that may be beneficial to your MBA program

Getting Started With Google Alerts

Other than a few minutes of time, it cost nothing to get started. The following steps may prove useful for anyone that has never used Google Alerts.

Go to the Google Alerts home page and create one or two simple searches. Select topics that you already know something about so you can compare the results and the various options Google Alerts makes available to users.
Closely review the alerts you receive in your email. Click on the links associated with each search result. You will likely find that some of the results are not relevant to your topic. Unfortunately, when setting alerts, Google does not allow for the exclusion of certain topics.
Refine established searches or create new searches by going the Google Alerts manage page. At this point, you can start collecting information so you can answer the questions posed at the start of this article.

More information is available by clicking Google Alerts.

By-line:

Rodney Alsup, Dr. Rodney G. Alsup is director of international programs and professor of accounting at The Institute for Business Administration in Bucharest, Romania, and Percept Research Senior Consultant. Dr. Alsup assists Percept Research clients in a variety of consulting engagements. He also created a blog to help MBA students live and work smarter while earning their degree. Rodney welcomes your questions and comments.

Leveraging Limited Resources for Biggest Impact – MBA Brand Research

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:17:00 GMT

As a MBA Director, there are often many things that you would like to improve in your MBA program, but you do not have the resources to tackle all of them.

One of your biggest managerial challenges is to allocate your limited resources to where they will have to biggest impact. So how do you know where they will do the most good? Where can you "get the most bang for your buck?" One way to determine the best course of action is to conduct a Key Driver Analysis of your MBA student surveys.

What is Key Driver Analysis?

Key Driver Analysis (KDA), sometimes known as an importance-performance analysis, is a study of the relationships among many attributes to identify the most important ones.

Key Driver Analysis can help you understand what your students feel is important to them in regards to their MBA student experience. By conducting an analysis of student survey responses and correlating their ratings of individual performance attributes to overall loyalty, you can derive which factors have the greatest impact on the students’ perceived level of satisfaction. You can then plot this data in a scatter diagram called an importance-performance map.

Importance-Performance Maps

An importance-performance map plots the results of a KDA in a graphical format that can be quickly read and easily understood. Each program performance factor is plotted on the graph by its importance to the students’ satisfaction (on the x-axis) and your MBA program’s performance in that area on the y-axis.

This process generates four quadrants. The most important is the lower right quadrant. The attributes plotted here have high importance to your students, but your performance in those areas is low. These are the areas where your action will have the biggest impact and generate the greatest improvement in student satisfaction for the effort expended.

Action Planning from Key Driver Analysis

The lower right quadrant (II) is the most important area of the importance-performance map. It identifies the key drivers of student satisfaction. The graphical KDA map helps you plan the action you need to take to improve, but it also tells you what to not change. The attributes that plot in the upper right quadrant (I) are those that are important to your students’ satisfaction and are areas in which you are currently performing well. Any changes you make to improve the issues in the lower right quadrant must not disturb the attributes in the upper right quadrant.

The attributes in the upper and lower left quadrants are of lower importance to your students. How well you perform in these areas will have less impact on your students’ satisfaction. You should not expend your limited resources on these factors.

How Do I Conduct Key Driver Analysis?

Key Driver Analysis is a statistical analysis package available as a reporting option for all of the MBA Lifecycle surveys. The KDA reporting option provides graphical quadrant analysis of the MBA program based on program performance compared to derived importance to student loyalty. (Note: The KDA for the MBA Student Entry Survey is based on stated importance.)

An importance-performance map is generated for each dimension within the survey (e.g., Faculty, Curriculum, Teaching Methods, Course Areas, Professional Development, Operations/Administration, etc.).

KDA is a powerful tool for business school quantitative research that can help you discover which factors have the greatest impact on important program outcomes and determine were to focus your limited resources on the issues which are both important and performing relatively poorly.

By-line:

Brian Mahoney, author for this article, is a marketing research consultant and Managing Partner of Percept Research. Brian welcomes your questions and comments.

Business School Qualitative Research: How many people should you interview?

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:15:00 GMT

Core to the success of a higher education market research study is method of sampling -- a sample is a group of people drawn at random from all those people who are in your chosen market. If a researcher does not design the right sampling plan, then the research results will likely be inaccurate; thus, the right design is a key, first critical step in defining a research study.

The sampling design for qualitative research (such as incoming student focus groups, MBA alumni online chats, etc.) is not a pre-defined process like quantitative survey research design. The latter is often based on certain sample sizes needed to provide statistically significant differences between key target groups or topic areas.

Qualitative research design, on the other hand, is not such an exact science. It is often rooted in setting up the right number of conversations to get a strong read on why, or how, people are talking about certain topics. The determination of how many people are required to provide this information is often based more on instinct and subject matter, than on statistical probabilities.

However, there are some solid rules of thumb that can be used to determine the right number of people per session to target in business school qualitative research, depending on the subject matter and study goals.

Use of 1:1 interviews

Higher education qualitative research aimed at understanding “expert” views, such as input from chief learning officers into an employer outcomes assessment, are often best done on a 1:1 basis due to the depth of inquiry often required, as well as the difficulty in trying to schedule a group of experts at the same time due to their busy schedules. 1:1 interviews are also best used when a study is tackling some very personal or provocative subjects, such as in-depth follow-up of negative views expressed in an MBA student satisfaction study.

Use of mini-groups: 3 to 5 per session

In those cases where a study is aimed at very personal or provocative subjects, but there is a desire to understand the “social” aspect to these subjects, a mini-group is best employed to minimize potentially embarrassing situations which could impact study accuracy. In these instances, mini-groups often utilize groups of friends, who are often more willing to discuss sensitive topics with each other versus among a group of strangers.

