You will want to begin by identifying those courses that fit your basic requirements. There are two aspects to this;

Your Needs - i.e., what you want to learn and gain from the course, the type of experience you want to have, etc.

Your Circumstances - i.e., the practical considerations.

As regards your needs, you will want to ask questions like -

• Is the subject focus what I want?
• Is the content what I want?
• Is the course intended for people like me?

As regards you circumstances you will want to think about questions such as -

• Does the course run where I am or want to be?
• Is the duration right for me?
• Can I give it the time it will require?
• Is the course structure right for me?
• Is the start date right for me?

Then there are some other - more subtle - questions-

Will the course have people like me on it?

A lot of what you will gain will be from interaction with and learning from other participants so you need to ensure that, in some respects, they are not very different from you, in particular that they have a similar amount of experience to draw upon, have held jobs at similar levels to you, etc. You might not want to be on a course where most others were very much older or younger than you. In other respects you will want to ensure that there is some differences - e.g., that there will be people from a range of backgrounds, cultures etc. The twin issues therefore are - the level of the people and the diversity of the group.

What will the Experience be like?

Some would argue that one of the most important aspects of Management Development is experience - i.e. what happens to you and what you do with it. Look at your course choice in this way also - especially if it is a relatively long course - e.g. 2 or more weeks. You will want to get things from the course other than information and knowledge. You will want to extend your network of useful contacts, to develop your self-confidence etc. Much of this is to do with 'process' i.e. the style of the course.

How International?

If you are travelling a long way to do a course - you will probably want it to be international. There are several ways that you can check out whether it is. Look at three things:

The curriculum - is it international - are there international cases, are the subjects dealt with from an international perspective, is there coverage of international/global issues, etc.?

The faculty - are they international - have they experience of working in other countries, where do they come from, where were they educated, where have they worked before, etc.?

The participants - how many different nationalities will there be - how many different regions of the world will they come from?

What learning or teaching methods will be used on the course?

People learn differently - so will the style of course suit you? For example will there be a lot of group working and if so is that something you will enjoy and be good at? Will there be a lot of case study work - and if so are you good at reading a lot, quickly and absorbing information in this way. Will there be an emphasis on lecturing - will this suit you? Perhaps project work will be important - so do you have much experience of investigating things, preparing reports and making presentations? Of course you will be going on a program to develop your skills - so you will not be good at everything - but overall you will want to ensure that the style of the course will suit you.

How much work will be required?

Naturally you will want a program which is demanding. - but nevertheless achievable. Typically how much time will you need to put in. How much time and how frequently will you need to be at the Business School. Can you cope with these requirements? Will it fit your domestic or job situation? That's not the same as asking if you can fit it in without any effect on anything else - such a course may not be worth very much to you.

How easy is it to get onto the course?

Doing a course is one thing - having done one which is respected and recognized is sometimes another. The status of a course will often be reflected in the competition to get into it. So you may want to know about how many applications a course gets - and what proportion are admitted.

What support will there be?

If you are planning to do a Part time, Modular or Distance Learning course, what support - e.g., tutor contact, face to face contact, contact with other participants, etc. is provided when you are not actually on the Course? How important is this seen to be by the School - because it could make all the difference between an intermittent activity and one where you are able to work with others and continue your development over the full duration of the Course- even remotely.

Will you be expected/helped to make contact with others at your stage of the course? Will all those who start at the same time - or in the same area - be put together as a group to work together or are you going to be alone?

Is this an established course?

Age is not necessarily related to quality - but you might like to check how long the course has been running. If it is well established it is more likely to be well known. On the other hand if it has been running for some time you might like find out when there were last any significant changes to the structure, content, syllabus etc since a course that does not change is soon likely to be out of date.

Further - check out how long the 'Provider' has been running this type of course - if not this specific one, e.g. because courses are updated frequently - then this type of course in the this subject area.

How important is this course to the 'Provider'?

Is this a mainstream course for the 'Provider' - or a fringe activity? If the former you can be reasonably sure the staff etc will give their best. If the latter, check more closely. In this case if it is well established then - good, but ask about intake numbers in previous years. Is the course growing, stable or declining? If the latter, ask why. All of these matters are to do with the significance of the course and thus your significance as a member of that course.

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