評(píng)論
打印
U.S. business schools have spent years courting international students. Now that they've arrived─more than a third of M.B.A. students at many top schools hail from overseas─the institutions are struggling to keep up with their diverse demands.
多年來(lái)，美國(guó)各大商學(xué)院一直在努力拉攏國(guó)際學(xué)生。很多學(xué)生被招攬了過(guò)來(lái)──許多頂尖商學(xué)院的MBA學(xué)生中有三分之一以上都來(lái)自海外──如今各學(xué)院又開始竭力滿足這些學(xué)生多種多樣的需求。
It's a daunting task: Some international students have never participated in a classroom discussion, while others may have outsize expectations about job opportunities in the U.S.
這是一項(xiàng)令人生畏的工作：有些國(guó)際學(xué)生從未參與過(guò)課堂討論，還有一些學(xué)生則可能對(duì)美國(guó)的工作機(jī)會(huì)抱有超高期望。
Many schools already invest heavily in preterm orientation programs for international students, which can include help with a housing search, opening a local bank account or obtaining a cellphone. Some match foreign students with faculty mentors to tackle homesickness and offer academic advice throughout their time on campus.
許多商學(xué)院已對(duì)面向國(guó)際學(xué)生的開學(xué)前適應(yīng)項(xiàng)目予以大量投入，其中包括幫助學(xué)生找房子、開設(shè)一個(gè)本地銀行賬戶、獲取一部手機(jī)，等等。有些商學(xué)院還為外籍學(xué)生安排教員擔(dān)任導(dǎo)師，幫助他們處理想家的問(wèn)題，并在他們整個(gè)在校期間提供學(xué)術(shù)方面的指導(dǎo)。
But some students may need more time to adjust. Ivan Kerbel, former director of the career development office at Yale School of Management, is betting that a three-week pre-orientation preparation program can minimize the burden placed on school administrators and help students get settled just a little earlier.
但有些學(xué)生可能需要更長(zhǎng)的適應(yīng)時(shí)間。曾擔(dān)任耶魯管理學(xué)院(Yale School of Management)職業(yè)發(fā)展處主任的伊萬(wàn)?科貝爾(Ivan Kerbel)正在籌備一個(gè)為期三周的適應(yīng)項(xiàng)目前的預(yù)備計(jì)劃，他認(rèn)為這一計(jì)劃能夠?qū)W(xué)校行政管理者承受的負(fù)擔(dān)減到最輕，能幫助國(guó)際學(xué)生提前一些適應(yīng)下來(lái)。
'Even if there's boot-camp training at Marine Corps orientation, you don't want to arrive having never done a push-up,' says Mr. Kerbel.
科貝爾說(shuō)：“盡管海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊(duì)的適應(yīng)項(xiàng)目中有新兵訓(xùn)練營(yíng)，但是你總不想到那兒之前連俯臥撐都沒做過(guò)一個(gè)吧。”
Starting in July, Mr. Kerbel's new company, Practice LLC, will offer courses in five areas: academic preparation, career development, language and cultural orientation, software and library research skills and personal performance.
從今年7月份開始，科貝爾新成立的公司Practice LLC將為MBA新生提供五個(gè)方面的課程，分別是：學(xué)業(yè)準(zhǔn)備、職業(yè)發(fā)展、語(yǔ)言與文化適應(yīng)、軟件與圖書館資料檢索技能，個(gè)人績(jī)效。
The Practice M.B.A. classes, which will meet at the University of Washington in Seattle, are open to international students and those with nonbusiness backgrounds. Students are expected to sign up for at least three of those five subjects, with a price tag of $1,580 per course.
Practice提供的這些課程將在西雅圖的華盛頓大學(xué)(University of Washington)推出，面向國(guó)際學(xué)生以及無(wú)商科背景的學(xué)生。每名學(xué)生最少要申請(qǐng)其中三個(gè)方面的課程，每門課程的收費(fèi)為1,580美元。
Jasmine He, a second-year M.B.A. student at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business, says she would have liked more than just a few days to adjust, as she struggled to join in classroom exchanges and conduct small talk with recruiters.
Jasmine He是達(dá)特茅斯學(xué)院(Dartmouth College)塔克商學(xué)院(Tuck School of Business)的MBA二年級(jí)生，她說(shuō)她當(dāng)初就沒指望自己在短短幾天時(shí)間內(nèi)就能適應(yīng)下來(lái)，因?yàn)樗趨⑴c課堂交流以及與招聘者閑聊時(shí)都有些吃力。
Professional networking is of particular concern for many foreign nationals.
此外，職業(yè)社交圈也是許多外籍學(xué)生特別關(guān)心的事情。
During orientation, Tuck's career-services office advises international students on which companies might hire visa-dependent students, and provides pointers on happy hour mingling and the importance of a firm handshake.