Use of medium-sized groups: 6 to 8 per session

Medium-sized groups are best for MBA qualitative research where there is a fair amount of “brainstorming” or “conceptual” thinking required. Often, this size is best for research that is truly exploratory in nature, where a social aspect to the research is helpful in stimulating ideas, but where discussion will be stunted if there are too many people involved in the session. A student loyalty online bulletin board study could be one that fits into this category, especially if this study focused on generating the key factors that really engage students with a particular business school program.

Use of large-sized groups: 9 to 12 per session

In any other instance, large-sized groups are the norm; they are often best for studies aimed at understanding a wide variety of subjects, or connections between topics, without a lot of depth. An MBA market online chat study could fall into this arena, as the pros and cons of various graduate business school programs, and how they connect to a prospective student’s choice of a particular curriculum, could be discussed in an efficient manner. These large groups are also very helpful when a study’s timing constraints require talking to a lot of people in a short amount of time. Note that a typical maximum is twelve people per session; otherwise, groups prove too unwieldy to be conducted in an accurate way.

Other considerations

Beyond defining how many people to talk to per session, qualitative research design needs to also account for how many sessions are required to meet a research study’s objectives. This type of consideration is often more linked to the budget and time allowances provided by the study, as well as the demographics targeted (e.g., age, work experience, geographic location) than it is about subject matter. But there are some basic design parameters to consider:

1) A study should allow for as many sessions as possible in total, to make sure that the largest number of people and viewpoints are included in the study.

2) The number of sessions organized around demographic targets should be as balanced as possible. So, for instance, if planning MBA graduate online bulletin board study sessions across a wide range of alumni ages, there should be the same number of sessions planned among younger alumni, middle-aged alumni, and older alumni to ensure that each groups is properly represented.

3) This balance should incorporate both census targets as well as any oversampling required by the goals of a study. For instance, normally males and females are evenly distributed within U.S. groups due to the similarities in size of both groups nationally. However, if an MBA alumni online chat study is focused on understanding the female alumni response to a specific topic, females would be the majority within each group while males would be a minority.

Another consideration is whether these sessions should be executed in-person or virtually -- discussed in a recent blog article.

Incorporating the parameters listed here will help to ensure that business school qualitative research design includes the right number of participants in the sample to facilitate accurate results.

By-line:

Dinesh Mathew, the guest writer for this article, is a marketing consumer research expert and qualitative research consultant. Dinesh welcomes your questions and comments.

MBA Brand Research: Qualitative or Quantitative first?

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:02:00 GMT

Higher education market research often involves both qualitative methods (MBA alumni focus groups, incoming student bulletin boards, etc.) as well as quantitative methods (alumni engagement surveys, business school image and awareness surveys, etc.) for complex projects – see comparison.

Once it is determined that qualitative and quantitative research is required to meet the goals of a research study, the next key question is: which one comes first?

Often, this question can be answered by considering where on the “learning curve” one is with the area of study being investigated.

Qualitative before Quantitative:
Exploring early in the learning curve

If a topic or concept is being explored for the first time, or is being considered for a totally new application, then qualitative research is likely the first step in the research design. This approach is often chosen because qualitative methods offer a path to truly understand consumer thought and reaction in the broadest sense, which is often required before the numerical definition and validation offered by quantitative research.

An example of this approach is the initial phases of an curricular or program format redesign study, where focus groups can be employed to uncover the various areas that students feel are important to choosing their MBA program, which could then be later generalized to the school’s prospective student audience in a quantitative image and awareness study. New trends in the MBA market can also be initially defined for further exploration in a qualitative phase.

Moreover, a qualitative phase can provide a forum for stakeholders to help brainstorm or develop an idea into one that could eventually be a compelling one to their peers, which could then be tested in final form in a quantitative study. This type of evidence-based innovation can often be an efficient way to develop a new, distinctive business school marketing strategy, and specific marketing campaigns.

Finally, when early in the learning curve, academic institutions often do not know “how” to speak to target audiences about specific topics or ideas. Qualitative research can often show researchers how stakeholders speak “naturally” about specific ideas or topics; this learning can then be used to define specific wording within such quantitative research tools as an MBA alumni satisfaction survey or broader student assessments.

Quantitative before Qualitative:
Expanding understanding later in the learning curve

If a topic or concept has been researched effectively in the past, for a given application, then there is often a need to quantitatively benchmark responses with more current data before progressing into a qualitative phase. Tracking studies, such as a MBA lifecycle analysis, provide a strong example where an benchmark assessment survey is required to update understanding before digging in further through a qualitative phase.

Moreover, if there are syndicated research studies that are readily available which provide some general understanding of things like a certain MBA market arena, then a more customized survey (such as an MBA attitudes and usage survey contexting syndicated data for a specific school or program) is often necessary. This type of survey would likely need to be executed before proceeding further into qualitative research.

Note that, in both of these areas, qualitative research is still a beneficial component to understand the “whys” or “hows” behind the quantitative data. However, in those situations where a research topic is further down the learning curve, it is often best to first understand quantitatively what the key questions or areas of further exploration are, before engaging qualitative research to understand them.

By-line:

Dinesh Mathew, the guest writer for this article, is a marketing consumer research expert and qualitative research consultant. Dinesh welcomes your questions and comments.

Business School Qualitative Research: Face-to-Face or Online?

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:05:00 GMT

As non-traditional qualitative techniques, such as online bulletin board research and mobile phone SMS research, have come into vogue with marketers, there’s been a lot of buzz in the market research community about their quality in comparison to traditional methods like ethnographies and focus group research.

The debate currently focuses on traditional in-person focus groups or interviews versus non-traditional Internet-based research techniques. A perusal of posts and articles, in addition to my ten years of direct experience in qualitative research, indicates that both have merits and drawbacks that can drive decisions when choosing the right methodology.

