While most business school deans are in a panic about the downturn in the market for short executive programmes, for some schools the crisis could bring in business. At the University of Miami school of business in the US, dean Barbara Kahn is optimistic. “Given the economy, it might just be good for us, not bad.”

The school is a niche player in executive education, offering shorter programmes in healthcare at prices below those charged at the big-name schools. But the lower costs and locality may be to the school’s advantage. “As firms are slashing their executive education budgets, it is allowing us to come in with a foot in the door,” says Prof Kahn. “Some local companies have decided not to send people up to the top schools this year.”