Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Online Sports Management Option Ranked

Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Robert A. Dempster Hall, location of the Donald L. Harrison College of Business. Arrow file photo

Southeast Missouri State University's online Master of Business Administration's sports management option was recently ranked No. 7 nationally by TopManagementDegrees.com.

TopManagementDegrees.com eligibility and rankings are designed to help prospective students decide which university will be the best investment, financially and educationally.

The rankings are based on a number of factors, including faculty credentials, student satisfactory/graduation rate, admissions selectivity, course delivery through technology and tuition cost.

The sports management program was accredited by the Board of Commissioners of the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation in 2013.

The COSMA is governed by a specialized accrediting body that recognizes universities and institutions that have excellent sports management programs at the bachelor and post bachelor degree level.

In addition, Southeast's MBA program has been accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International.

This title assures quality and promotes excellence and continuous improvement at the undergraduate and graduate education levels for business administration and accounting courses.

Kenneth A. Heischmidt, director of Southeast's MBA program, commented on the accreditation, saying it has led to the university being recognized on a worldwide basis.

Dr. Beth Easter, program director and associate professor of sport management at Southeast, said in a press release that former students have gone on to careers in intercollegiate athletics, professional sports and business. Easter added that the accreditation verifies the quality of the program.

"The most important thing is that we got AACSB accreditation, that really distinguishes us from most sport management master programs," Heischmidt said.

Heischmidt explained that all students majoring in health management with an emphasis in health promotion are required to declare sports management as their minor.

Declaration and the completion of this 15-hour minor as an undergraduate student will provide most students with more business training than necessary. In addition to having an educational advantage, students who obtain an MBA from Southeast have received career opportunities in the fields of collegiate and professional athletics.

Students who have other undergraduate goals but still want to pursue the Master of Business Administration option at Southeast are provided with a wide variety of courses.

These courses range from accounting, economics, management, marketing, algebra, calculus and statistics courses. These courses will be beneficial to students' overall learning experience, Heischmidt said.

"It's no surprise to me that we received national ranking because really when you look at our MBA program overall, what you are seeing is that we are AACSB accredited," Dr. Allen Gathman, associate dean of online learning, said. "Not all business programs receive this title and that is sort of the 'gold standard' in the country."

"So to have an online MBA that is AACSB accredited and is as reasonably priced as ours is compared to other programs nationally, we have an excellent reputation, the accreditation is the top one we can have -- that means that when people run the statistics we come out well against any other online programs in the country."

Gathman also commented on the current successes and future plans of the MBA program, saying that Southeast is usually well ranked on other national ranking systems such as US News and World Report.

For more information on how to join the program, visit www.semo.edu/mba/online.

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