Positives of traditional in-person research

Let's start with the traditional techniques most have seen, either in person or satirized on TV in Mad Men, Seinfeld, and other shows. On the positive side:

1. focus groups and other "in-person" techniques allow the moderator maximum control of stimuli and tools utilized with respondents, which is especially important in research studies centering on very conceptual testing, such as the initial design of a new MBA curricula where stimuli may be very rough and require a lot of explanation and manipulation.

2. responses are based on the "spoken" word, and thus can often be quicker and spark more immediate conversation than online "text-based” conversations, resulting in the ability to answer more questions in a shorter amount of time. This is very important when the research goals are broader or more exploratory, such as when seeking to understand customer satisfaction or MBA alumni engagement.

3. traditional techniques also offer the ability to observe respondents directly, allowing for body-language observations beyond the actual verbal responses.

4. older respondents (especially those aged 50 or higher) tend to be more comfortable with in-person methodologies

Positives of Internet-based Techniques

Online techniques are more efficient in a number of ways when compared to traditional qualitative research techniques. They allow for…

1. gathering a wider geographical representation within one group, as people can virtually join from across the country or the world (e.g, exploratory research for a global MBA program).

2. eliminating or lessening travel, whether on part of the respondents, the researchers, or the clients—thus reducing logistical hurdles—because all parties can take part via the web.

3. ensuring a greater level of anonymity for respondents, which can ensure that participants are being truthful with their responses (versus being unduly influenced by a "loud" respondent in an in-person setting). Note that this is of key importance when researching subjects that may be highly polarizing (e.g, in-depth discussion of MBA midterm student satisfaction surveys).

4. flexibility of setting: respondents can engage with the research in a setting of their choice—versus a bland focus group facility—which can improve the comfort of participants and result in more open and truthful responses.

5. respondents can respond to research on their own time with the use of online techniques such as bulletin boards. Flexibility in timing contributes to the honesty of responses and takes the pressure off of responding to questions within a 60- or 90-minute in-person focus group.

6. younger respondents are typically more comfortable in the online space, and thus respond well to internet-based techniques.

These tools are especially useful when research goals are not truly broad in nature, but are instead seeking depth to specific questions, such as further understanding behind a benchmark assessment or other research survey.

True for both

Some things are true for both in-person and online qualitative techniques.

1. Both sets of methodologies require the same amount of time post-research to analyze the data—whether it is transcribing an MBA alumni online chat discussion or reviewing in-person higher ed student focus group videos, the analysis time is virtually the same.

2. Both offer respondents the ability to observe and respond to stimuli in similar ways.

3. Beyond travel, almost all of the costs (including moderation, recruitment, and respondent incentives) are virtually the same between both types of techniques.

Choosing in-person versus online qualitative techniques

So, the choice for in-person versus online methodology really comes down to the overall objectives of a study, and should not be made based on tactical reasons such as cost constraints. If a study is truly exploratory or broad, such as a lifecycle analysis or a business school image exploration, in-person techniques like student loyalty ethnographies or an admissions focus group are likely the best focus.

In contrast, if a study is building on past findings such as a MBA graduate exit survey, then online qualitative techniques are likely the best core for the research.

Or, a hybrid approach may in fact be the best if the goals or constraints of the project have components that are both exploratory and governed by prior findings.

By-line:

Dinesh Mathew, the guest writer for this article, is a marketing consumer research expert and qualitative research consultant. Dinesh welcomes your questions and comments.

MBA Student Exit Survey Fielding Year Updated

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:13:00 GMT

Percept Research has adjusted the MBA Student Exit Survey fielding year to August 1 – July 31 starting with the 2010-11 year. Previously, the legacy fielding year ranged from July 1 – June 30. We made this adjustment based on feedback from summer graduating programs and internal analysis of MBA outtake dates.

What do we mean by "fielding year"?

The fielding year is the 12-month frame from which we designate a 'year' to approximate an academic year based on the intent of the higher education study.

How are the fielding dates chosen?

End date of the fielding year is what is most important. We select a date in which a majority of MBA programs will have completed their survey. This allows us to deliver our MBA Lifecycle benchmark reports (Competitive Intelligence Reports) to the largest number of programs in the shortest amount of time after a program's individual survey has concluded. See a sample of a Competitive Intelligence here.

For example, 51% of all executive MBA programs in our internal analysis have outtakes (graduations dates) in April-July (reference: 2010 EMBA Council Membership Program Survey). By adjusting this date, we have moved 37 EMBA programs from the beginning of the fielding year to the end so they will receive reports more quickly after their institution's survey.

How does this affect delivery dates?

Previously, many programs with a June outtake would request for an extension beyond the announced deadline (June 30), which delayed the August delivery of the benchmark reports to all participants. With the July 31 end date, the MBA Student Exit benchmark reports will now be delivered in September.

How will this adjustment impact my program?

We anticipate that this change in fielding dates will encourage more participation from summer graduating programs increasing the number of peer programs available for comparison. This adjustment will also eliminate the number of programs requesting an extension past the fielding end date and would allow us to better deliver more timely reports to over a third of programs with summer graduation dates.

What if my program graduates near the beginning of the fielding year and I need benchmark reports earlier?

Percept Research provides an Advance Competitive Intelligence Report option for programs that graduate earlier in the fielding year. The Advance CI Report is in the same format as the standard Competitive Intelligence Report, but the data are benchmarked to data collected in the previous fielding cycle so we can provide you with industry comparisons closer to your outtake date.

The fee for the Advance CI report is also identical to the standard CI report — basically, you will receive your report earlier with comparisons to the previous fielding year. This report will not include comparisons to any new questions recently added in the new fielding year (e.g., a new question in 2009-10 will not have comparisons to 2010-11 data). However, you will have the option to purchase the standard CI Report delivered at the end of the fielding year at a discounted price if you want to compare to all of the currently participating programs.

