The business school market - France (2024)

1.2 The global business school market and students worldwide

Size of the global higher education market

The global higher education market is estimated by Precedence Research at over *** billion in **** and *** billion in ****. According to the same source, it should grow at an annual rate of **% between **** and ****. This gives us the following forecasts:

World higher education market World, ****-**** Source: ****

What's more, the higher education market is highly polarized, withNorth America (***) dominating. Thisis followed byAsia-Pacific with **% market share, and far behind by Latin America, Africa and the Middle East with a total of *%.

Breakdown of higher education market share World, ****, in Precedence Research

Market size of business schools

Within higher education, we can distinguish a specific type of training that concerns business and management. In terms of numbers, the GMAC (***) lists almost *,*** management degree programs worldwide.

By ****, the global MBA marketwill be worth US$** billion, according to CMI 's **** study.

In a **** article, the Financial Times, reports that all management degree programs represent a $* billion market and have recorded **% growth since ****. Some schools even generate more than $*** million in revenue each year. Among them, the article cites Harvard Business School (***).

The Financial Times article notes that the demand for executive education continues to grow and evolve. Today, demand is ...

1.3 Growth in the French market

The **** edition of the DEPP (***) annual publication: Repères et références statistiques reports on figures for the French education and research system.

The DEPP also reports on the evolution of enrolments (***) and in relation to the evolution of the number of schools.

enrolment trends in business, management and sales schools (***) France, September ****-January ****, in thousands of students Source: ****

For the ****/**** academic year, *** establishments would be registered as business, sales or management schools in France, an increase of over ** establishments in * years. The business school market is therefore on the rise, and also recording growth in the number of students. Student numbers are up **% between **** and ****, reaching ***,*** registered students for the ****/**** year, and also representing a *% increase on the previous year.

This growth is all the more considerable given that the total number of engineering students has grown by only **% since ****, from *** to *** thousand students in France in ****/****. The growth of business schools is therefore * times greater than that of engineering schools.

A **** article in Challenges reports that this dynamism is being driven by the grandes écoles, with their state-approved diplomas, and in particular those training for the Master's degree (***).

Today, the French business school market is also characterized by ...

2.1 French, foreign and scholarship students at business schools

Business schools: a dynamic branch of higher education

The DEPP report presents the share of business school students in the overall higher education landscape in France.

Breakdown of higher education student numbers by study programme France, ****, in Source: ****

The share of students in business schools is *.**% in ****, rising to *% in ****/****. Business schools are recording positive growth in student numbers over the **/** year (***), but well ahead of journalism schools, which are recording growth of over *% over the ****/**** year.

Attractiveness of French business schools for foreign students

Campus France's **** report on student mobility shows the distribution of foreign students in France by type of institution, and the evolution of this distribution over three years. The table is shown below.

Source: ****

Foreign students are therefore increasingly interested in French business schools, and the increase is the strongest there (***).

In France, while only **% of all foreign students come fromAsia-Oceania, this proportion rises to **% in business schools. The study reports on the origins of foreign students coming to business schools in France.

Origins of foreign business school students France, ****, in Source: ****

Scholarship students

Finally, the DEPP reports on the proportion of scholarship students enrolled in business schools since ****:

Proportion of business school students with social grants France, ...

2.2 Student profiles: path taken and degree sought

In its information note **.**, published in July, the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation publishes some data on the profile of business school students.

The data concerns only students in Group I schools (***), it remains relevant for approaching the average student.-

Level of education on entry to Group * schools

A breakdown by enrolment level is available for students who entered a Group * school in September ****.

Distribution of the number of students entering business schools by enrolment level France, start of the ****/**** academic year, in % Out of **,*** new students in ****/**** Source: ****

This breakdown has been stable for more than * years, and has changed very little. Group * business schools primarily admit post-baccalaureate and post CPGE or licence students.

Initial or continuing training: which diplomas?

In ****, business schools will primarily be attracting students preparing a state-approved Bac +* Master's degree. They account for **% of Groupe I students. This diploma has the advantage of being highly employable.

