The Johnson School at the Crossroads: Future Choices for Excellence
Jason Jagatic `02
Issue date: 5/14/01 Section: Johnson News
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As most of you know, the current Johnson School portfolio of offerings consists of three major programs: the traditional two-year MBA program, the Twelve Month Option (TMO) MBA, and the Executive MBA (EMBA) program. This product mix has served the Johnson School well. However, changes in the education market, particularly in executive education, have created the possibility to modify and improve these offerings.
Advances in technology have introduced numerous opportunities in online learning (or e-learning), as it is now possible to deliver course content over the Internet. Further, the growing market interest in executive education (and subsequently the increased competition in this space) requires education providers to offer increasingly innovative programs to capture this high margin business. Other top schools have been active in this area. For example, Duke University, which is widely regarded as a leader in executive education, recently launched an international executive MBA program by establishing a campus in Germany. New competition also comes in the form of new players (SmartForce, Kaplan) who are moving into the “executive education space,” and from the many companies (Disney, Sprint) that are looking to internalize their training.
Undoubtedly, the market has undergone significant change. As a part of the Johnson School’s effort to improve its competitive positioning, Deloitte Consulting (DC) began an independent study of JGSM’s position within this greater context on April 2nd. The purpose of the study was to gain an overview of the management education market and identify open opportunities – specifically addressing issues such as market trends, needs, internal capabilities and the competitive landscape – while investigating opportunities in “e-learning” and possible expansion of the current Executive MBA program.
The project, which continued until April 27th, was truly a joint effort between the school and DC. The engagement team consisted of professional DC consultants working with a team of JGSM students. This arrangement built on the students’ knowledge of the school and gave us the opportunity to develop first-hand ‘real-world’ consulting engagement experience, while leveraging the expertise and experience of Deloitte Consulting. Two consultants from DC’s New York office, Grace Park and Michal Schmidt, set up camp at Sage Hall for the month, where they worked on a full-time basis on this pro-bono project. Along with support from various internal DC resources, Mic and Grace received assistance and guidance from Jan Woodcock, a DC partner from the Telecom and Communications Strategy practice in New York
Advances in technology have introduced numerous opportunities in online learning (or e-learning), as it is now possible to deliver course content over the Internet. Further, the growing market interest in executive education (and subsequently the increased competition in this space) requires education providers to offer increasingly innovative programs to capture this high margin business. Other top schools have been active in this area. For example, Duke University, which is widely regarded as a leader in executive education, recently launched an international executive MBA program by establishing a campus in Germany. New competition also comes in the form of new players (SmartForce, Kaplan) who are moving into the “executive education space,” and from the many companies (Disney, Sprint) that are looking to internalize their training.
Undoubtedly, the market has undergone significant change. As a part of the Johnson School’s effort to improve its competitive positioning, Deloitte Consulting (DC) began an independent study of JGSM’s position within this greater context on April 2nd. The purpose of the study was to gain an overview of the management education market and identify open opportunities – specifically addressing issues such as market trends, needs, internal capabilities and the competitive landscape – while investigating opportunities in “e-learning” and possible expansion of the current Executive MBA program.
The project, which continued until April 27th, was truly a joint effort between the school and DC. The engagement team consisted of professional DC consultants working with a team of JGSM students. This arrangement built on the students’ knowledge of the school and gave us the opportunity to develop first-hand ‘real-world’ consulting engagement experience, while leveraging the expertise and experience of Deloitte Consulting. Two consultants from DC’s New York office, Grace Park and Michal Schmidt, set up camp at Sage Hall for the month, where they worked on a full-time basis on this pro-bono project. Along with support from various internal DC resources, Mic and Grace received assistance and guidance from Jan Woodcock, a DC partner from the Telecom and Communications Strategy practice in New York