The College of Business Administration is relying on feedback from students to design its next potential master’s degree in International Business, a joint degree with Cleveland State University.

Don Williams, associate dean in the Graduate School of Management, said the school envisions a joint master’s degree with Cleveland State, but he does not know yet what the curriculum for such a program would consist of.

“Since we are only in the planning process, I can’t give you many details about the program,” Willaims said, “In part, we are waiting for the survey results to find out what the needs of the business community and the desires of the students are, and we will build the curriculum in response to those needs. That’s why the survey is such an important part of the process.”

The surveys are designed to get input from students and businesses in Northeast Ohio to determine if there is a demand for such a degree, and what is needed from it, said Adele DiMarco Kious, of Currere, Inc., the survey designers.

“It is designed around a combination of what students want and prefer,” said Kious.

The survey will uncover where students prefer to take classes, when they prefer to take them (day or night) and how much they want to pay, Kious said.

It will also figure out if students prefer to have language, internship or study-abroad requirements.

According to Kious, the business community is also being researched to find out what training is needed for current or future employees.

“There is a demand from their end,” Kious said. “Most (companies) want to vamp up in terms of globalization.”

Williams said the program was designed with the students’ best interests in mind.

“We expect the benefits to the students to be great, through improvement of their job marketability — they will be able to build on their undergraduate studies with a strong focus on international business issues,” Williams said.

According to Kious, students who complete the survey will get a freebie coupon to Papa John’s Pizza. The Masters in International Business Market Research Survey can be completed online at http://business.kent.edu/.

Contact College of Business Administration reporter Carrie Scully at [email protected].