MBA Innovation: National Defense Executive MBA Program

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:30:00 GMT

George Mason University is expanding its MBA portfolio with a new National Defense Executive Master of Business Administration program. The first cohort entered the program in August 2010. As part of our business school innovation series, Karl von Gunten interviewed Roy Hinton, Associate Dean of Executive Programs.

What prompted the development of the National Defense Executive MBA program?

This program was initiated out of a conversation I had about four years ago with a retired Marine colonel. At the time, I was revamping our EMBA program. He shared his concern regarding a history of business coordination challenges in the defense industry among the military, senior government officials, and defense contractors. He had long thought of the need for an MBA-type program designed specifically for these three sectors to help them understand how each conducts business.

Specifically, he wanted his military personnel to understand that, while General Dynamics, for example, is in business to make a profit for shareholders, the military and government answer to taxpayers, who seek to minimize costs without sacrificing security.

From an economic standpoint, it would help business efficiencies in the defense industry if each group understood the others’ points of view.

Roy Hinton, Associate Dean of Executive Programs

What market research did you employ to develop it?

About a year and a half after this “aha” discussion, the colonel arranged for me to learn more by talking with top executives in all three sectors. We visited with admirals, generals, and experts in defense acquisition management. We met with government officials in charge of major DOD facilities and operations and we talked to defense contractors.

While our research wasn’t “formal,” those conversations validated that a national defense EMBA program was long overdue. From there, we began to work on a course design and solicit feedback. It took nearly two years until we finally developed a 54 credit-hour course format.

How is the program structured?

It is a full-time Executive MBA program modeled after our global EMBA degree with a length of 21 months. Courses are delivered over the weekends, plus a residency in Washington, DC. The one exception is the one-week capstone course, which is slanted toward the defense industry.

Students get the core of an MBA, but with a defense focus. For example, when our Global EMBA students go to New York for their Financial Markets course, the defense industry class will go to Capitol Hill instead, and study the government funding process, the budgeting process, how it works, how a lobbyist works, how lobbyists and defense contractors partner together to influence government, what role should the military, and government executives play, etc.

What differentiates this EMBA program?

The DOD industry has a lot of procedural and strategic differences from other non-DOD businesses – even government. Our curriculum is based upon these first-hand requirements from the top people in the industry.

The key advantage and differentiator over other EMBA programs is this very specific slice of intellectual property from within the $750 billion national defense infrastructure.

Clearly, there is unique content – not to mention the opportunity to network with industry colleagues, and learn from each other.

What challenges did you face when designing the curriculum?

Some of the challenges were bringing folks together in an effort to find common ground among so many differences. For example, government civilians at very senior positions can have strong opinions that can be different from the military's or the contractor's point of view. So, if these senior folks are responsible for outfitting all the Navy ships, and all of the money is flowing through there, you can imagine that they have a very different view than a military guy who is going to be on the project two or three years before moving on, or a civilian contractor who just owns one small piece of the program’s puzzle.

I think there is probably more to do to build the context up to a bigger level for civilians in the Senior Executive Service. But, if we can get some of those folks into the program, that is where we will begin to see more of those considerations come into future design. I think we're going to be in kind of a continuous improvement mode, maybe forever.

Who are your prospective students?

They come from three sectors – government, military, and defense contractors. In fact, we think the real value of the program won't be realized unless we can get and maintain all three groups in the classroom. This enables sharing from their base of experience and understanding in a business setting.

What are the admissions requirements?

The requirements are similar to our Global EMBA. We are looking for managers with a minimum of 7 years experience and a graduate degree. We require letters of reference, a goal statement, and a GMAT score, although we often waive that requirement if a candidate has a masters degree and undergraduate transcripts. Personal interviews are also part of the admissions process. The ideal student has experience in the right position, manage others, and have P&L responsibilities.

How does this program fit within your other management offerings at GMU?

We already do a fair amount of executive education for the defense sector and the intelligence communities. Some of our faculty have consulted in those areas and know that arena well so that helped us put this together. Then, of course, there are certain core business and management skills, which are fundamental to this type of program. You need to know how to read financial statements. You need to know something about operations, something about leadership, marketing, etc. Even though it's very, very different in the defense industry, we can speak to that in those general classes.

Were you concerned about cannibalization with the other MBA programs at GMU?

There was a lot of support for the development of this program. We are, in fact, attracting people to the first cohort who might not otherwise have considered going back for an MBA because they would have questioned the relevance of it. For example, there were two students in our existing cohort that crossed over to defense.

How have you generated awareness about the program?

August 2010 was our first offering with about 10 students, so it’s a new program. We haven't marketed it very aggressively, but there’s been a lot of interest just by word of mouth.

The feedback we've been getting from the government sectors about the design and the positioning has been positive. The contractors really look forward to the idea of spending a couple of years with leaders from the military/government side and positioning everyone to learn from everyone else.

Who benefits from this program?

The program benefits not only the students obtaining a very specialized MBA, but also their employers – and hopefully, ultimately, the taxpayers!

How would you measure success of this new venture?

First of all, we will obtain assessments of the programs and their quality from our students. Other key indicators include the number of enrollments, the referrals they offer us, and the number of executives from the defense industry who are willing to participate in the program as guest speakers or as sponsors of Capstone.

For our students of course, you want to see if they are getting promoted. Are they valued by their organizations? Were opportunities for other jobs within the industry expanded? Those are the kinds of things we will stay on top of after students graduate. If there are ways to improve it, we will.

By-line:

Karl von Gunten, guest writer for this article, works with Percept Research as a Strategic Communications Consultant. Karl assists our clients with marketing strategy and integrated communications programs. Karl welcomes your questions and comments.

Percept Research Innovates MBA Market Research Offerings via UserVoice

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:36:00 GMT

We love your feedback!

