Dean says MBA enrollment keeps expanding at Southeast

The master's program for a degree in business administration is the third largest graduate studies program at Southeast Missouri State University, and it's getting bigger.

With 95 students enrolled, the MBA program is now third behind elementary education, with 104 students and secondary education, with 96 students.

"We're growing," said Gerald McDougall, dean of the Donald L. Harrison College of Business at Southeast Missouri State University. "We have a high-quality business program here."

McDougall made his remarks as guest speaker at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee Friday.

McDougall traced the growth of the university's business program over the past nine years. The MBA program was launched in 1996 with 32 students.

The business program at the university now has 1,312 undergraduate majors, he noted, which is about 20 percent of the students on campus.

The university has been selected as one of 113 schools to visit Cuba. The MBA inclusion in the program includes broad exposure to marketing, operations management, finance and economics for students who make the trip. A typical format calls for two to four weeks of travel.

In previous programs, students have visited Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, Mexico and Spain.

The graduate program has attracted international students, who have made up about 30 percent of those enrolled in Southeast's MBA program over the past five years. Students from 19 foreign countries have participated in the program.

rowen@semissourian.com

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