I was at a meeting yesterday with a group of educators in which the discussion turned to precisely this topic. The definitions ranged from “all adult learning focused on employees in the workplace” to short courses focused on the needs of business executives. Wikipedia provides the following definition:
“Executive Education is the term used for programs at graduate-level business schools that aim to give classes for Chief Executives and other top managers or entrepreneurs. These programs do not usually end in a degree, although there is an ever-growing number of Executive MBA programs that are very similar and offer a Masters of Business Administration upon completion of the coursework.”
This definition highlights several fundamental components of executive eductaion: 1) the providers; 2) the target audience; and 3) the comprehensiveness of the educational experience (degree or non-degree). I suggest modifications to all three components of this definition:
1) Providers. The Center for Creative Leadership is a good example of a top 10 rated provider of executive education that is not part of a business school. In fact, a number of business schools have sliced off their executive education groups to allow them to run as independent corporations.
2) Target Audience. While most executive education providers do target “chief executives and other top managers or entrepreneurs,” you won’t find many CEOs sitting in class. Typical executive education classes are targeted to middle and upper management as well as top management.
3) Degree vs non-degree programs. My own personal perspective is that executive education does not include degree-bearing programs such as the Executive MBA. Why not? Executive education is clearly focused on providing practical, actionable learning experiences to working managers, directors, vice presidents, etc. The degree-granting infrastructure at any university must (for good reasons) use a different set of lenses to construct and assess the learning experience. It is the very fact of imposing this degree-based logic on the educational experience that changes the nature of the learning experience and shifts it away from the core focus on providing practical, actionable learning experience to participants. Do these experiences carry enough academic rigor to justify certain credit levels? How will we evaluate student performance? (grades must after all be granted in degrees)…I think you get the point.
Filed under: Defining Executive Education Tagged: | Executive Education
