With successful MBA programs already established in Europe (Czech Republic) and the Middle East (Bahrain), DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business is looking east to expand its current overseas graduate degree ventures. The highly regarded Chicago business school recently welcomed a second cohort of students to its new MBA program in Taiwan, and a third group is being recruited to start in early 2008.

DePaul’s expansion in Asia is part of a higher education trend. China, Singapore and India are among “global hot spots” for American colleges seeking to launch degree programs abroad, according to “Venturing Abroad: Delivering U.S. Degrees Through Overseas Branch Campuses and Programs,” a report issued by the American Council on Education. In China, for example, more than 60 percent of foreign university-sponsored programs focus on business, according to the report.

“As Asia’s economy continues to grow, so does the demand for business education, especially degree programs presented in partnership with well-respected Western universities,” said Michael Jedel, director of Kellstadt’s international business degree programs. “DePaul has established a record for providing high-quality international degree programs; and that allows us to make a long-term commitment to offering our MBA in Asia.”

Kellstadt formed a partnership with Pan Asia Education Co. Ltd., a private, non-government human resources and educational institution, to open the 18-month MBA program to the public in Taipei, Taiwan, last fall. Eighteen students are enrolled in the first cohort of the program, and a second cohort of nineteen students started in July. Cohort three is planned for early 2008.

DePaul already has a solid reputation as a provider of in-house degree programs at financial institutions in Hong Kong. The university’s School for New Learning offers a bachelor of arts degree program to employees of Fubon Bank Hong Kong, and, for nearly a decade until 2003, DePaul’s business school had provided an MBA program for employees of the International Bank of Asia in Hong Kong.

“This new alliance represents an excellent opportunity for DePaul to build upon its international program successes and to expand in the critically important Asian market,” Jedel said. “Pan Asia Education is a strong and highly regarded partner, which, as a human resource and management consulting company, provides a wide array of services to employers and employees alike in Taiwan and also in other parts of Southeast Asia, including China.”

Jedel said the move also reflects DePaul’s service mission. “DePaul sees Central/Eastern Europe, the Persian Gulf/Mideast, and East Asia as three areas of the world where we can make a substantial difference by providing advanced business education to rising managers and executives who are moving into meaningful positions in the public and private sectors in their countries and thus raising the quality of life in their homelands,” he said.

DePaul professors travel to Pan Asia’s facilities to teach each course in a compressed, two-and-a-half week format. They will teach 12 of the program’s required courses, with local professors approved by DePaul presenting the remaining six. Students will earn their degrees from DePaul, with the first class scheduled to graduate in 2008.

Students in Chicago, as well as those in Taiwan, benefit from DePaul’s newest MBA program overseas, according to Ray Whittington, dean of the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. “One of the advantages of offering our business programs abroad is that it allows faculty to gain a first-hand perspective and conduct research about business practices around the world,” he explained. “Our local students benefit because professors incorporate this knowledge into their lectures and case studies presented in our Chicago classes.”