Fellowship in Lifelong Learning: an Executive Development Program for Advanced Professionals

Abstract

Typical executive education is unresponsive to the needs and style of advanced professionals in management. The Professional Fellows Programwas designed as a nondegree, self-designing program with no discipline-defined courses or grades. Typically, Fellows pay for the program personally. An outcome study showed that 1 to 3 years after the program, Fellows had (a) greater self-confidence, in particular the confidence to change; (b) increased sense of taking control of their lives; (c) created a legitimacy for working on life/career transitions; and (d) become members of a new reference group. This suggests a different pedagogy for advanced professionals with possibilities for innovation in other management education programs.