Fast-track ‘alumni’ boom: How short courses at Harvard and Stanford became big business
Achieving alumni status at an institution like the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School or Stanford used to mean years spent on campus and an outlay of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now, some students can add top-tier schools to their resume after several weeks, and far less money. They’re attending a growing number of executive education programs across the U.S., contributing to a market that’s expected to swell to more than $1.2 billion over the next decade, according to estimates from trade group Unicon. Colleges are building new facilities and adding staff to bolster their offerings, as well as creating courses to keep up with demand and the trends of the moment. Right now, that means artificial intelligence: Wharton lists almost a dozen non-degree programs with AI in the title, while at MIT, participants can pay more than $12,000 to spend five days on campus immersed in “Leading the AI-Driven Organization.” The programs are a growing source of revenue for universities, some of which are facing financial crunches and higher taxes on their endowment earnings. …
