Monday, March 19, 2012

THE MBA AND PRECHECK/GLOBAL ENTRY

After 9/11, the security screening protocol at our airports understandably increased dramatically. And until recently, there was no such thing as "getting through an airport" rapidly. In fact, most travelers characterized their interaction with the Transportation Security Administration as a low satisfaction/necessary evil encounter.

Last week, I was visiting one of our Alums in Minneapolis-St. Paul and I noticed a couple of travelers seemingly zipping through security screening. They got through so fast that I was actually somewhat alarmed -- they didn't remove their shoes or belts, their jackets, or even their computers. When I asked about it, I was told it was TSA's expedited screening called "Precheck". If you're a qualified frequent flier, meet a few undisclosed TSA criteria, get invited in by select airlines, and are willing to cough up $100, you're in. Oh yes, there's one other way to get in -- our Customs and Border Protection unit has a program called Global Entry that allows selected, approved international travelers to avoid long lines and hassle by utilizing a kiosk to enter a country. If you happen to be part of the Global Entry program and have a GE number, you can use that to get into Precheck.

"Pretty ingenious," I thought because I take special pride in avoiding bureaucracy. For example, to apply to get into our MBA program, you only really need 4 things: (1) an undergraduate degree and about a 2.8 GPA; (2) a reasonable GMAT score; (3) three years of post baccalaureate work experience; and (4) 3 business references. That's UHD's version of Global Entry and Precheck.

I was chuckling to myself thinking about how easy it was to apply to UHD's MBA program when a TSA agent snapped me back to reality. "Sir, you need to remove your shoes and belt and step ahead for a full body scan."

What's the world coming to when it's easier to get in an MBA program than get through airport security?