The Unique Governance Challenges of Graduate Contract-Cohort Programs

Abstract

A growing trend in American higher education is for employers to contract with universities for a cohort of employees to complete a graduate management degree program. The experience at two universities with four different contract organizations over a 6-year period illustrates that this arrangement is ideal for the delivery of management education. At the same time, the contract organization becomes a stakeholder of the university department, which has implications that will be novel and unique compared with anything else the department has ever done. This article describes some of the governance challenges as universities and employers partner in a graduate management degree program. A number of issues are surfaced and described. The article concludes with suggestions for others who might initiate a contract-cohort program, and a discussion of some of the future research opportunities.

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