IESE Ranked First in Exec Ed Programs

Over all the U.S. powerhouse B-schools in executive education, Spain-based IESE Business School came out on top of the new Financial Times ranking released today (May 9th) for open programs for managers. Iese climbed to first place in the FT’s rankings, even though it ranked well below several other schools in course design, faculty quality and “aims achieved.”

The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, one of the preminent players in exec education, shocking ranked 21st. Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Managment, a pioneer in the business of exec ed, ranked a surprisingly low 14th, while Duke University’s Fuqua School of Management, another key U.S. exec ed player, failed to make the FT’s list of the top 65 schools at all.

The newspaper said that IESE, ranked second last year in open enrollment programs, moved into the top spot due to “improved levels of satisfaction among its students. The school is ranked second for its facilities and the level of follow-up offered to programme participants. It also scores well for the relevance of its course content, finishing third on the measure of new skills and learning.” The FT also said that Iese remains number one for the diversity of its faculty and its partnerships with other executive education providers. The FT also noted that Iese was ranked second for ”international location” due to the number of programs it runs outside Spain.

In its ranking, the newspaper rewards schools that run programs outside their home country. That criteria tends to favor non-U.S. schools in the survey, even though it has nothing to do with the overall quality of the experience for participants. The FT, noted, for example, that European B-schools are most likely to offer programs outside their home countries. Indeed, 21% of all programs by European business schools were delivered abroad, according to the FT report. “Schools in North America were more domestically focused,” the newspaper said. “The 16 ranked schools located there ran 89% of open-enrollment offerings at home.”

Harvard Business School and the Thunderbird School for Global Managment were tied for second place. Switzerland-based IMD was in fourth while last year’s first-place winner, the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business slipped to fifth. Of the 65 ranked schools in the FT survey, 12 are based in the U.S.. The FT said the U.K. and France are the next most common B-school locations for exec ed players among the 65 ranked institutions, with seven schools each.

In custom exec ed programming, Duke University’s Fuqua Schoool of Business, long a leader in customizing courses and programs for specific companies, was ranked first by the FT. Duke was followed by No. 2 HEC Paris, No. 3 Fudacao Dom Cabral in Brazil, and No. 4 Harvard. Esade Business School in Spain and IMD were tied for fifth place in custom programs. The FT’s custom ranking is also plagued with quirky and unexpected results. Among them: Northwestern’s Kellogg School, a major player in custom programs for corporations, failed to make the top 25 list this year. It fell to 32nd place from 18th last year, according to the FT.

The Financial Times reported that this is its 12th annual ranking of non-degree executive education programs (although the FT also said last year was the 12th annual ranking). The British newspaper publishes separate rankings for open programs, custom programs and then a combined ranking featuring both. In the open enrollment survey, some 65 schools–each with at least $2 million in exec ed income–were ranked on the basis of two surveys: one by participating schools and another by student participants. The FT said more than 5,500 “senior and general participants” replied to its 2011 survey, but did not specify a response rate. The survey of executives accounts for 80% of a business school’s score in the ranking, while the self-reported data from each school accounts for the remaining 20%.

However, the FT fails to clearly explain all the criteria it uses to rank the schools, doesn’t indicate the weight it places on each criteria, and also fails to report the index numbers upon which each rank is based that would allow users to see how far ahead or behind a school might be.

2011 Financial Times B-School Ranking of Open Enrollment Executive Education

2011 FT Rank & School 2010 FT Rank Year-Over-Year Change
1. IESE Business School 2 +1
2. Harvard Business School 4 +2
2. Thunderbird 5 +3
4. IMD 3 -1
5. Virginia (Darden) 1 -4
6. London Business School 6 —-
7. HEC Paris 13 +6
8. Essec Business School 10 +2
9. Center for Creative Leadership 7 -2
10. Fundacao Dom Cabral 9 -1
11. Oxford (Said) 15 +4
12. MIT (Sloan) 8 -4
12. Stanford 12 —-
14. Northwestern (Kellogg) 13 -1
15. European School of Mgt. & Tech 21 +6
16. Chicago (Booth) 20 +4
17. Western Ontario (Ivey) 10 -7
18. INSEAD 17 -1
19. IE Business School 15 -4
20. Esade Busienss School 23 +3
21. Pennsylvania (Wharton) 19 -2
22. Columbia Business School 18 -4
23. UCLA (Anderson) 24 +1
24. Toronto (Rotman) 28 +4
25. Fundacao Instituto de Administracao 26 +1

Source: The Financial Times

2011 Financial Times B-School Ranking of Custom Programs in Executive Education

 

2011 FT Rank & School 2010 FT Rank Year-Over-Year Change
1. Duke Corporate Education 1
2. HEC Paris 2
3. Fundacao Dom Cabral 8 +5
4. Harvard Business School 3 -1
5. ESADE Business School 3 -2
5. IMD 5
7. IESE Business School 15 +8
8. Boston University 17 -11
9. INSEAD 8 -1
10. Center for Creative Leadership 6 -4
11. Pennsylvania (Wharton) 10 -1
12. Cranfield School of Management 7 -5
13. IPADE 11 -2
14. Essec Business School 13 -1
15. Babson Executive Education 12 -3
16. North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) 29 +13
17. Columbia Business School 25 +8
17. Oxford (Said) 21 +4
19. IE Business School 18 -1
20. Ashridge 16 -4
21. Thunderbird School of Global Mgt. 24 +3
22. Chicago (Booth) 22
23. European School of Mgt. & Tech 34 +11
24. IAE Business School 18 -6
24. INSPER 13 -11

Source: The Financial Times

 

 

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