Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/100231
or coping with budget constraints. Different schools have different solutions,��� says Reid. ���I learn something new from each school I visit.��� Reid���s vision for the future of AACSB accreditation is threefold. First, he wants the process to be more globally inclusive, with more schools outside the United States pursuing and attaining AACSB accreditation. Second, he wants to streamline the accreditation process by moving many of its functional aspects online, so that schools can communicate with peer review teams more easily across time zones. Finally, he wants to recruit more volunteers from Asia, Latin America, and Africa, so that AACSB���s peer review teams better represent the global nature of its membership. Of the association���s more than 700 volunteer assignments, he says, most are currently filled by individuals from North America and Europe. Before he became a dean, Reid was the head of the department of marketing and hospitality management at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He also has authored or coauthored several books and articles on the service industry. Reid says that background has given him an appreciation of what it means to work in a service environment���and he views AACSB accreditation as a service the association offers to members. ���As a volunteer on peer review teams, I told each dean that while we were there to make recommendations about the school���s accreditation, we also wanted to make the process as easy as we possibly could,��� he says. As CAO, Reid looks forward to advancing AACSB���s accreditation mission and making a difference in business education. ���I see the future of AACSB accreditation as more evolutionary than revolutionary, as we stay focused on mission-driven continuous improvement,��� says Reid. ���We want to help business schools be better.��� Surveys: EMBA Programs Adapt New surveys by the Executive MBA Council show that recent EMBA graduates are generally satisfied with their programs, earning more money because of their degrees, and benefiting from adaptations schools have made to improve their outreach and upgrade their technology. The EMBA Council is headquartered in Orange, California. There���s good news on the salary front for recent EMBA graduates, according to those who participated in the organization���s 2012 Student Exit Benchmarking Survey. Graduates said their salary and bonus packages increased by 17.3 percent���from US$140,587 to $164,845���from program start to program end. That overall increase in compensation might be one reason most graduates are pleased with their EMBA experience. Sixty percent reported that they���re extremely likely to recommend the program to a friend or colleague, and 55 percent are extremely likely to support the program as alums. They might also be satisfied with their programs because schools are adapting to a changing marketplace by increasing their use of technology and expanding their outreach, according to the 2012 Executive MBA Council Membership Program Survey. According to survey results, EMBA programs are delivering 29 percent of materials electronically, more than double the 12 percent delivered electron- ically in 2010. Social media use also has increased dramatically; for example, 86 percent reported using LinkedIn in 2012, compared to 41 percent in 2009. Another key finding is that EMBA programs are working harder to connect with outside stakeholders. Among member schools, 60 percent have increased alumni outreach and 41 percent have increased corporate outreach efforts since 2009. It���s possible schools are doing more outreach because more students are paying their own way through EMBA programs. In 2012, 25.9 percent of students received full financial sponsorships from employers, and 35.1 received partial funding. Those numbers were down slightly from 2011 figures of 27.3 percent and 35.9 percent, respectively. To make up for that drop in funding, more EMBA programs are offering scholarships or fellowships; that number has risen from 38.8 percent in 2008 to 47.6 percent in 2012. The EMBA Council���s surveys showed little change in many of the other areas that the organization tracks: years of managerial experience (8.5), years of work experience (13.6), GPA (3.2), student age (37.2 years), percent of female students (25.4), program length (20 months), class size (44), and program costs ($72,782). BizEd January/February 2013 11