Building a Legacy
Executive Education Celebrates
Half a Century in the Industry
Dell, Texas Instruments, Motorola, Applied Materials, 3M,
MCC, Freescale, Pfizer, Dow, Shell. This isn’t just a list
of world-class companies—it’s the beginning of a list of
McCombs Executive Education customers and partners. They’ve
had a long time to build the client roster—it was just over
50 years ago that the business school at The University
of Texas at Austin first offered programs specifically for
corporate executives. The business landscape was very different
back then…and, like today, the executive program mirrored
that world.
Fifty years ago, the oil and gas industry ruled Texas, students wore suits to Executive Education classes, there were ashtrays on the tables, and women were few and far between. Courses were two to six weeks long and held at a local country club. Attending one of these education seminars was a perk that big companies doled out to their highest level executives. While individuals gleaned valuable information and learned about new management techniques and the like, executive education was not built into the advancement structure, and it was not the strategic component of a company’s human resources effort that it is today.
A growing understanding of the value of people in organizations is what has driven the demand for executive education. Savvy companies see executive education as a key strategic advantage and they understand the imperative of developing their human capital. That realization has fueled demand over the last decade.
“The key to adding value is to give employees the analytical skills and tools to solve problems in their organizations themselves,” says Larry Abeln, associate dean for Executive Education. To meet that rising demand, McCombs Executive Education now encompasses a portfolio of public enrollment programs, custom programs and five alternative-format MBA programs for working professionals.
In the hyper-competitive economy of the 21st century - where only the nimblest and most strategic of companies can stay ahead of the curve - the keyword for McCombs Executive Education is relevance.
MEETING MARKET DEMAND
The broadening of McCombs Executive Education’s offerings in degree programs for working professionals tracks a national trend. In recent years, the program has entered the Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth markets, adding to its existing Executive MBA programs in Austin and Mexico City (which collaborates with Monterrey Tech). “In Houston and Dallas, there has been growing demand for a national MBA of the highest quality in a nontraditional format, which UT and our faculty represent,” Abeln says.
“Very few business schools have been successful delivering MBA degrees outside their main campuses.” Those that are successful include Wharton, the University of Chicago, and INSEAD in Singapore and France.
In fact, The University of Texas at Austin’s part-time MBA program in Houston caused other programs in the city’s executive education market to retool. Rice, Tulane, Texas A&M and the University of Houston have all either revamped, redesigned or completely resurrected their respective MBA programs in response to the success of the McCombs School’s program for working professionals.
“In our part-time MBA program in Houston, our yield rate is more than 90 percent. That’s over 9 out of 10 candidates that we admit who accept our offer of admission,” Abeln told the Houston Chronicle in March. “We’re not losing many candidates to our competitors.”
But the increased competition in the market does require constant vigilance and continual improvement—and the McCombs School’s Executive Education team is facing the challenge head on.
CUSTOM-DESIGNED FOR BUSINESS
A recent CNN survey revealed that the headquarters of 55 companies in the Fortune 500 (and more than 100 in the Fortune 1000) are in Texas cities. That represents a huge market for McCombs Executive Education. At the same time, changes in labor markets and workplace trends directly affect delivery of programs. Reductions in traditional labor-intensive organizations and increases in technology and service sector companies mean that retraining is necessary to keep workers flexible and mobile.
Fifty years ago, the oil and gas industry ruled Texas, students wore suits to Executive Education classes, there were ashtrays on the tables, and women were few and far between. Courses were two to six weeks long and held at a local country club. Attending one of these education seminars was a perk that big companies doled out to their highest level executives. While individuals gleaned valuable information and learned about new management techniques and the like, executive education was not built into the advancement structure, and it was not the strategic component of a company’s human resources effort that it is today.
A growing understanding of the value of people in organizations is what has driven the demand for executive education. Savvy companies see executive education as a key strategic advantage and they understand the imperative of developing their human capital. That realization has fueled demand over the last decade.
“The key to adding value is to give employees the analytical skills and tools to solve problems in their organizations themselves,” says Larry Abeln, associate dean for Executive Education. To meet that rising demand, McCombs Executive Education now encompasses a portfolio of public enrollment programs, custom programs and five alternative-format MBA programs for working professionals.
In the hyper-competitive economy of the 21st century - where only the nimblest and most strategic of companies can stay ahead of the curve - the keyword for McCombs Executive Education is relevance.
MEETING MARKET DEMAND
The broadening of McCombs Executive Education’s offerings in degree programs for working professionals tracks a national trend. In recent years, the program has entered the Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth markets, adding to its existing Executive MBA programs in Austin and Mexico City (which collaborates with Monterrey Tech). “In Houston and Dallas, there has been growing demand for a national MBA of the highest quality in a nontraditional format, which UT and our faculty represent,” Abeln says.
“Very few business schools have been successful delivering MBA degrees outside their main campuses.” Those that are successful include Wharton, the University of Chicago, and INSEAD in Singapore and France.
In fact, The University of Texas at Austin’s part-time MBA program in Houston caused other programs in the city’s executive education market to retool. Rice, Tulane, Texas A&M and the University of Houston have all either revamped, redesigned or completely resurrected their respective MBA programs in response to the success of the McCombs School’s program for working professionals.
“In our part-time MBA program in Houston, our yield rate is more than 90 percent. That’s over 9 out of 10 candidates that we admit who accept our offer of admission,” Abeln told the Houston Chronicle in March. “We’re not losing many candidates to our competitors.”
But the increased competition in the market does require constant vigilance and continual improvement—and the McCombs School’s Executive Education team is facing the challenge head on.
CUSTOM-DESIGNED FOR BUSINESS
A recent CNN survey revealed that the headquarters of 55 companies in the Fortune 500 (and more than 100 in the Fortune 1000) are in Texas cities. That represents a huge market for McCombs Executive Education. At the same time, changes in labor markets and workplace trends directly affect delivery of programs. Reductions in traditional labor-intensive organizations and increases in technology and service sector companies mean that retraining is necessary to keep workers flexible and mobile.
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