Both the New York Times Education section and the Chronicle of Higher Education have run very similar stories about the "dumbing down" of undergraduate business education at four-year colleges. While these stories are largely anecdotal, they raise several points:
+ Business majors represent approximately one-fifth of all bachelors degrees in the U.S.
+ Business majors spend less time studying outside of class--approximately 11 hours per week--than students in other majors.
+ Business majors score lower on tests of college-level proficiency in reading, writing and critical thinking than students in other majors.
+ Business majors also--and this was a surprise--have the lowest mean scores on the Graduate Management Admissions Test, a nearly mandatory examination to apply to graduate business schools.
+ Business education has become less rigorous, almost as a silent agreement between teachers and students.
I have a MBA, but I do not believe that a business education is necessary to succeed in many areas of business. A bright student with an economics major, strong writing and communications skills and a high comfort level with statistics could become a fine financial analyst. Substitute psychology for economics and that student could potentially do well in market research or management consulting. Substitute any other major and that person could be effective in sales. There are only two areas where specific education is necessary: accounting and information systems.
However, as I make these points and academics make similar arguments, this logic goes against the on-campus recruitment practices of employers of choice. Unless an applicant comes from one of the most selective universities or liberal arts colleges, s/he will need a pre-professional major such as finance, human resource management or marketing. It is very difficult for an employer to ignore enthusiasm for the field.
With this in mind, I would like to share some questions that students and parents should ask when comparing undergraduate business programs. Obviously, a long list of recruiting employers will make a very strong impression. However, the academics should become more challenging and engaging as one gets further into their major.
+ How many students are enrolled in courses past the introductory class in the major? A junior-senior level class with over 100 people is likely to be a lecture class; a smaller class will be more interactive. However, lecture courses rely on tests that can be graded faster by a machine or a teaching assistant. These favor students with the best memories. Memory does not always mean proficiency.
+ How many classes offer case work versus group projects. A good business course should offer a mix of cases where students may work together, but each one turns in their own assignment, as well as a group project where students learn to work as a team. Some students will excel in problem solving while others are better team players. The best can do both, and it will show in a final grade. The rest still have a chance to learn their weaknesses as well as their strengths.
+ Are there opportunities to work on projects with real businesses? There is no challenge like making an impression on an employer or managing serious money for investors. Knowing that a problem is a real real-world problem sharpens thinking.
+ Is there a senior project or a capstone course that revolves around a major business problem that a student is likely to be asked to help solve in their first three years on the job? Employees are routinely assigned to work in teams whose members have different levels of expertise in different fields and asked to bond with people they do not know very well. Group projects come and go early in a business program, but task forces work for several months. Those experiences are tiring, but they are also tests of followership and leadership.
+ What percentage of the students graduate within four years? Business programs, like any other degree program on campus, add and remove courses all the time. Sometimes students must attend for an extra semester,or even an extra year, to complete all of the required classes. This is not something they appreciate after they have invested in two or three years of their education.
My impression, as I read the news stories, is that there is an over-supply of graduates with business-related majors. Dumbing down the coursework will only increase that, not to mention the schools continue to live under accusations of grade inflation. This is a losing proposition.
The solution for students is to find the school that will ask you to do a lot, but will put you through an experiential and rewarding education. The only way to find the right school is to ask the right questions early.
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