How to persuade your boss to fund your EMBAShout
If you think asking for a raise in tough economic times is hard, try persuading your boss to sponsor an executive MBA. Given that EMBAs can cost upward of $100,000 (plus time off to pursue studies), it's not surprising that the number of companies sponsoring EMBAs has dropped significantly. According to figures from the EMBA Council, an international body, roughly one-third of Canadian EMBA students are fully sponsored, compared with nearly two-thirds of students a decade ago.
But, as it turns out, getting to yes is not impossible. Working for a company that values the pursuit of knowledge is a good start, according to Mary Ann Yule, vice-president and general manager of CDW Canada, a technology solutions provider. "We're big supporters of learning and development and making sure our co-workers have all the tools at hand," she explains. Ms. Yule discovered this sentiment extends across the entire company when CDW provided her with full sponsorship for her recently completed Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program. "We value education for our co-workers," Ms. Yule says, "because they will be better, smarter and faster in what they do for a living."
The only string attached to Ms. Yule's sponsorship was a commitment to continue working at CDW Canada for at least two years after completing her EMBA. For companies that do provide sponsorship, such conditions are becoming far more common, as are minimum grade point averages. Acknowledging these new challenges, the McGill-HEC Montréal EMBA program created a guide in 2009 to help prospects better explain to their companies why the investment is worthwhile. "Learning is relevant and practical," the guide notes, "something you can put in place on Monday after leaving school on Sunday." The guide also details how sponsorship can be defined more broadly—anything from favourable loan financing, in lieu of direct monetary support, to using vacation time to cover days that execs are in class.
For companies trying to justify the spending, it's worth remembering that EMBA sponsorship doesn't only benefit the executive in question. Ms. Yule has already taken advantage of her new network to explore ideas and solve pressing business problems. And Marianne Vandenbosch, program director for the McGill-HEC Montréal EMBA, is quick to point out the various benefits for the sponsor company. McGill-HEC's program encourages candidates to discuss and debate company challenges with professors, and address issues specific to their organization through ongoing assignments and a final applied research paper. "From the company's perspective," notes Vandenbosch, "if your person gets hit by a bus on the last day of the program, the company has already gained a lot of knowledge and hasn't wasted that money."
As for whether you should mention the irrelevance of your death when pitching an EMBA, we'll leave that up to you.