The BBA Program is undergoing a comprehensive faculty-led review to ensure that Goizueta’s undergraduate students are best prepared for the organizational and social challenges of the 2020s.
Goizueta’s Education Committee, currently led by Peter Topping, professor in the practice of organization & management, serves as the vehicle for ensuring program quality and vitality. The BBA review began last fall to delve into all of the academic aspects of the program.
“This deep dive looks at the curriculum, including prerequisite courses, as well as the co-curricular activities that contribute to the academic health of the program,” Topping explained. “The undergraduate program is our most complicated one because we don’t control the entire student experience. We work in partnership with Emory and Oxford Colleges, as well as Emory University Admissions and Career Management.”
Tasked by Dean Erika James to ensure the program is distinctive and focused on the future, the committee has collected and analyzed data from a variety of sources, including an external audit conducted by representatives from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, UC Berkeley and Cornell University; interviews with Emory University representatives, faculty and students; and survey results of BBA alumni who graduated from 2013 to 2017.
Among the questions the committee is assessing are:
- What are the national and regional trends regarding interest among college-bound students in obtaining an undergraduate business degree?
- How can we best integrate the BBA students’ experiences at Goizueta with their coursework at Emory or Oxford Colleges?
- What should a BBA program of this next decade look like?
The committee will submit a report on the current state of the program, and any short-term fixes that don’t require significant curricular changes will be implemented right away. Then, in the spring, they will task a smaller faculty group to consider a full redesign of the entire curriculum.
What will not change, Topping stressed, is the current standard of providing undergraduates with a solid and integrated liberal arts business education. “We are fortunate to be part of a fabulous major research university that has a strong liberal arts foundation,” he said. “Ideally we want a double helix of liberal arts and business throughout the entire experience.”
