A Roundup of College and MBA International News

Here's what's going on in the world of international college and MBA admissions news:

Michigan State University has made headlines recently in the world of college admissions news. In the last few years, MSU has prided itself on being one of the largest universities to open undergraduate and graduate programs in Dubai. Last year, however, fewer than 100 students enrolled in the MSU Dubai program, not nearly enough to cover the costs of the international program. The university lost more than $4 million on its Middle East venture. One reason for the lack of success: MSU was fully responsible for funding its program; other programs, like NYU Abu Dhabi or Texas A&M Qatar receive full funding from host local governments—student tuitions, while helpful in these cases, are not relied upon for covering costs. MSU plans to continue running it's Dubai-based graduate program in human resources and labor relations, as well as an executive training program. (Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education, "Low Enrollment Led Michigan State U. to Cancel Most Programs in Dubai" and NPR, "Michigan State to Close Dubai Campus")

Cornell's Johnson School establishes new China partnership, announced a recent Johnson School press release. The "[a]lliance with Peking University will enable the best of China to collaborate with Cornell's world-class MBA students and faculty." Cornell's new certificate program with Peking's Guanghua School of Management (which is identical to Cornell's program at China's Nanjin University) will enable Chinese students enrolled in the program to study at Cornell for one week, and to participate in a biennial conference devoted to inter-cultural and multicultural interactions. There will also be a new MBA student exchange program. "This alliance will help establish our credibility and commitment to that market as the Johnson School spreads its footprint worldwide," said Cornel professor Ya-Ru Chen. "Students from Peking will likely be senior executives or government officials, so providing this opportunity for connection with the Johnson School and our students will offer all parties an invaluable chance for networking and global learning."

Another recent partnership, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education, has been established between American and Iraqi universities. Since the Saddam Hussein era Iraqi universities have struggled to rebuild their reputations as educational leaders in the Middle East. A new program run by the State Department "seeks to build on the lessons learned from past missteps and involve Iraqi universities as equal partners in their revitalization." Four American universities (the University of Cincinnati, the University of Kentucky, Ball State University, and Oklahoma State University) have already been to Baghdad to begin work on their collaborations. Other U.S. institutions have also made strides to build links with Iraqi universities. Partnership goals include encouraging Iraqi students to study at partner universities in America, strengthening Iraqi school curriculums, enhancing higher degree programs, and running faculty training programs.

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