Over the course of the past seven years, we have had phone calls, email exchanges and in-person discussions with many of you about what you want from our MBA market research tools. Your input was the driving force behind our revamped Competitive Intelligence Reports for the MBA Student Entry Survey and MBA Student Exit Survey last year. And since that update, we have not stopped enhancing our offerings. We recently added a new Alumni Engagement Interest Summary to our MBA Student Exit Survey reports.

We want to continually expand the conversation and keep listening. That is why we are happy to announce that Percept Research is integrating UserVoice into our websites and user portals. UserVoice is a tool that enables users to post their suggestions for new features, vote on ideas and keep track of the features our team is developing for future releases.

UserVoice is easy to use - click the "feedback" tab on our website or directly access with http://feedback.perceptresearch.com.

UserVoice is a web-based tool which allows you to submit suggestions on what you think should be added (or modified) to the Percept Research's offerings. It also allows you to vote on the suggestions which are most important to your organization. This voting process will directly impact how we prioritize our efforts to improve our products.

We choose this platform because it is designed to make posting ideas and suggestions quick and easy. The feedback submission is combined with a clever search that let you know that you might be posting a duplicate idea. Currently, we have developed open forums for each of our offerings with the MBA Lifecycle Survey Suite as well as a General forum for comments about our other MBA market research initiatives.

If you have any questions on UserVoice and how we are using it for the MBA Lifecycle Survey Suite, please contact support@perceptresearch.com. We look forward to your continued feedback and suggestions.

Thank you -- your input drives our innovation!

MBA Innovation: Online Executive MBA Program

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:02:00 GMT

West Virginia University is enhancing its Executive MBA program with a new online version. The first cohort will enter the program in August 2010. As part of our business school innovation series, Karl von Gunten interviewed Gary Insch, Director of Graduate Programs and Associate Professor of Management, and Elizabeth Vitullo, Associate Director of Executive MBA Programs at West Virginia University.

Tell us about your new program.

The program is an online version of our current Executive MBA program. The Online Executive MBA is a 48 credit-hour program spanning two years.

The first class will enter the program in Fall 2010. We announced the program this year in January and have received hundreds of prospective student inquiries about the program. We plan to accept 35 students into the first cohort and then accept a second cohort in January 2011.

The majority of the program is online. Face-to-face residencies will augment about 10% of the online curriculum.

How are the residencies structured?

The program includes one residency per semester for a total of 4 residencies. Three of the residencies are hosted in Morgantown and one is in Washington, DC. The 3-4 day residencies focus on experiential learning and activities that cannot be captured in an online environment.

For example, we participate in the Washington Campus. This residency is focused on how business and government interface. This is integrated into one of our core classes and so students are exposed to people from all arms of government. We discuss hot button issues. Students are able to ask questions such as, "How does this impact me and what I do in my job?"

It also provides students with a number of contacts in DC, so if they ever encounter a problem or need to reach out and talk to someone in DC, they have a fistful of business cards and network in the nation’s capital.

We believe a vital element of a MBA program is the network developed.

Some people in the applicant pool will not be able to engage in the program due to the residency requirement. But in the long run, we felt it was necessary to include all of the experiences of learning and growing with one another to help develop their network, which we think is fairly unique approach in the online world.

What prompted you to take the program online?

The big answer to that is accessibility. Our prior version of the online Executive MBA program delivered the curriculum in eight locations across the state through videoconference technology. That was great and is still part of our outreach program at the College of Business and Economics.

However, the program was offered two evenings a week from 6-9 pm so if you were not within driving distance of those locations, it was very difficult to pursue this executive MBA program. Over the last couple of years, our prospective students voiced an interest in a more flexible option to pursuing the program, which led us to change the delivery format.

Gary Insch, Director of Graduate Programs

Tell us more about the curriculum.

The program offers a general management curriculum, which includes coursework in all functional areas of business. There are opportunities to take electives so you can add a level of specialization to your degree.

One elective that we're really excited about is called the Executive Project. With this core course, students are able to contribute directly to the companies that are sponsoring them by solving a current business challenge through the context of our program under the expert guidance of our faculty. These projects can help move companies forward and it's an opportunity to display the student’s new skill set. This may lead additional opportunities to move up the ladder with the new responsibilities. We think the Executive Project is appealing to both students and their employers in providing MBA student payback and employer return on investment.

What else makes the program unique?

We truly believe we have some of the greatest faculty. They bridge the gap between theory and practice. Our faculty are actively involved in research and business consulting, working with businesses throughout the state so they bring a lot of real world experience into the classroom.

Elizabeth Vitullo, Associate Director of EMBA Programs

Did the faculty participate in developing the curriculum?

Yes. We met with each faculty individually who is teaching in the program so that they understand the concept of the program and when the students are going to be on campus so that we can get them in front of them.

We were meeting with a long-time faculty member just the other day, and she said, "You know, I really think this is the way of the future so I really want to do this right." This prompted us to discuss a number of resources that she could pursue to assist with her course development.

The faculty also worked with our Instructional Technology Resource Center (ITRC) whose expertise is in online learning. They helped the faculty deconstruct and reconstruct their classes for an online environment. The ITRC has been fantastic working hand-in-hand with our individual faculty members so it's been a pretty smooth process.

Did you conduct any MBA market research to test the feasibility of this program?

We kept a database of prospective student inquiries over the last few years and conducted a MBA market research survey with that group to test demand for this type of program and how the program should be structured. We also explored the usage of social media and how students discover information about programs to attend.

Are there any special admission requirements for the program?

An undergraduate degree in any discipline is required. At least two years of work experience is necessary. The GMAT is required, but we do not require minimum GMAT scores as we take a holistic approach to the application. We evaluate the student's work experience, undergraduate GPA, undergraduate degree, together with GMAT scores. Students have the option of including 2-3 letters of reference and/or a personal statement.

