A recent BusinessWeek article ranked Penn State's Smeal College of Business in the top 10 business college programs in the world for executive education.

The university was ranked eighth worldwide and third among public universities.

The study surveyed directors from 163 companies in 22 countries, said Pat Cataldo, Smeal's associate dean for executive education. "I think that rankings are certainly important," Cataldo said. "It takes the Penn State and the Smeal College names and spreads them further into the corporate world."

Cataldo said Smeal's reputation in the business world would give students the upper hand for internship applications or career placement.

Smeal graduate Laura Kepple, 22, of Blairsville, works as an account executive for Canon Inc. in Washington, D.C.

Kepple said she believes her bachelor's degree in marketing helped her make connections in the business world.

"I found my job at the career fair at the Bryce Jordan Center," Kepple said. "So I got it completely from the school."

Kepple said Smeal's reputation is what gets many companies to come to the career fair in the first place.

Cataldo agreed that many companies recruit from Penn State.

"Companies come to us directly; they are sending their high-potential employees to Penn State for executive training," Cataldo said. "Through us, they are getting the career advancement they need, so it's no surprise that they would come here for recruitment."

Another graduate of the Smeal College of Business, Jason Swiech, 22, of Irwin, said that students who get involved in the business college and know some of the Smeal professors will have a better chance of achieving their career goals.

"It's a good school if you can delve right into all that the program has to offer," Swiech said.

Jeffrey Spearly, managing director of Penn State Executive Programs, said the programs build solid relationships between the university and multiple corporations.

"We're adjusting our approach to meet today's business needs," Spearly said. "We analyze our clients' business needs at the start, taking time to understand their individual challenges and objectives."

Cataldo said corporations come to Penn State looking for help in maximizing their marketing efficiency.

"We are designing course content uniquely for individual companies. The customer can give us a personal financial statement, and in class, we will analyze it," he said.

Penn State's division of executive education has held training programs for leading business corporations since 1954, Cataldo said. The university has enrolled close to 36,000 executives from 43 different nations in its management, leadership and finance programs.

The Smeal College of Business' executive education program has worked with some of the biggest names in business, including ExxonMobil, ARAMARK, IBM, NASA, Bank of America and the U.S. Marine Corps, Cataldo said.

"People always like to deal with universities in the top 10," Cataldo said. "In the rankings worldwide, we fell just below Harvard and Stanford, so we're in good company."

BusinessWeek was unavailable for comment as of press time yesterday.