The Financial Times has released its open enrollment executive education ranking for 2014.
This year, the ranking is topped once again by Switzerland's IMD Business School, which has topped the ranking since 2012. In second place is the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, which rose three places.
HEC Paris and Viriginia - Darden are tied for third place. (Darden climbed spots this year; HEC Paris rose 4 places.)
France's INSEAD rose one spot to land at position five. Spain's IESE Business School and Harvard Business School are tied for spot 6.
Returning Additions and Newcomers
Further down, the list features some new additions, as well as a few schools that dropped off the list in the last few years.
UCLA - Anderson, for instance, re-appeared on the ranking at spot 20 this year, after dropping off last year. Likewise, Brazil's Fundação Instituto de Administração, which hasn't been included in the ranking since 2011, resurfaced this year at place number 69.
New additions to the ranking this year include China's Xiamen University School of Management, which debuted at position 53, and the University of Alberta, which is ranked 66 this year.
To determine the ranking, the Financial Times surveys both course participants and the business schools themselves. Criteria include aspects such as "Course Design" (the appropriateness of the course and its flexibility) to the "Quality of Participants" (which can include diversity and the quality of peer interaction.)
For the open enrollment ranking, the schools are also rated in terms of revenue. This year, revenues from open enrollment programs are up on average, with "three in five schools performing better in 2013 than 2012," according to an overview of the ranking by the Financial Times.
The survey also found that people were generally satisfied with their executive education providers, and that this satisfaction created a sense of loyalty. "Open programmes have on average more than 50 per cent of repeat business," the report said.
