/ PRBuzz / February 13, 2011 -- Amid the headlines of for-profit schools in the news, one small for-profit, private university has gone unnoticed in the mainstream news, but not by those it serves. Though only a speck of dust compared to University of Phoenix or Art Institute's parent company, Education Management Corporation (EDMC) that may be changing. Dunlap-Stone University (DSU) and its international trade business school, the International Import-Export Institute, possess an enviable reputation without all the concern over student loan defaults or Department of Education's Gainful Employment Rules. It boasts it has been approved for Title IV student loans, but has never participated in the program. With 98% of its students' tuition being employer paid, it is the envy of other schools.  

Dunlap-Stone University's International Import-Export Institute was recently mentioned in a Chronicle of Higher Education article 1 as an example of an educational provider that "break[s] the monopoly of what a college can be."

"Our focus," said Dr. Donald Burton, DSU's founder and president, "has always been to provide a demanding, quality, learning outcome-driven education that also meets the practical needs of students and the companies they work for. We serve the international trade industry and go far beyond just providing the theory of business. We provide hands-on skills and knowledge you won't find at traditional universities. Our students appreciate what we offer. So do their employers and employers in companies throughout the world." By employers Dr. Burton means all of the top aerospace and defense companies that routinely have employees enroll in its online courses as well as vast numbers of global supply chain members, and other companies in emerging countries that want to serve the global marketplace.

Upon examination of their unique programs, it becomes apparent why the online school has gained this reputation. It alone resides at the nexus of education, technology, global trade, national security and counter-terrorism. Instead of focusing solely on traditional business topics, it chose to go further, to emphasize the practical application of the latest knowledge, and in helping students apply that knowledge at the front lines of trade. Whether the topics are the intimate details of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the workings of the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Controls, or the "how to" understanding of export regulations in China, the UK, Australia and other nations, or the latest changes in the regulatory policies for importing into the U.S., the IIEI has accredited college courses and degree programs to meet the need.

As a result, the school finds itself at the enviable position of being center stage of the emerging global marketplace. While other schools have concerned themselves competing with the traditional persona of education, sometimes to their student's academic and financial detriment, DSU has developed a model that transcends national boundaries, offering education that is equally valuable to employers and students in every nation of the world.

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1 Chronicle of Higher Education article:

(http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/for-profit-colleges-on-the-brink-part-4/28299)