When one EMBA prospect started following universities that were recognizing their diverse student populations, she learned that Baylor University just dedicated a statue to the university’s first Black students. She decided to learn more about Baylor’s EMBA Program.
The story illustrates two trends that Sharon Mawet sees on the recruiting and admissions front: Prospects who want to know more about diversity and other topics and prospects who are spending more time researching EMBA Programs on their own.
“Students are asking about diversity, not just classmates, but questions to faculty about how they are bringing articles, cases, and guest speakers to support diversity of thought in what they deliver in the classroom,” says Mawet, director of the Baylor Executive MBA Program in Dallas.
In admissions interviews, another topic interests students. More prospects want to know whether the program teaches artificial intelligence (AI) or makes use of AI or ChatGPT, she says.
Mawet also has noticed an increase in applications from prospects who did all their research online, which has implications for marketing and recruiting. “We put more emphasis on what we share through our email campaigns, our website, and social media so people can do the independent research they desire.”
Knowing that in some cases students are finding them on their own, the program has broadened its outreach outside of traditional email campaigns and digital advertising. It profiles alumni and students more often, capitalizing on their social media exposure.
Before the pandemic, the program hosted the traditional after-work information sessions. With interest already waning, the pandemic essentially meant the end for in-person information sessions and the start of customized appointments at times convenient to prospects.
“What has replaced that has been more one-on-one phone calls or one-on-one virtual sessions,” says Mawet. “They’re wanting their specific questions answered and a more personal response to what value we can bring to them.”
In the more than a dozen years since Mawet has worked at Baylor, she has seen changes in EMBA students. Although their reasons for coming to the program remain similar, their motivations have shifted a bit.
“I feel like today people are wanting the experience for their personal satisfaction and knowledge – I think the percentage of those students has increased,” she says. “People are investing more in themselves, and they see this as an investment in themselves.”
More organizations also seem on board, with a recent slight uptick of student sponsorship, perhaps as a talent retention tool in a tight job market. “Our employer support has increased since the pandemic. There was a trend of it decreasing before the pandemic, but we’ve had an increase since then.”
In another post-pandemic change, the average age of students also increased. Historically the average age hovered around 36 years, and in the last five cohorts that average rose to 38 and 39 years.
“I think people are thinking about their career in a longer-term vision,” says Mawet. “As they get into their late 40s or early 50s, they are really seeing a new chapter in their career developing, or a new interest, so they are using that MBA to pursue those career goals.”
Students in the program meet monthly face-to-face, and the program attracts students from throughout the country.
“It speaks to the idea that they are looking for the right program – that culture, that diversity, that knowledge we’re delivering is important to them, and they are willing to travel to find that right program.”
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