The Executive MBA Council (EMBAC) Student Exit Benchmarking Survey reveals not only data about salary increases for recent EMBA graduates, but also indicates the aspects of the EMBA experience they value the most.

“Salary packages rose on average 16.8 percent for recent EMBA graduates in the survey from program start to program end,” says Michael Desiderio, EMBAC executive director.

The average salary and bonus package at program start for students in the 2014 survey was $155,848, up from $140,310 in 2013. By the end of the program, the average salary and bonus package rose to $181,965, up from $159,963 in 2013.

EMBAC conducts the Student Exit Benchmarking Survey to track the perceptions and opinions of EMBA program graduates and to help measure the return on investment of the degree. The survey included 2,323 students from 79 EMBA Programs.

“The salary figures help tell part of the story about the degree’s impact,” says Desiderio. “Students also gain skills and enhance their leadership abilities in ways that help them add value to their organizations.”

The survey showed that the percentage of graduates who received new responsibilities increased slightly from 51 percent in 2013 to 53 percent in 2014, as well as those who reported a promotion during their time in the program, from 38 percent in 2013 to 41 percent in 2014.

EMBA graduates also report high levels of satisfaction with their EMBA experience, ranking program quality (4.1 on a 5-point scale), their willingness to recommend their program to a colleague or friend (4.2) and the likelihood of supporting the program as alumni (4.1).

In addition, students rated the performance of their programs in a number of areas, such as program evaluation, faculty, teaching methods, curriculum, course areas, and learning outcomes.

Program Evaluation
Programs performed best on the following attributes, according to students in the survey:

• Overall length of program (4.4)
• Class size, reputation of business school, and compatibility of class schedule with work (each 4.2)
• Quality of other students and quality of study team/study group (each 4.1)

Faculty
Faculty performed best on the following attributes, according to students in the survey:

• Accessibility (4.3)
• Ability to draw upon experience of students (4.2)
• Teaching effectiveness, responsiveness to students’ needs, and ability to incorporate issues/events (each 4.1)

Teaching Methods
Faculty performed best on the following attributes, according to students in the survey:

• Quality of class discussions (4.2)
• Relevance of assigned course materials (4.1)
• Relevance of assigned course materials, quality of lectures, quality of team projects, quality of individual projects, and quality of case studies (each 4.1)

Curriculum
Programs performed the best on the following attributes, according to students in the survey:

• Content of core curriculum and appropriate degree of academic rigor (each 4.1)
• Relevance of class work to job/career and appropriate degree of global content (each 4.0)

Course Areas
Programs performed the best in the following course areas, according to students in the survey:

• Strategy courses and finance courses (each 4.2)
• Accounting courses and economics courses (each 4.1)
• Management/organizational behavior courses, leadership courses, and statistics/quantitative methods courses (each 4.0)

Operations/Administration
Programs performed the best in the following attributes, according to students in the survey:

• Registration process (4.4)
• Responsiveness of administration and classroom facilities (each 4.3)
• Communications with students (4.2)
• Tuition payment options, technology support, and responsiveness of financial aid staff (each 4.1)

Learning Outcomes
Programs performed the best in the following attributes, according to students in the survey:

• Integration of business disciplines (4.2)
• Critical thinking, decision-making skills, leadership skills, and team-building skills (each 4.1)
• Quantitative analytical skills, communications skills, and global sensitivity (each 4.0)

“Gathering this data helps programs better understand and meet student expectations, as well as learn more about their performance on attributes in key areas,” says Desiderio.