The program is very presitigious and challenging. It was much more difficult than I anticpated but was very rewarding on a educational and social level.--Operations
[Faculty strengths/weaknesses?] The faculty for core courses in the areas of Marketing, Strategy, Finance, Ops Mgt, and Accounting were outstanding. They communicated the core concepts in these areas effectively. The faculty for electives and follow-on courses need to do a better job of teaching key subject-matter concepts and methodologies.--Supply Chain
SMU's Cox offers an strong Executive MBA program with good faculty and a strong curriculum. It is one of the best programs in the country. With the recommendations offered it could become one of the top few programs.--Supply Chain
SMU helped to make the process incredibly convenient, so that I could balance my priorities appropriately between learning and my career, while also providing academic accountabilty and integrity one would expect from a top-tier school.--Operations
SMU experience -- a broad, diverse, and global program. I feel very prepared to move forward in my career.--Information Systems
Geographically, this was the best school. Their reputation is solid, the program is well thought out, and the campus is a great asset as well. In addition, the alumni base here in Dallas is very accessible and that has opened up doors to me that would not have otherwise been opened.--Management
SMU provided the level of experience appropriate to higher-level business people. All of the instructors had "real-world" experience, and many were in situations applicable specifically to the learning environment.--Sales Management
The level of focus that the Cox School of Business places on its graduate business students is tremendous. The access we were granted to top business leaders was well beyond my expectation.--Sales
Throughout the program, I was amazed at how much I was learning was directly applicable to my job. Since graduation, hardly a day goes by that I am not either directly or indirectly applying what I learned. I have a much broader understanding and as a result make better decisions that directly impact the profitability of the company.--Operations
[Faculty strengths/weaknesses?] The academic instructors were all seasoned academics in their respective fields, and many, if not all, had significant experience outside the classroom working in business. Also, those professors who were not academics yielded an incredible amount of experience and respect in their fields.--Operations
[Faculty strengths/weaknesses?] They had the ability to relate to older students. They weren't running on auto pilot. They recognized the difference in their audience and leveraged those differences to remove the antiseptic qualities from the academic objectives.--Product Line Management
[Faculty strengths/weaknesses?] With few execptions, the EMBA instructors were the best the school had to offer (PhD and/or full Professor). Most faculty are well respected in the business community and understand "real world" issues. However, some instructors seemed to be lacking a connection with current business trends.--Finance
[Faculty strengths/weaknesses?] Most were cutting-edge and provided real meat & potatoes. Only one had little experience in either the business world or academia. Two filler classes had instructors below par. There are no teaching assistants used, which really adds to the experience.--Administrative/Executive Management
[Faculty strengths/weaknesses?] The strengths were in Marketing and Finance. These professors were very knowledgeable about what was current in corporate America. They engaged the students and incorporated our needs into the curriculum. The weakness was in the grading system. Sometimes I found it to be arbitrary.--Information Technology
[Changes to program?] Class activities earlier in the program to pull the class together sooner. The international trip was a wonderful experience and everyone really bonded. It would have been nice if more activities had occured in the first semester to facilitate this earlier in the program.--Economic Development
[Changes to program?] More practical orientation and classroom games would help. More facilities close by such as copy machines. Keeping the cafeteria open on Sunday could help this program!--Strategy, Finance, and Marketing
[Improvements?] The only thing I would have improved was the classrooms themselves. It's a good thing that the SMU B-School is building an additional building on campus to house the Executive program. This will be a great improvement.--Research and Development
[Improvements?] Pre-arranged study rooms for the study groups to meet in so that we would not have wasted so much time trying to find one that was vacant. More group study rooms also.--Operations
[Corporate support?] My company did not offer financial support for the program, but they did allow me the flexibility to work 40 hours Monday-Thursday so that I could concentrate on school every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.--Management
[Corporate support?] I had the full support of my employer every step of the way, even though taking the program was not required, it was a personal choice that they supported. I believe this made a huge difference in my success.--Manufacturing
[Corporate support?] Excellent support in terms of flexibility of schedule and general support for the program. Given the economic times, the percentage paid was reasonable and appreciated.--IT Management Consulting
Although there are areas of the program that need improvement, I would certainly go through the program again. The knowledge and skills have been very useful in my new job, and the relationships that I built while in the program will be long-lasting.--Operations
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