Berkeley MBA graduates, starting with the class of 2011, can continue to hone their business skills through free training offered by the school’s Center for Executive Education, Dean Rich Lyons announced this month.
Alumni of all three of the Haas School’s Berkeley MBA programs – Full-time, Evening & Weekend, and Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA – will enjoy two days of free executive education programs within the first five years after graduation. This benefit starts with the Berkeley MBA graduating classes of May 2011 and the Berkeley-Columbia class that will graduate in February. The benefit, available immediately after graduation, will allow the new alumni to access a variety of open enrollment courses through the Center for Executive Education.
The new program was inspired by the school’s emphasis on being "Students Always" – one of the school's four defining principles.
The program is meant to expand a tradition of providing alumni access to lifelong learning. Since 2004, Berkeley MBA alumni have come back to Berkeley-Haas to take MBA courses for free, as availability allows, under the Alumni Audit Program. Approximately 200 alumni take advantage of the program each academic year. In addition, all Haas alumni enjoy a 15 percent discount for any open enrollment executive education course they attend.
“The culture at Berkeley-Haas is that we are passionate about learning, and we know we'll always have plenty more yet to learn,” says Dean Lyons. “That’s what makes the world exciting, and that’s what drives innovation in the marketplace.”
The Center for Executive Education provides both custom programs designed for specific corporate clients and open enrollment courses across a wide range of topics, from leadership and innovation to industry topics such as high-tech product management and energy.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work more closely with our alumni,” says Whitney Hischier, MBA 01, assistant dean for executive learning at Haas. “MBA graduation is literally just the beginning of our relationship with the student–we expect to connect with alumni throughout the course of their professional career.
"Additionally, as ambassadors for the Haas brand, alumni participation in our executive education programs will enable us to more closely align with the needs of the market as well as provide ongoing feedback to our faculty on how we can innovate our content and teaching. “
For more information on the new executive education offer, contact Kristina Susac at 510-642-9167 or [email protected].