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The Best B-Schools November 5, 2009, 5:00PM EST

A Brutal Wakeup Call for Part-Time B-Schools

The economic crisis has hit executive MBA and non-degree programs hard, but the savviest are adapting to the new market

By Geoff Gloeckler

When Megan Lum enrolled in the MBA program for executives at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business last fall, her plan was to use the degree as a stepping-stone to the C-suite. Based on her career trajectory, that goal wasn't so farfetched. In 20 years she had worked her way up the corporate ladder to the role of senior environmental manager at Weyerhaeuser (WY). The company thought so highly of her that it agreed to foot 80% of the bill for her EMBA, a nice perk considering the degree's $75,000 price tag. But just as Lum was starting classes the global economy went into a tailspin. Seven months later she was laid off. "Suddenly, I was without work, enrolled in an expensive EMBA program with no corporate support," says Lum, who has since found a job. Still, this wasn't part of the plan.

In fact, nothing about this year was part of the plan for a host of MBA programs that cater to working professionals and students like Lum. It has been a year of transition for executive MBA programs, which serve senior managers attending on weekends; part-time MBA programs, which allow mid-level managers to take courses on nights and weekends; and non-degree executive-education classes of a few days or weeks.

Once designed to give promising managers some high-level training and then return them to the corporate fold, part-time and executive MBA programs have been transformed entirely by the economic downturn. The generous corporate sponsorship Lum received is now more the exception than the rule, and far more students use the programs as transitions to new jobs or even new careers. As a result, students are expecting the kind of job-placement services usually reserved for full-time students to help them on their way. With virtually no programs offering such support, student satisfaction has plummeted across the board. Worse, applications are down dramatically for both types of programs, in large part because of reduced corporate support. Nearly half of all EMBA programs and part-time programs reported a decrease in 2009, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council.

Non-degree executive-education programs have also taken a hit. Many corporate travel budgets have been slashed to the bone, and companies are sending fewer employees to expensive on-campus open-enrollment programs. Others have suspended the use of customized training courses— for many years a B-school cash cow—until the economy turns around.

In BusinessWeek's 2009 ranking of the best executive MBA, part-time MBA, and executive-education programs, those that fared best are the ones that quickly adapted to these changing economic conditions. Each of the rankings is based solely or in part on surveys of the programs' main constituents: EMBA graduates and program directors, part-time MBA students, and companies that enroll employees in executive-education courses. The best part-time and executive MBA programs were able to help students navigate the downturn with career support tailored to their particular circumstances, while the top executive-education programs were able to convince corporate clients that their courses are critical, even in today's tough financial climate.

In the EMBA ranks, the top three schools—Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, and University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School—each tapped their faculty's corporate connections and extensive alumni networks to help students through a difficult job market. All three, which have held the top three spots since the ranking started in 1991, also benefited from spotless reputations for academic rigor, star-studded faculty, and high-caliber students.

Even so, all three programs dropped in student satisfaction compared with 2007, the last time BusinessWeek ranked EMBA programs. They weren't alone: Of the 83 EMBA programs in the 2009 ranking, only the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business boosted student satisfaction.

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