SMSU MBA program ranked eighth in nation

by Melissa Wilson

SBJ Staff

Between the men's basketball team playing in the first round of the Sweet 16 tournament in the spring and Computerworld magazine ranking the master of science in computer inform-ation systems program in the top 10 in the nation in its October issue, Southwest Missouri State University is making quite a name for itself nationally.

The magazine's third annual top techno-MBA survey judged SMSU's MSCIS program as the eighth best school for producing graduates with 21st century business and information technology skills. Northeastern University in Boston was ranked first in the survey, and California State University was ranked 25th.

"We have defined techno-MBA programs as hybrids that use real-world, hands-on, problem-solving approaches and combine standard MBA courses in accounting, finance and marketing with a solid background in technology," said Computerworld Senior Careers Editor David Weldon, in an SMSU press release.

"These schools teach engineering and computer science students to become top business leaders with good communication skills, and they teach people with business or communications backgrounds to become savvy technologists," Weldon added.

The survey was sent to 1,000 campus recruiters, who were asked to identify the top 25 schools that do the best job of preparing students as future business and information technology leaders. From their choices, 63 schools were surveyed to learn more about the schools' techno-MBA programs and their graduate placement rates.

Results showed nearly 100 percent of graduates from the top 25 schools were employed within six months of graduation, with annual salaries ranging from $48,000 to $106,000. Graduates of SMSU's program average a starting salary of $62,000.

"Computerworld is read by over a million people in the technology industry, so we expect this ranking to have a significant impact on the number of applicants to the MSCIS program," said Ron Bottin, PhD, dean of SMSU's College of Business Administration.

Program Director David Meinert, PhD, said the ranking has already opened doors for COBA.

"Jerry (Chin) and I have already gotten three invitations ... to do presentations to companies about the program," Meinert said.

The MSCIS program at SMSU is innovative in that students spend two weeks per year on campus and complete the rest of their coursework via the Internet, which allows students to pursue degrees without having to leave their current jobs, according to Jerry Chin, PhD, who heads the computer information systems department.

Bottin said the feedback he has received from students about the program is positive in that many schools offer the convenience of distance learning programs, but few offer the intense classroom inter-action experienced in the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 7 1/2 day sessions. The program is designed to be completed in two years.

"They like this program because they come on campus, they see their colleagues and teachers