Enhancing the Impact of an Open-Enrollment Executive Program Through Assessment

The authors describe a longitudinal action research study of an open-enrollment senior executive program at a top-tier U.S. university. Over a period of 10 years the faculty director and program staff made changes to meet clients' needs by creating an innovative curriculum design that integrates adult learning and human resource development theory with executive education. Specifically, the authors present the findings from the 5-year action research project that grew out of this redesign process, demonstrating how connections between learner-focused program practices can facilitate assessment of program impact. The authors then discuss the implications for integrating assessment with curricular design of the program for evaluating the benefits of programs for sponsoring companies.