Financial Times Ranks Smith School Custom Executive Program No. 8 in the World for Value for the Money

College Park, Md. May 14, 2007 - The custom executive education program at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business is ranked No. 8 globally for value for the money in the Financial Times Executive Education 2007 rankings, published today. The program scored highly in several categories in the influential rankings including No. 8 globally for preparation, which measures how companies feel their ideas were integrated into a program and the effectiveness in which a schools latest research was integrated. The rankings placed the Smith School No. 19 among all U.S. programs

The Smith School launched its executive education program in 2001. The school employs a distinctive approach to designing customized programs for organizations seeking to enhance the capabilities of high-potential business professionals and leverage new economy business practices. Smiths programs integrate thought leadership with an organization's specific goals to achieve maximum impact.

Smith School custom executive education programs are offered in both the United States and China, and clients include leading multinational companies including: Lockheed Martin, General Electric, Black and Decker, Entergy, Home Depot, Hughes Network Systems and Northrop Grumman.

The Financial Times custom ranking is compiled from responses to two types of surveys: a corporate client questionnaire compiled from telephone interviews of top corporate custom program purchasers for each school and an online survey of statistical data which is completed by each participating business school. The data from the client questionnaire are used to compile the first 11 criteria in the table which make up 80 percent of the schools final score.