What should prospective students know when comparing your program to other executive MBA programs?

It is a different way of learning so students have to be comfortable with technology. You don't necessarily have to be technically savvy but you have to be open to learning online.

Secondly, committing to an executive MBA program is a huge commitment. And it's usually not just committing yourself -- you are often committing your family time and your work time so the commitment needs to be thoughtfully considered.

The online format offers students a great deal of flexibility to pursue an MBA while maintaining momentum in their career with as few disruptions as possible. While the program is delivered in an online environment with support from our faculty and staff, students will take significant ownership of their own learning. This means they will need to reach out to the faculty and the administration to let us know how we can help them succeed.

How do you plan to measure the success of the program?

Obviously, matriculation to graduation is a key indicator. We plan to assess the students, both in their experience and their learning throughout the program. In addition to MBA student outcomes, we will evaluate their experience and how to further help them succeed in the program.

We will also explore how to keep them connected to WVU. Even though they may be working remotely, they are WVU students. They are Mountaineers so we want to ensure that they feel part of the community.

By-line:

Karl von Gunten, guest writer for this article, works with Percept Research as a Strategic Communications Consultant. Karl assists clients with business school marketing strategy and integrated communications programs. Karl welcomes your questions and comments.

MBA Student Exit Study - Alumni Engagement Interest Summary

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:10:00 GMT

Starting in 2010, Percept Research is offering a new value-add deliverable to participating programs in the firm's MBA Student Exit Study called the Alumni Engagement Interest Summary. Within the Student Exit survey, graduating students are asked if they have interest in future participation with the MBA program as alumni in a range of areas such as a guest speaker, mentorship, offering internship, assist with information sessions, etc.

The Alumni Engagement Interest Summary provides a tabular listing of students who indicated interest in assisting with the program along with their preferences. The summary is provided as a separate actionable report so MBA directors can reference for future alumni engagement with the MBA program.

Download a fictional example of the Alumni Engagement Interest Summary by clicking the image below.

This new report will be delivered to MBA programs participating in the 2009-10 MBA Student Exit Survey in August. For the 2010-11 fielding year, this summary will provided to individual MBA programs within two weeks of completing the survey. The 2010-11 MBA Student Exit Survey fields from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011.

MBA Innovation: Sustainable EMBA Program for Aspirational Executives

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:15:00 GMT

San Francisco State University is expanding its MBA portfolio with a new accelerated Executive Master of Business Administration program with a sustainable business emphasis. The first cohort will enter the program in January 2011. As part of our business school innovation series, Karl von Gunten interviewed Aaron Anderson, Director of the new Sustainable EMBA program.

Tell us about your new program.

The sustainable business program is a new concept for executive programs, although it’s not a novel concept for MBA's in particular. Our definition of sustainability moves beyond simply a company that sustains growth toward a model for socially responsible business behavior and practice. What companies should be doing is not just what is good for the company and the shareholders, but that you measure value and success on a triple bottom line. In other words, you’re profitable when your shareholder’s value grows as the company grows, but you treat your employees really well, and you give back to the community and you’re not damaging but minimizing the footprint your organization may have on the environment. Sustainable means you’re paying attention to all elements and not just the bottom line, which is money.

What should prospective students expect with regard to program format?

It’s a little bit different than a traditional part-time executive MBA program. First and foremost, you will see that it is a full-time rather than a part-time program. It’s designed specifically for people who are not working full time. Students will attend three courses per semester for four semesters year round. So you see, it compresses the usual 12-course format and allows a student to finish in 16 rather than 22 months.

What have been the driving factors for creating the program?

Well, there are three primary reasons of why we are doing this: First of all, our part-time program by law is not accessible to students from abroad. If you come to the US on an F-1 student Visa, simply jumping into the executive program is really against the rules. International students are not allowed to take the part-time programs. So the full time nature of this program allows international students to come in on a student visa and fully qualify as full-time students. Secondly, sustainable business at least here at San Francisco State is a direction that we think all businesses are headed and we would like to lead industry rather than simply follow it. And lastly, our faculty is very well known and has an established reputation recognized by the Aspen Institute, and we thought we would capitalize on that strength and bring them into the mix and have them deliver all of the sustainable business courses.

Aaron Anderson, Director, SFSU Executive MBA Program

What steps did you take to develop the program?

Well, we are always on top of what the market is doing, especially in the San Francisco area. We’re always scanning the area to see what’s new and innovative. We worked with the College of Business graduate curriculum committee to make sure that the curriculum was feasible and acceptable to the University community. We don’t operate in isolation. We are part of San Francisco State University. So, the whole process took about a year to get the new emphasis off the ground and I'm happy to report, we are now accepting applications for the first cohort in sustainable business.

Who are the ideal candidates for the program?

The ideal candidates tend to have 8-10 years work experience, who are not yet at the senior level, but who are hungry for those types of executive positions. I call them “aspirational executives.” We do have some students who are CEO's and founders of their own companies, but most are at a director to mid-management level who need new skills to become an effective manager.

How are you different from other MBA programs?

Our approach is to focus on the general application of business principals. We offer all of the elements that it takes to deliver an outstanding MBA including Accounting, Marketing, Economics, Decision Sciences, Information Systems, etc. But our mission is to train high-quality industry leaders who can go out and work in old and new world businesses and help them transform, to augment what they’re doing, to apply sustainable business skills learned in the classroom in a very real and strong way. Essentially, we fully load a student’s toolkit and sharpen all areas as opposed to just one.

What are the top three things that perspective students need to know about the program?

First of all, one of the things you should know is that truly any MBA program, but ours in particular is a transformative experience. If you’re the same person that you are today at the far end, we would have failed you miserably. You come out at the far end extremely different and a much more nuanced individual.

