Southeast Missouri State University Donald L. Harrison College of Business

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Students Say - Academics
For a "top-notch education at an affordable price," Missouri residents recommend the business school at Southeast Missouri State University. An inexpensive public school, "The university provides an excellent bang for your buck," yet doesn't skimp on a quality education. Catering to current and soon-to-be professionals in the Cape Giradeau area, all classes are held in the evenings. However, SEMO's MBA programs can be completed either part time or full time (the former is the more popular option), and the school operates an entirely online program for students whose schedules do not accommodate classroom work. The program begins with the common core, which covers key business areas ranging from accounting and finance to quantitative and qualitative research methods. After completing the core, students can focus their studies in a single business area, such as finance, industrial management, health administration, or sports management. In addition to coursework, full-time students often augment their coursework with for-credit internships, with teaching assistant positions through the ample "graduate assistantship opportunities" (which also include tuition assistance), or through one of the school's numerous short-term overseas programs. As one appreciative student exclaims, "Their international programs were the best experience of my life!" Appealing to mature students, "The class environment is unique, in that is very professional, as if you were going to work." Likewise, "The teachers expect all student to come prepared and [they] develop helpful but strenuous assignments." A current student adds, "They give us the responsibility to learn and take on the role as a facilitator of learning rather than keeping it very structured, letting the students do a lot on their own." The teaching staff gets strong reviews from current students, who say their instructors add "very helpful and relevant insight into what we are studying." A current student enthuses, "The professors at Southeast are wonderful. Not only are they experienced in their field, but their teaching styles are excellent." Despite the emphasis on professionalism, the environment at SEMO is incredibly down-toearth and friendly. Here, "class sizes are small, so professors get to know you pretty well" and in-class discussions are encouraged. For those who need extra guidance, "The teachers do a great job of making themselves available to the students outside of the classroom for one-on-one help." The small size also facilitates networking between students; "having a smaller campus helps you connect with a wide variety of people in a variety of fields," which makes "classroom discussions very interesting and relevant to the real world."

Students Say - Admissions
Harrison admissions officers use a formula to establish a floor for all MBA applicants: (200 5 GPA [on a four-point scale] + GMAT score). Applicants must score at least 1,000 to be considered for admission. In addition, applicants must score at least 400 on the GMAT and must have earned at least a C in all required foundation courses for the GMAT program. These foundation courses are applied calculus, financial management, introductory statistics, management and organizational behavior, management information systems, principles of financial accounting, principles of macroeconomics, principles of managerial accounting, principles of marketing, and principles of microeconomics. Students without the requisite undergraduate work may place out of foundation courses through local and/or CLEP exams.

Students Say - Campus Life
Located in the riverside city of Cape Giradeau, the SEMO campus is a "peaceful and safe place" to work and study. Just over 100 miles from St. Louis, Cape Giradeau is a small city of 35,000, yet provides "everything that we need as students, and…is a great place to live as well." With classes held in the evenings, most SEMO students work during the day and commute to school in the evenings; therefore, they aren't actively involved in campus life. However, if you're interested in some campus camaraderie, students assure us that "There are a ton of things going on all the time, if people just look around." On the whole, "Students at SEMO are very diverse and intelligent" joining the business program "from many different work environments." The atmosphere is more collaborative than competitive, and, for group assignments, everyone is "very helpful and work great together." Students say "The moderately-sized student body is also a strength." At this school, "It's big enough that you can meet plenty of new people, but small enough that you can walk across campus and run into several people you know on the way."

Students Say - Careers
As a graduate student enrolled in the MBA program, SEMO students may take advantage of the various services offered through the university's Career Services office. Career Services offers free career advising, salary projections, resume and cover letter revisions, career testing, and interview preparation by appointment. The Career Services office also organizes both job fairs and campus recruiting programs, free of charge. For a fee, students may also access a list of current job opening listings in the region. Because their efforts serve the entire school community, MBA candidates feel, "The Career Center could be greatly improved in order to better serve graduate students." While Career Service does not work exclusively with graduate business students, students say "The MBA office does a great job of making MBA students aware of job opportunities that come to its attention." In fact, many students say, "The school puts a great deal of effort [into helping] students get jobs after graduation and organizes various networking events throughout the semester." Students enrolled in the program full-time can also lay the foundation for their career through for-credit internships.

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