Top Ten Reasons Your Employer Should Sponsor You in the Executive MBA Program:

1) You will complete the program in just 20 months. (Most part-timers take 3-4 years.)

2) A classroom filled with experienced managers provides a rich learning experience. You will compete, be pushed to excel, and you will succeed. As a manager, you will develop keen analytic abilities, excellent decision-making capabilities and strong leadership skills.

3) Case analysis, project teamwork, presentation skills, negotiation exercises and effective report writing are all strongly emphasized in the Executive MBA Program.

4) Having a valued employee in the Executive MBA Program is a retention tool. You see that the company is committed to your development, and is willing to invest in it. During the time individuals are in the program, they rarely change employers.

5) The Executive MBA Program emphasizes real-time project applications. You may even select your own company for study in these projects. The results of even one effective study can often be worth more than the cost of the program. [A number of the projects are group projects. Often, an entire project group will work on the issues/problems of the employee's company.]

6) The Executive MBA Program is application-oriented. You will begin applying on the job what you learn in the program from day one. Peter Hay, former president of Progress Materials told us that there wasn't a single day of class where he didn't go back to the job and apply something he had learned.

7) You will miss work only one day per month during the four semesters of the program.

8) Your training in the latest technology ensures that your company can define and influence industry changes, rather than simply react to them.

9) The Executive MBA Program provides your organization with a vehicle to access the educational resources and professional network of USF's College of Business.

10) MBA training improves your company's profitability by increasing the effectiveness of your decision-making skills.

CONCLUDING POINTS: Harder work, less time, compressed program. Still, the faculty at almost every quality school rate the EMBA students more highly than the part/full time individuals. Employers having experience with EMBAs also appreciate their worth. EMBA candidates are high achievers to begin with, but the results are clear: they emerge smart. Reasons for this include:

a) They are high achievers - all of them. They collectively force maximum effort from everyone. Even when demanding the best from their in class peers, students develop a strong support network for one another. They work to ensure that everyone finishes.

b) They're committed. They're full-time managers and full-time students.

c) They're experienced - everyone in the room has managerial experience. Class discussions are rich and diverse. Students learn as much from each other as they learn from the faculty.

d) Special faculty are required to teach Executive MBAs. They need to have practical experience, current and applicable course materials and they need to enjoy challenge. USF's EMBA instructors are eminently qualified, diverse individuals who make the classroom an exciting place.