Breakdown of Group * business school students by type of degree prepared France, ****, in % Of all ***,*** Group I students in ****/**** Source: ****

Educational background of Master's degree registrants

Classes préparatoires appear to be the main entry route to business schools in the case of bac +* diplomas. In ...

2.3 Student profiles: gender and parent's social class

Relatively egalitarian training in terms of gender

The gender balance in business schools is very even. All *** business, management and sales schools in ****-**** will have ***,*** female students, and ***,*** male students. The proportion of women is "only" **.*% in Group I schools, but rises to **.*% in Group II and **.*% in Group III, for a final average of **.*% female students in business schools over the academic year to the end of ****.

Share of women in business, management and sales schools France, ****, in Source: ****

Social background of students and parents

Professions, senior management and teachers account for the largest proportion of parents of business school students.

Distribution of Group * business school students by parent's social class France, academic year ****/****, in % Source: ****

3.1 The French business school landscape

The DEPP classifies business schools into three groups:

Group I: schools recognized by the State and offering at least * diploma approved by the Ministry of Higher Education; Group II: schools recognized by the State but offering no recognized diploma; Group III: schools not recognized by the State.

Distribution of business school students by school group France, academic year ****/****, in % of total enrolment Source: ****

The *** Group I institutions bring together ***,*** students, ***,*** of whom are preparing for a degree approved by the French Ministry of Higher Education. Of these, **% are enrolled in courses leading to a bac + * diploma with a master's degree.

Group II comprises ** schools and **,*** students. Group III comprises *** schools and **,*** students, an increase of **% over * years.

3.2 Legal status of business schools and privatization of the sector

An article in Business Cool presents a typology of business school statuses. Three types of status are possible:

Public status (***);

There are actually very few of these in France. Among them isEM Strasbourg. This status is less and less common, as the state is providing less and less funding for schools, even though the need for financing is crucial to keep pace with competition and internationalization.

Private status (***);

This is the status that brings together most of the schools on the French landscape, and in particular the more confidential schools. Greater financial autonomy is the main argument for privatization. Private schools are divided between associations (***) and companies. Associations include Edhec, Montpellier BS and EM Normandie. Among the SAs, the privatization ofemlyon BS in **** caused quite a stir.

Consular schools

These schools are dependent on a CCI (***). They are partly public establishments. Nevertheless, CCI subsidies have been falling sharply since ****, and many schools have been turning to a new status since ****.

Creation and growth of EESC status

The creation of a new EESC (***).

Some business schools (***). This enables the schools' governance to be professionalized through better-organized cost management and changes to the range of products and services on offer. It offers schools ...

3.3 Business school budgets

Since the early ****s, business schools have undergone a major transformation: towards internationalization. The declared aim of the grandes écoles is now clear: to promote their diplomas and their network on a global scale. The creation of accreditations (***) has enabled schools to raise their profile.

However, financing programs, professors, research and partnerships is a very costly task, so the grandes écoles need to multiply their sources of revenue. With the end of CCI funding, schools are turning to other sources of finance:

Apprenticeship tax; Private funding; Tuition fees: PGE, bachelors and continuing education;

An open letter from the Conférence des Grandes Écoles in November ****, focuses on financing the cost of tuition at CGE business schools.

Typical budget for a CGE (***) business school France, ****, in Source: ****

Tuition fees are one of the most important financial resources of business schools. This is one of the reasons why business schools award degrees other than the simple Master's degree. For example, Essec, Edhec, emlyon, ESCP and TBS all offer bachelor's degrees with *** graduates per year, at a total cost of around €**,***. [***]

On the other hand, continuing education (***) attracts professionals who have more resources and are prepared to fork out large sums for prestigious degrees. ...

4.1 Types of schools and diplomas

The two types of school in the French landscape

Lhe Grandes Écoles;

These higher education establishments are renowned for being selective, recruiting their students by competitive examination (***). They award a *-year Master's degree to selected students, but can also award bachelor's degrees, selecting students as early as the final year of high school.

