Based upon our experience over the last 14 years of offering this program, we have found that a college degree or extensive business experience lead to the most successful experience for the student. Almost all of our students have undergraduate degrees, a few have master's degrees, and the occasional student has a Ph.D. We have also drawn a number of M.D.'s over the years.
The typical student has little or no background in finance and accounting but desires to add these skills to their portfolio. We also get a number of students with MBA's who are interested in either a refresher course or to specialize in finance. We have drawn participants from both the for-profit and the not-for-profit worlds, including a number in local government.
Our classes are limited in size to permit one-on-one interaction with our faculty who are the same faculty that teach on our regular MBA and EMBA programs. Each class is planned to begin with the very basics of a particular topic and to end the evening on the cutting edge of knowledge. Each evening, therefore, is planned to provide a positive take-away for everyone in the class no matter their level of expertise. The program as a whole begins with fundamentals and moves to a more advanced level.
We perceive that this program is a very useful way for managers who have come up through the marketing or operational ranks to hone their financial skills before moving into the executive suite. It has also proven a very useful stepping stone for many into an MBA program.
