商學院拉攏國際學生有新招

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，美國各大商學院一直在努力拉攏國際學生。很多學生被招攬了過來──許多頂尖商學院的MBA學生中有三分之一以上都來自海外──如今各學院又開始竭力滿足這些學生多種多樣的需求。

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.

這是一項令人生畏的工作：有些國際學生從未參與過課堂討論，還有一些學生則可能對美國的工作機會抱有超高期望。

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.

許多商學院已對面向國際學生的開學前適應項目予以大量投入，其中包括幫助學生找房子、開設一個本地銀行賬戶、獲取一部手機，等等。有些商學院還爲外籍學生安排教員擔任導師，幫助他們處理想家的問題，並在他們整個在校期間提供學術方面的指導。

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.

但有些學生可能需要更長的適應時間。曾擔任耶魯管理學院(Yale School of Management)職業發展處主任的伊萬?科貝爾(Ivan Kerbel)正在籌備一個爲期三週的適應項目前的預備計劃，他認爲這一計劃能夠將學校行政管理者承受的負擔減到最輕，能幫助國際學生提前一些適應下來。

'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：“儘管海軍陸戰隊的適應項目中有新兵訓練營，但是你總不想到那兒之前連俯臥撐都沒做過一個吧。”

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將爲MBA新生提供五個方面的課程，分別是：學業準備、職業發展、語言與文化適應、軟件與圖書館資料檢索技能，個人績效。

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(University of Washington)推出，面向國際學生以及無商科背景的學生。每名學生最少要申請其中三個方面的課程，每門課程的收費爲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是達特茅斯學院(Dartmouth College)塔克商學院(Tuck School of Business)的MBA二年級生，她說她當初就沒指望自己在短短几天時間內就能適應下來，因爲她在參與課堂交流以及與招聘者閒聊時都有些吃力。

Professional networking is of particular concern for many foreign nationals.

此外，職業社交圈也是許多外籍學生特別關心的事情。

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.

在適應項目期間，塔克商學院的就業服務處會告知學生哪些企業會聘請需要工作簽證的學生並提供相關建議，告訴他們在歡樂時光中如何與人交際的點子，跟學生說明堅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院讀MBA之前，He一直生活在中國。她去參加了一個有美國學生及國際學生參與的開學前航海旅行，它對鍛鍊英語和學習文化習俗有幫助，但是她覺得一週的時間顯然還不夠。她沒有參加過可選修的針對以前無北美生活經驗的學生開設的五天課程。

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.

不是所有學生都需要額外幫助。雖然越來越多的學生持有的是外國護照，但其中許多人以前就有在美國學習或工作的經驗。此外，各商學院也在加強他們的金融及管理方面的基礎課程以使非常規學生趕上進度。

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，科貝爾的企業只迎合了較少一部分MBA學生的需求。不過他表示他並不爲此擔憂，因爲有許多MBA學生迫切希望提高自己的競爭優勢。

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.

從哥倫比亞商學院(Columbia Business School)面向國際學生的時間爲一整天的可選適應項目的出勤率看來，他的看法是對的。該學院負責學生生活事務的高級副院長梅根?卡利(Megan Carley)稱，儘管許多外籍學生曾在美國學習或工作，仍然有90%左右的學生參加了這個項目。

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(Duke University)福庫商學院(Fuqua School of Business)爲期三週的語言與文化初級課程需求量也非常地大。該商學院40%的全日制班學生爲國際學生，學院每年7月集合80名至100名國際學生幫助他們提高英語溝通技能併爲接下來在北卡羅來納的生活做好準備。語言項目另外收取4,065美元學費，比Practice的三門課程的費用略低一些。

'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.

福庫商學院負責全日制MBA班的副院長拉斯?摩根(Russ Morgan)說：“我們不希望看到他們因爲錯過這幾天或是幾星期時間的幫助而在起跑線上就落後了。”