Secondly, the program is not “MBA-lite” not by any stretch of the imagination. It’s an MBA, super concentrated and jacked up. It’s really challenging because that’s how we’re able to squeeze the program into 16 months. It’s a daunting challenge for any student.

The third thing you should know is that if you can make it through the first semester I almost guarantee you that you will, barring any unforeseen wackiness, finish this program with flying colors. That first semester will test you in terms of time management as well as building back your academic skill set. When you finish that first semester, you should be confident that you will complete the program.

How do you plan to measure the success of the program?

Well, I always do it by the numbers. Our target is 30 students per cohort in the executive program. It’s a very healthy size, optimal for learning and teaching. So, to answer your question, if we were to start 30 high quality people and they were to succeed and finish, that would be the short-term measure for success. Long range though; success would have to be if these 30 alumni in say 5-10 years make an indelible imprint on whatever company they go to work for. More critically for those in the sustainable business emphasis, our main hope is that they are able to accelerate the movement in industry towards sustainable operations, green and otherwise, promote and boost socially responsible behavior. If that happens, we all win.

One of my firm beliefs as director of the program is that every one of our courses is teaching something that you can apply tomorrow at work. And as a matter of fact, if we teach you something tonight at class from 6-9:30, don’t be shocked when you are able to apply it tomorrow at work. Truly, an education at San Francisco State is where, I like to say, the theoretical rubber meets the practice road.

More information about the business school can be found here.

By-line:

What is the ROI for an Executive MBA degree?

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:26:00 GMT

This time of the year, there is excitement in the air! This is especially true for those experienced managers who are ending the first year of their Executive Masters of Business Administration (EMBA) program or have just received their degrees. Some have worked in their fields for many years and desire to add to their credentials.

With the recent global recession, company executives are having to determine how to do more with less; how to keep their employees motivated; and ways to strategically grow the business.

Employees who are up to the challenge of moving their organizations forward often inquire about an EMBA, which allows them to work full-time while pursuing the advanced degree. Many companies provide full MBA tuition reimbursement, while others require that the student foot some or all of the bill.

Regardless of who pays, here’s the big question: Is there a significant payback to the organization and the employee?

Before investing all of the time and money in an 18- to 20- month program, one has to wonder if EMBA students and their organizations see a return on investment (ROI)?

According to the 2009 MBA Student Exit Benchmarking Survey conducted by Percept Research, the payoffs are tremendous!

In 2009, almost all (97 percent) of the 3,348 executive MBA students who participated in the survey say their MBA programs met or exceeded their expectations for the impact on their career. The same percentage of students also stated that their MBA program met or exceeded their expectations for the impact on their organization.

Assuming that they had to pay the full program cost, 2009 graduates estimated a payback period of 49 months to recover the cost of their investment. Due to the economic downturn, this payback period is up from 43 months, the expected payback period for 2008 graduates. During the course of the program, average student salaries rose 9 percent to $136,722, according to the survey.

No doubt, a salary increase is a plus, and a salary bump indicates that the employer recognizes improved value. But is increased pay the only reason emerging business leaders pursue an EMBA?

Students and alumni state other benefits that money can’t begin to buy.

“My personal brand has changed within my company,” says Daniel Stagnaro, Business Manager Pharmaceutical Films at Klöckner Pentaplast of America and a student, who recently completed his first year of graduate studies at the University of Virginia (UVA) Darden School of Business.

Daniel Stagnaro, UVA Darden EMBA

Not only did Stagnaro reap the benefits of attending graduate school, but those around him benefited, as well.

“Since I began the executive MBA program, my CEO and colleagues come to me more often for my opinion on business matters,” he says. “Anyone considering an executive MBA should definitely take a look at Darden!”

Stagnaro immediately began to bring additional value to his customers, too.

A chemist by training, Stagnaro traditionally saw the world in very technical terms. With just one year of EMBA studies behind him, he was able to implement a plan for a customer that would save that company $1.4 billion over 3 years. He credits knowledge learned at UVA Darden for this success.

Stagnaro doesn’t plan to stop there, however. He has his eyes set on climbing the corporate ladder, with increased responsibility spanning three continents—the United States, Europe, and Asia. With his EMBA degree, Stagnaro is well on his way. According to Percept’s 2009 MBA Student Exit Survey, approximately one-third of EMBA students were promoted and 44% received additional job responsibilities.

Stagnaro isn’t the only graduate who feels his rigorous EMBA program yielded great dividends.

David Bonenfant, the division manager of Property and Casualty Claims at State Farm in Charlottesville, Virginia, and a graduate of UVA Darden, says, “If I had not chosen Darden, it would have been a mistake. It is the greatest thing I’ve done in my life.”

Bonenfant feels that receiving his EMBA from UVA Darden provided him with the tools to lead his employees—rather than just learning how to manage them.

“I believe getting an MBA from Darden is about learning what tools you need to drop, what tools you need to leave for those behind you, and what tools you need to pick up,” he says.

David Bonenfant, UVA Darden EMBA

In addition to salary increases and promotions, other student considerations include the program itself. After graduation, many executive MBA students continue to be loyal to their programs. The Student Loyalty Index^SM continues to be strong according to the 2009 MBA Student Exit Survey.

The index is a composite measure of program quality, likelihood to support the program as an alumnus, and likelihood to recommend the program. Based on a 0 to 10-point scale, students averaging an index score between 9 and 10 are considered “Champions” of the program. Sixty-one percent of all EMBA students in the 2009 survey are considered champions.

Scott Bruner, who graduated from the Northern Illinois University (NIU) Executive MBA program and is Director of Sales and Business Development at American Profol, touts his program as being one of the best.

Bruner is being groomed to take the reigns at American Profol in the next 5 or 6 years, and notes that his company footed the bill for his education.

