PASSPORT TO BUSINESS SUCCESS: SOUTHEAST'S MBA PROGRAM ATTRACTS INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Seven black and white wall clocks provide the first hint of international flavor. They hang in a neat row, providing the time of day in Moscow, Tokyo, London, Paris, San Francisco, New York and yes, Cape Girardeau.

They line the entrance to a suite of offices in Southeast Missouri State University's Dempster Hall, headquarters for a master of business administration degree program that has become its own global village.

Begun in 1996, the graduate program has attracted international students intent on getting a degree from an American school at an economical price. Students can obtain a MBA with a focus in general management or accounting. The program received national accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business in December.

International students say an MBA from an American school is a passport to business success throughout the world.

"After getting an MBA, you have more opportunities in any country," said graduate student Lev Levine, a 25-year-old Russian from Moscow who is interning with an insurance company in Cape Girardeau this summer.

International students made up 30 percent of the 178 students that enrolled in Southeast's MBA program over the past five years. And the number of students from abroad is growing, turning the graduate program into a miniature United Nations.

Ninety-six students were enrolled in the program in 2000. More than 40 percent, or 39 of the students, came from 19 foreign countries.

Word of mouth

In the last two years, Southeast's MBA program has attracted students from 21 foreign countries, reaching out to them over the Internet, through faculty and student exchanges and by word of mouth from fellow foreign students.

Leonardo Carneiro, 27, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, found out about Southeast's MBA program from a fellow Brazilian.

Karim Djerboa, a 26-year-old computer expert and a citizen of both France and Algeria, learned about the Cape Girardeau school when he spent the fall 1998 semester at Southeast pursuing a master's degree in international business from a French university. Now that he has that degree, he wants an MBA from Southeast.

"What attracted me was the quality of the teachers," said Djerboa, who speaks four languages and still finds it hard to adjust to Cape Girardeau's small-town atmosphere.

"It's kind of a cultural shock," said Djerboa, who admits to being a world traveler. "So far, I've traveled in 17 countries and 18 states in the United States. I guess I am a gypsy."

Liyi "Jeff" Tao, 26, of China enrolled at Southeast because of a faculty exchange program between Southeast and a college in his country where he previously studied.

It can take one to two years to obtain an MBA, depending on course load. International students typically take more classes and study year-round, securing their degrees in a year and a half, Heischmidt said.

Levine, for example, came to Southeast in August and expects to graduate next spring.

Future may be on-line

The program could become even more global in the future, said Dr. Kenneth Heischmidt, director of the university's MBA program. Southeast's business college is studying the possibility of developing an on-line program that would allow students to obtain an MBA degree by taking courses entirely on the Internet from anywhere in the world.

The on-line degree could be a reality within two years.

For now, students like Levine are willing to come to Cape Girardeau for an education. He discovered Southeast after researching the school's MBA program on the Internet.

Levine said the United States has more business schools than any other country, and it's easier to get into a good business school in this country than in Europe.

Cost is a factor too for students so far from home. With tuition and room and board charges, an international student will end up paying $14,500 to get an MBA, about a third of the cost of the same degree from Harvard.

International students in the MBA program at Southeast work as graduate assistants to help pay expenses. The United States prohibits international students from working off campus, except for internships.

Mutual benefits

The international students enrolled in the MBA program are well versed in academic English before they arrive here. But Brazilian student Carneiro said he and other international students benefit from studying abroad because they learn conversational English.

Carneiro said it's not enough just to speak Portuguese in his country. "If you want to get a good job in Brazil, you have to know English," said Carneiro, who is interested in a career as a financial analyst for software, telecommunications or utility companies.

Heischmidt said international students in Southeast's MBA program typically are older than their American counterparts and have worked in the business world for two to four years. Some are seeking a second master's degree.

International and American students say they benefit culturally from being around each other.

"I was surprised by the people here," Levine said. "They want to know about different cultures."

MBA student Betsy Mays, 22, of Bernie, Mo., says she's learned a lot from being around international students. "I'm a country girl. I've gotten exposed to different cultures and different lines of thinking," she said.

Mays said the Southeast Missouri dialect is something new to international students.

"If we spoke the correct language all the time, it would make it easier," she said.