Kelley executive education program ranks high

The Financial Times has ranked Kelley Executive Partners, the executive education branch of the Kelley School of Business, among “the world’s leaders” for the past five years, and 2012 is no exception. Kelley was ranked 34th in the world, 13th among United States business schools, third among public universities and first in the Big 10.

“Unlike history or philosophy departments, business schools must bridge the gap between business and academia, and the place to do that is on the doorsteps of global companies,” Della Bradshaw, editor of the Financial Times, wrote in the article corresponding to the rankings.

The Financial Times compiles this annual report based on the feedback from corporate clients. Kelley scored high for its teaching methods, facilities and alumni follow-up. Also contributing to Kelley’s global ranking was the diversity of its faculty, its international client base and its overseas programs.

Kelley’s partnerships abroad include companies such as Pfizer in Malaysia and Coca Cola in Northwest Africa.

“The strategic vision of the Kelley School is to be recognized as being among the world’s most important business schools,” said Dan Smith, dean of Kelley, in a press release. “We are proud that some of the most prominent companies in the world turn to the Kelley School for the knowledge and skills that will help them compete more effectively in the global marketplace.”

Kelley’s executive education program allows corporations to consult directly with Kelley faculty members for advice in the areas of leadership development, sales and marketing, corporate innovation, supply chain logistics, corporate governance and strategy, finance and data analysis.

An example of this process would be assessing a domestic company’s ability to extend its economic reach abroad. The Kelley School helps a company reorganize and educate its staff about the geography and particular technology of an area so individuals within the company can participate in this expansion.

“We help them solve business problems with their people,” Kelley Executive Partners Executive Director John Cady said.

Alumni career progress, diversity and idea generation were also factors considered in the Financial Times ranking process. Kelley was ranked highest in areas of “aims achieved rank,” “placement success rank” and faculty research.

“We have 200 faculty in any given year work with corporations,” Cady said. “That’s a real value to our degree studies because it gives students faculty that have real world experience.”

However, Kelley was ranked lowest in its students’ diversity of languages. Its overall ranking moved upward 27 places in 2012 and placed it among University of California-Los Angeles and the Stockholm School of Economics as a leader in the field of executive education.

“Companies will talk with two or three different business schools and ask for recommendations before deciding to do business,” Cady said. “We use the rankings in the Financial Times as an indicator that we have been viewed as successful, and it gets us into the race.”