在適應(yīng)項(xiàng)目期間，塔克商學(xué)院的就業(yè)服務(wù)處會(huì)告知學(xué)生哪些企業(yè)會(huì)聘請(qǐng)需要工作簽證的學(xué)生并提供相關(guān)建議，告訴他們?cè)跉g樂(lè)時(shí)光中如何與人交際的點(diǎn)子，跟學(xué)生說(shuō)明堅(jiān)定有力地與人握手的重要性。
Ms. He, who lived exclusively in China before starting at Tuck the fall of 2011, found a preterm sailing trip with other domestic and international students useful for practicing English and learning cultural quirks, but she said 'one week is definitely not enough.' She didn't attend the optional five-day session for students without prior experience in North America.
在2011年秋季開始到塔克商學(xué)院讀MBA之前，He一直生活在中國(guó)。她去參加了一個(gè)有美國(guó)學(xué)生及國(guó)際學(xué)生參與的開學(xué)前航海旅行，它對(duì)鍛煉英語(yǔ)和學(xué)習(xí)文化習(xí)俗有幫助，但是她覺得一周的時(shí)間顯然還不夠。她沒有參加過(guò)可選修的針對(duì)以前無(wú)北美生活經(jīng)驗(yàn)的學(xué)生開設(shè)的五天課程。
Not all students need the extra help. While an increasing share of students hold foreign passports, many also have prior school or work experience in the U.S. And schools are beefing up their foundational courses in finance and operations to bring nontraditional students up to speed, too.
不是所有學(xué)生都需要額外幫助。雖然越來(lái)越多的學(xué)生持有的是外國(guó)護(hù)照，但其中許多人以前就有在美國(guó)學(xué)習(xí)或工作的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。此外，各商學(xué)院也在加強(qiáng)他們的金融及管理方面的基礎(chǔ)課程以使非常規(guī)學(xué)生趕上進(jìn)度。
As a result, Mr. Kerbel's venture caters to a relatively small portion of the M.B.A. population. But he says he's not concerned, since many business students are keen for a competitive advantage.
如此看來(lái)，科貝爾的企業(yè)只迎合了較少一部分MBA學(xué)生的需求。不過(guò)他表示他并不為此擔(dān)憂，因?yàn)橛性S多MBA學(xué)生迫切希望提高自己的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)優(yōu)勢(shì)。
Attendance at Columbia Business School's daylong, optional orientation for international students suggests he is right. Though many foreign students have studied or worked in the U.S., about 90% still show up for the dedicated programming, says Megan Carley, senior associate dean of student life.
從哥倫比亞商學(xué)院(Columbia Business School)面向國(guó)際學(xué)生的時(shí)間為一整天的可選適應(yīng)項(xiàng)目的出勤率看來(lái)，他的看法是對(duì)的。該學(xué)院負(fù)責(zé)學(xué)生生活事務(wù)的高級(jí)副院長(zhǎng)梅根?卡利(Megan Carley)稱，盡管許多外籍學(xué)生曾在美國(guó)學(xué)習(xí)或工作，仍然有90%左右的學(xué)生參加了這個(gè)項(xiàng)目。
Duke University's Fuqua School of Business also sees significant demand for its three-week language and culture primer. That school, where 40% of the daytime M.B.A. class is international, hosts 80 to 100 foreign students each July to help them refresh their English communication skills and prepare for life in North Carolina. The language program costs students an additional $4,065─slightly less than three courses at Practice M.B.A.
杜克大學(xué)(Duke University)福庫(kù)商學(xué)院(Fuqua School of Business)為期三周的語(yǔ)言與文化初級(jí)課程需求量也非常地大。該商學(xué)院40%的全日制班學(xué)生為國(guó)際學(xué)生，學(xué)院每年7月集合80名至100名國(guó)際學(xué)生幫助他們提高英語(yǔ)溝通技能并為接下來(lái)在北卡羅來(lái)納的生活做好準(zhǔn)備。語(yǔ)言項(xiàng)目另外收取4,065美元學(xué)費(fèi)，比Practice的三門課程的費(fèi)用略低一些。
'We don't want them to fail for lack of a few days' attention, or a few weeks' attention, on the front end,' says Russ Morgan, associate dean for the daytime M.B.A.
福庫(kù)商學(xué)院負(fù)責(zé)全日制MBA班的副院長(zhǎng)拉斯?摩根(Russ Morgan)說(shuō)：“我們不希望看到他們因?yàn)殄e(cuò)過(guò)這幾天或是幾星期時(shí)間的幫助而在起跑線上就落后了。”
