Privatization in the higher education system and its consequences on the students' composition: who joins executive master's programs at the university, and why?

The growing number of executive master's programs in Israeli public universities, as part of the privatization of higher education in general, raises the question of who chooses to study in these programs and why? This study seeks to answer this question based on a questionnaire given during 2007 to 432 students in seven executive master's programs and non-executive equivalent programs at Tel Aviv University. The study compares theses two types of programs in terms of the students' characteristics, motivation for graduate studies, and attitudes toward the university. The results show that students in the executive master's programs have an occupational advantage over other students, and they also differ from them with regard to socio-economic and educational background. While the motives of these students in continuing to graduate studies are similar to those of other students, they differ in other ways. Students in executive master's programs were found to support the process of privatization in higher education and not the traditional social roles of the university. It seems that these programs allow groups that are different from those who usually study in equivalent programs to integrate into advanced studies, and therefore afford equal opportunities in higher education in Israel. However, we point to the important issues involved in these programs with regard to their impact on the traditional role of the public university.