This paper discusses the main factors used by executives to choose among different continuing education courses. It is based upon a survey that was carried out with 150 students attending these courses at the São Paulo School of Business - Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo, Brazil. Data showed that school prestige, applicability of the proposed content and the theoretical/practical focus are essential for the decision about attending course at FGV-EAESP. Another interesting finding was that students could be divided in groups with different interests, which is an invitation to schools to segment their courses, in order to better meet their students' expectations. Curiously, the greatest difference between groups was found after a cluster analysis technique was applied. One group preferred homogeneous classes and the other preferred heterogeneous classes, made up of classmates with differing background, hierarchical positions and working in different industries.
Extension courses; courses for executives; continued education; courses segmentation; course selection
