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Ralph James
Executive Director, Executive Education
Harvard Business School
How is residential executive education faring in today's economy? Ralph James shares the recent experience of Harvard's offerings.
What effect has the recession had on your enrollment?
The flight to quality impulse has proved true in this recession. Our applications and enrollments are up. But so were cancellations. Our client follow-up disclosed that corporate managers and executives weren't so much affected by cost reductions. Their enrollment cancellations were mostly reflective of the need and desire to stay close to their desks in uncertain economic times. The net result, 2009 has been a record revenue year for us.
Are your foreign enrollments up or down?
The Harvard brand is very strong in the U.S. It's even stronger the further you get from Boston. Emerging markets like China and India place a very high value on management education. We've seen a significant increase in applications from those nations. Our challenge is to manage the mix so that each program has an appropriate geographic, cultural, industry, functional and company representation. Meanwhile, apps from abroad are up.
Among your corporate customers, are their ROI calculations growing in sophistication?
Most definitely. Yet it still remains more subjective than objective. Companies want the individual to grow and learn. They also want his or her learning to have an impact on the organization. They're looking for a significant match between the learning objectives of our program and the strategies and competencies their company needs. Everybody believes a good executive education program has impact. But when you read a book, and you know you're better off as a result, it's very hard to quantify why and how much.
What teaching methods are in use in your classrooms?
Many years ago it was entirely case method--three or four a day, every day. Today we still use case studies. We also use action learning exercises, coaching, simulations, and even lectures. Our classroms and professors are very technology-enabled these days.
What Harvard amenities enhance the executive education student's experience?
We serve up the best faculty, best content, a rigorous admissions process and specially designed facilities. We house our visiting executives in individual private suites designed specifically around how executives learn. The mix is truly transformative. If any one of those elements is underrepresented, learning is impaired.
How is Boston's economy affected by the city's large college population?
Employers can choose from a huge pool of smart young people who are committed to the region. Boston also has a very effective network. And the city is very supportive of entrepreneurship and innovation.
What aspect of the online learning gold rush interests you?
The technology is improving. Schools can cut costs by enrolling online students. Smart people are striking it rich, but I don't see a game-changer. Whoever closes the gap between today's online and residential college experiences will change the industry forever. And that's where the real money is.
What gets an over-40 person to stop Twittering?
In our classrooms, it's expected that a participant's attention will be fully focused on the task at hand. Peer pressure is still one of the strongest dynamics I know. So a person's classmates make it clear he or she should be learning not Twittering.
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