NTU and NCCU claim No. 1 and 2 in 2015 Top-3000 Companies’ Managers’ Choices of EMBA; Cheers.

2015 Top-3000 Companies’ Managers’ Choices of EMBA; Cheers.

NTU and NCCU have won the rating as No. 1 and 2, while the Central University and Feng Chia University are rising fast.

More that 50 percent of the managers believe taking EMBA program will help promotion or business.

Offshore Program Remains Attractive; Cross-strait Double Diploma Cools Down

For 13 years in a roll the Cheers has conducted a poll on university rating among top 3000 managers based on the criteria of “willingness to enroll” and “recommendation to apply”. This year the Cheers expands the survey population with two strata: a group of managers who are now or in the past have had enrolled in EMBA programs, and another group of managers who have plan to enroll. Their ratings are incorporated to produce the top 10 of the 20152015 Top-3000 Companies’ Managers’ Choices of EMBA.

NTU and NCCU have won the rating as No. 1 and 2, while the Central University and Feng Chia University are rising fast.

The 2015 top 10 EMBA programs that are mostly desired by the managers are NTU, NCCU, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, National Taipei University of Technology, National Cheng Kung University, National Sun Yat-sen University, National Central University, National Tsing Hua University, and Feng Chia University (see Table 1). NTU and NCCU firmly remain on top 1 and 2. Regional universities and the ones closely related to industrial clusters, like NCU and FCU, have also made the top 10 list. EMBAs of occupational and athletic schools are performing well. NTUT receives lower voting rate, but a small group of respondents have given it very high scores, making NTUT reach the top 10 list.

The survey suggests brand name is still critical, while the managers give more weighting to integration of practical experience and academic teaching. Further analysis shows little differences between NTU and NCCU in the 10 index. NTU prevails in School Reputation, Opportunities for International Exchange, and Student Quality, but falls short on Close Integration with Industry, Influential Capacity, and Curriculum Matching Needs and Future Trend (see Table 2).

The new comers in the rating, NCU and FCU, are promoted respectively from No. 12 and 8 last year. For the first time FCU makes to the top 10 list, suggesting that its local development efforts have paid off.

Occupational and athletic universities are popular for their strong integration with industrial practice

The ranking also reveals that occupational and athletic universities are coming up strong; National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and NTUT have made to the top 10. In the 10 index, particularly the Reputation in Engaged Industry and Close Integration with Industry receive high recommendation among the managers, which suggests that managers value more and more integration of industry and academia and wish to apply their study in practice; solving industrial problems is an important objective (see Table 2).

NTU and NCCU Attractive across Regions; Each Focuses on Specific Industry to Match SMBs’ needs 

In North, Central, and South regions, NTU’s brand name is attractive across the three regions, while NCCU, for the very first time, is preferred among the managers in the Central. In the South, however, Cheng Kung University, National Sun Yat-sen University firmly remain No. 1 and 2 (see Table3).

Market Saturation Remains; Lack of Time and Limited Help are the Major Two Obstacles

In responding to intensified competition among EMBA programs in Taiwan, universities begin to focus on local development and connection with industries, such as regional brand name and featured curriculum. In general, however, EMBA market in Taiwan is saturated and the number of managers having plans to enroll in EMBA program drops from 23.85% last year to 13.2% this year, and managers do not plan to take EMBA program rises from 50.31% last year to 62.27% (see Table 4). Lack of Time, Already Own Master Degree, Limited Help in Work/Operation are the 3 major obstacles preventing the managers to enroll in EMBA programs (see Table 5).

Having said so, the managers who are currently enrolled maintain positive about educational values of EMBA programs. They find mostly meritorious in Learning Operations and New Developments in Different Disciplines, Establishing Personal Connection, and Solving Operational/Managerial Problems (see Table 6). In addition, more than half of the managers believe completion of the program will bring promotion and raise salary. 53% of them declare more opportunities to start their own businesses.

Offshore Program Remains Attractive; Cross-strait Double Diploma Cools Down

The survey reveals that 35% of the managers consider taking Taiwan’s EMBA program delivered offshore, and among them, 5.56% have enrolled, slightly higher than 4.07% last year. As high as 20.8% consider location important and is higher than 19.82% last year. Establishing International Connection, Expand Vision, International View are the primary motives for taking the program, suggesting a strong need of international prospect among managers (see Table 9).

As the Greater China becomes the center of gravity in global economy, as high as 39.37% of the managers are willing to enroll in the branches in China operated by European/US universities or double diploma EMBA program established locally. However, further inquiry on location of enrollment shows 57.85% of managers prefer a location of branch in Taiwan, and Shanghai is the next preference (18.60%) (see Table 10).

The cross-strait double diploma EMBA programs so popular a few years ago have problem with finding new students this year (see Table 11) because they take too long in time and cost a fortune.

Survey description

1. The 2015 Top-3000 Companies’ Managers’ Choices of EMBA survey is conducted by the Common Wealth Magazine Poll Center between Sep. 22 and Oct. 17, 2014 on department heads with managerial positions, working at least 3 years for the top 3000 companies rated by the Common Wealth Magazine. After deductions of reject and non-contact companies, questionnaire forms are delivered to total 2,092 companies. To prevent forgery and human intervention, the Common Wealth Magazine randomly selects replied forms and verifies such with respective respondents for confirmation. In the end total 750 copies of replied forms are deemed valid.
2. Regarding to EMBA ranking, only the managers who have plans to and already enrolled in EMBA programs are included in the statistics and to realize the votes of Willingness to Enroll/Recommendation to Apply and average scores of the ten major constructs. Each respondent may choose 1 to 3 universities, of which EMBA programs that they plan to enroll or recommendation to apply.  A university must have a voting rate over 2% to qualify further scoring, and total 12 universities have met the standard. The calculation first separately standardizes and sums the EMBAs’ voting rates and the average scores in the 10 constructs, and the final ranking is determined by 3 times of weighting of voting rates to the average scores of the 10 constructs’ evaluation.

Attachments

Table 1: 2015 Top 3000 Companies’ Managers’ Choices and Recommended Top 10 

Table 2: Score Table of the Top 10 EMBAs Preferred by the Managers of the Top 3000 Companies

Table 3: Top 5 Choices by Managers by Regions Voting rates of Willingness to Enroll

Table 4: 60% of managers have no plan to enroll

Do you plan to enroll in EMBA program in Taiwan? (%)

Table 5: Major obstacles to enrollment: Lack of Time, Limited Help

The reason(s) that you have no plan to enroll in EMBA program in Taiwan? (choose up to 3) (%)

Table 6: Major benefits of enrollment: Cross-discipline, Personal Connection, Solution for Operation/Management

Major benefits you receive from enrolling EMBA? (Choose up to 3) (%)

Table 7: More than half of the managers believe completing EMBA program may help with promotion, salary raise, and starting-up business. 

Table 8: 35% considering Taiwan’s offshore EMBA programs are motivated by cross-country personal connection

Table 9: Reasons that you are willing to enroll in Taiwan’s offshore EMBA program? (Choose up to 3) (%)

Table 10: Nearly 40% are interested to enroll in European/American branch university branches or double diploma offered in the Greater China Area with preference of location in Taiwan

Table 11: 56% not interested in Cross-strait EMBA double diploma.

Are you interested in pursuing double diploma EMBA program jointly offered by Taiwanese and Chinese universities (ranked top 100 in the Financial Times)? (%)