“I would have chosen this school, even if I had to pay for it out of my own pocket,” Bruner says. “The Executive MBA program was impressive and well-coordinated.”

Bruner also notes that program leaders were interested in both positive and negative feedback about all aspects of the EMBA student experience. There was a genuine willingness to change things if necessary. NIU’s EMBA program has developed a culture of continuous improvement with measuring and acting on student satisfaction feedback, which is enhanced by their use of the MBA Student Exit Survey in their toolkit.

The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Executive MBA program is another program that engages data from the MBA Student Exit Survey. Wharton graduate, Kathy Canum, discusses the financial and personal ROI of the program.

About Percept Research

Percept Research, a global leader in MBA market research, offers tailored benchmarking assessments for full-time, part-time, and executive MBA programs. To better position programs at each stage of the MBA Lifecycle, the research firm offers a MBA Student Entry Survey, Midterm Survey, Exit Survey, and Alumni Survey, which may be deployed individually or combinational together for longest lasting impact.

Percept Research conducted the EMBA Student Exit Survey as the research partner for the Executive MBA Council, an organization which provides a forum for more than 200 educational institutions to share best practices and gathers data for members to use.

By-line:

Darleen McCullen, the guest writer for this article, is a marketing communications specialist and social media marketing strategist. Darleen welcomes your questions and comments.

MBA Market Research Empowering Data-Driven Decision-Making

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:06:00 GMT

Welcome to our Blog! Our hope is this will be an interactive discussion with our clients and other leaders in graduate management education. Specifically, we will focus on how to utilize evidence-based management to drive improvement and innovation within MBA programs.

What is evidence-based management? Why is it important?

Evidence-based management (EBM) is a commitment to improve outcomes by using the current, best data to make management decisions. Management educators typically make limited use of the vast behavioral science evidence applicable to effective management practice. Often, business schools know what the best practices are, or have a very strong belief about what is needed to make their institution as effective as possible, but they do not have effective tools test their assumptions in order to effectively turn that knowledge into action.

In many cases, common management "wisdom" is not wise at all but, instead, flawed knowledge based on biases and ideologies that are actually poor, incomplete, or obsolete. More seriously, managers may use this unreliable knowledge to make decisions that are hazardous to organizational health. Business schools can bolster performance and trump the competition through evidence-based management, an approach to decision-making and action that is driven by hard facts rather than half-truths or assumptions.

What is considered evidence?

Evidence is information we use to make up our minds… things that help us draw a conclusion, or help prove or disprove something. This includes data, statistics, research findings, expert knowledge, observations, facts, and anecdotes. Evidence-based organizations employ systematic accumulation and analysis of data gathered throughout the customer lifecycle. MBA programs need better tools to access evidence, and better guidance on how to interpret it.

How does Percept Research fit in the EBM model?

Our MBA market research is designed to transform data into accessible, actionable insights for business school leaders. Percept Research's reports are trusted by senior administrations to reveal and communicate strategic opportunities and to lead cross-functional teams in making game-changing shifts in organizational practices. Our MBA Lifecycle studies are designed to optimize business school ROI by improving MBA student return-on-investment.

Our approach is to embrace the graduate management education industry in a collaborative partnership. We innovate our services and deliverables by practicing the EBM philosophy. Our hope is this blog will be one of many tools we utilize to generate discussion on the needs and upcoming trends of the industry. We hope you will join us in this endeavor to embrace data-driven decision-making, capitalize on insights, push the status quo, and thrive on collaboration.

By-line:

Brian Mahoney is a Managing Partner at Percept Research. We welcome your questions and comments.

MBA Evidence-Based Innovation

Promoting your MBA Rankings: Lessons from the Red Carpet

Increase MBA Applications in 2012: Lessons from the Campaign Trail

2. Field of dreams

3. What’s your Stump Speech?

4. Shaking Hands and Kissing Babies

5. Who will endorse you?

MBA Lifecycle Decision Support: Dean’s Dashboard

MBA Lifecycle Key Driver Analysis Format Enhanced

MBA Student Exit Survey Fielding Year Adjusted

Business School Market Research with Google Alerts

Do you know what web conversations are saying about your MBA program? Do you know what the web conversations are saying about competitor MBA programs? Do you know what the web marketing efforts of your MBA program look like to others?

Google Alerts Introduction

What You Can Do With Google Alerts

Getting Started With Google Alerts

Leveraging Limited Resources for Biggest Impact – MBA Brand Research

Business School Qualitative Research: How many people should you interview?

Use of 1:1 interviews

Use of mini-groups: 3 to 5 per session

Use of medium-sized groups: 6 to 8 per session

Use of large-sized groups: 9 to 12 per session

Other considerations

MBA Brand Research: Qualitative or Quantitative first?

Qualitative before Quantitative:Exploring early in the learning curve

Quantitative before Qualitative:Expanding understanding later in the learning curve

Business School Qualitative Research: Face-to-Face or Online?

Positives of traditional in-person research

Positives of Internet-based Techniques

True for both

Choosing in-person versus online qualitative techniques

MBA Student Exit Survey Fielding Year Updated

MBA Innovation: National Defense Executive MBA Program

Percept Research Innovates MBA Market Research Offerings via UserVoice

MBA Innovation: Online Executive MBA Program

MBA Student Exit Study - Alumni Engagement Interest Summary

MBA Innovation: Sustainable EMBA Program for Aspirational Executives

What is the ROI for an Executive MBA degree?

MBA Market Research Empowering Data-Driven Decision-Making

What is evidence-based management? Why is it important?

What is considered evidence?

How does Percept Research fit in the EBM model?

Qualitative before Quantitative:
Exploring early in the learning curve

Quantitative before Qualitative:
Expanding understanding later in the learning curve