Post-bac business schools;

These schools, which appeared in the early ****s, require no preparatory classes, and offer Bachelor's or Master's programs, as well as Master's degrees for some of them, such asIeseg. [***]

The main types of diploma awarded

In its article on business schools, the diplomeo.com website provides a typology of the diplomas and programs available at business schools.

4.2 Price growth due to international competition and the end of subsidies

The end of subsidies and the need to remain competitive in the face of international competition, whose tuition fees can soar, has led to a rise in tuition fees at French schools in recent years.

In ****, the average cost of business school tuition is €**,***, bringing the cost of a year at a business school to €**,***.

Here is the average price trend over the last ** years:

Average change in business school tuition fees France, ****-****, in € Source: ****

Average tuition fees have risen by **% over more than ** years.

4.3 The in-house offer - differentiating factors

In a climate of privatization, diversification of in-house offerings is crucial for business schools. While it is difficult for schools to differentiate themselves on core courses, they do have room for manoeuvre and potential to diversify in other areas. Business schools are competing at every level to differentiate themselves:

establishing new campuses (***); Building better facilities (***); Expanded course offerings (***); Innovation in course offerings (***); Obtaining better partnerships (***); Selection of the best professors, decisive in the race for accreditation. L'Étudiant even speaks of a "professors' mercato", with salaries reaching substantial amounts.

Source: ****

5.1 Regulatory framework

Associations - law ****

The law of July * **** and the decree of August ** **** are the two fundamental texts on which the operation of associations is based. The site assistant-juridique.fr summarizes their obligations. Article * is reported below:

Article *: An association is an agreement by which two or more persons permanently pool their knowledge or activities for purposes other than sharing profits. [***]

Regulations for private establishments

The law of July **, **** defines higher education as free in France: thus, any French citizen has the right to set up a private higher education establishment in France.

Private business schools fall into the category of private technical higher education establishments (***).

Diplomas approved by the Ministry ; Recognized by the State; Considered to be useful to the public higher education service.

The Ministry of Higher Education and Research, after evaluation by the Commission d'évaluation des formations de gestion (***), authorizes business schools to award the diplomas concerned. This approval results in a ministerial decree. [***]

EESC status

EESC (***) status was created in **** by the Mandon law. This status gives schools a legal personality and a legal framework similar to that of a limited company, while preserving the public-interest nature of their mission. It strengthens the schools' management autonomy and ...

5.2 Labels and accreditations

To stand out on the international scene, schools can apply for accreditation. These labels are cumulative, and schools aim for triple accreditation. A triple-accredited school is one certified by AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA.

Worldwide, some one hundred schools have triple accreditation, including ** in France. [***]

AACSB (***);

This American label was created in ****. Today, more than *** business schools hold this label, which rewards the quality of their management training. Factors taken into account include (***): school values, strategic objectives, environment, school alliance, faculty, research, etc.

EQUIS (***);

This is a European label created in **** and awarded to business schools by the EFMD (***). It is the most difficult label to obtain. Today, more than *** schools hold it. Its purpose is to highlight management information, research and teaching. The label is valid for * or * years, depending on the strength of the guarantees put forward by the school. [***]

AMBA (***).

This label, created in ****, applies only to MBAs, DBAs and MBMs. Less well known than the first two, it nevertheless certifies the quality of *** programs worldwide. In France, ** schools hold this label. The evaluation criteria are broadly the same as those for the first two labels, but focused on specific diplomas. [***]

6.1 Segmentation

• HEC Paris
• ESSEC
• ESCP Europe
• EM Lyon
• EDHEC Business School
• Grenoble Ecole de Management
• Audencia
• SKEMA Business School
• Kedge Business School
• NEOMA Business School
• Rennes School of Business
• Montpellier Business School
• Iéseg
• ESSCA
• Galileo Global Éducation System
• EM Normandie
• ESDES
• ESCE (Omnes education)
• ESC Pau
• EM Strasbourg
• Omnes Education- Inseec
• Ionis education
• TBS Education - Toulouse Business School
• Eduservices Groupe
• Excelia group
• Oxytalis
• ESC Clermont (Ecole de Commerce ce Clermont)