School of Business > UPDATE > Spring 2002 > Article

Not Their Father's (or Mother's) Undergrad Experience

By Lari Fanlund

It was early January, and David Sills, a senior in accounting, was eager to learn his grades from the fall semester in classes like Business Law 301 and Accounting 620. He wasn't checking the mailbox daily, however. From his apartment on Langdon Street, Sills could just log onto his personalized web portal anytime day or night to learn his semester results.

It was just one small example of the many ways in which undergraduate education at UW-Madison, and at the School of Business, has changed in recent years. From the first time students step on campus, to the day they graduate, the experience of being an undergraduate student has changed. Among the factors affecting the undergraduate experience: technology, new physical facilities, student demographic changes, improved student services and new approaches to how courses are taught and what is taught in the classroom.

Dennis Tweedale, BBA '70, and daughter Jaclyn Tweedale, BBA '01, are able to compare notes on how the School of Business has changed from one generation to another.

One person who's had an opportunity to view the way in which the School of Business has changed is Dennis Tweedale, who earned his BBA from the School of Business in 1970 and has a daughter, Jaclyn, who earned a BBA in 2001. Tweedale is gratified by how the school has progressed, since his college days. "The business school today is light years ahead of where it was in my day in terms of the academic advising services and job placement. The School of Business has stepped that up big time," he said. Tweedale, who is president of the Madison risk management consulting firm Devine and Tweedale, said he also was pleased to see that "the curriculum has evolved to reflect the many ways in which risk management has changed over the years."

For many students, one of the most obvious aspects affecting their day-to-day life is technology. For generations of students, it was a rite of passage to pick up registration materials at the Red Gym, then make a mad dash across the sprawling campus to register for each individual course. Freshmen who ran the gauntlet from Sterling Hall (for that intro math course), to North Hall (for political science), seldom forgot the experience. Today's students can check out which courses still have openings online, before registering via Touch-tone phone. While the new registration process may be less aerobic than the Red Gym days, it is much more efficient. The whole process takes only a matter of minutes. Freshmen-the ones most likely to have searing memories of registration-can now register during a special summer program designed specifically for them and their parents.

Into the Modern World - Business facilities have come a long way from the Commerce Building (top) to today's home of the School of Business, Grainger Hall (bottom).

For many students, one of the most obvious aspects affecting their day-to-day life is technology. For generations of students, it was a rite of passage to pick up registration materials at the Red Gym, then make a mad dash across the sprawling campus to register for each individual course. Freshmen who ran the gauntlet from Sterling Hall (for that intro math course), to North Hall (for political science), seldom forgot the experience. Today's students can check out which courses still have openings online, before registering via Touch-tone phone. While the new registration process may be less aerobic than the Red Gym days, it is much more efficient. The whole process takes only a matter of minutes. Freshmen-the ones most likely to have searing memories of registration-can now register during a special summer program designed specifically for them and their parents.

Physical facilities are also vastly different for this generation of business students. Since business education began at the University of Wisconsin in 1900, business students have been taught in a variety of buildings, most notably Sterling Hall, Bascom Hall and the Commerce Building. Since 1993, business students have been able to take all their business classes in Grainger Hall, a $40 million, state-of-the-art facility.

Technology is responsible for everything from the computer labs now de rigueur at buildings across campus, to a wide range of online publications and databases offered by the School of Business library. Videoconferencing in classes and for job interviews is now a common experience.

The type of classmates today's business student interacts with has also changed. A business school class today, compared to 25 years ago, is more likely to have a higher ratio of women, people of color and students from international backgrounds. (See charts) The same is true for the people standing at the front of the classroom teaching. In fall 2001, for example, business students were being taught by faculty hailing from, among other places, China, France, India, Japan, Korea and Norway. Today's business undergraduate faces higher hurdles in being admitted to the university and to the School of Business in terms of academic qualifications. UW-Madison is increasingly competitive and selective. Last year, the university received more than 20,000 freshman applications for a total class size of 6,100. Each year, the university must turn away students who would clearly succeed at UW-Madison, but whose academic background, achievements and characteristics are not as strong as for those admitted.

Then and Now - Demographics of undergraduate business students

The challenge continues for students wishing to major in business. Students are admitted to the School of Business once they reach junior status. To keep those admission numbers manageable, for many years the School of Business kept raising the GPA for guaranteed admission. Despite the ever-increasing GPA threshold, the quality of students entering UW-Madison meant the business school was admitting more students than could be handled in terms of teaching and academic advising resources.

To maintain a high-quality educational experience for those admitted, business school faculty voted to end guaranteed admission based on a set GPA. As of fall 2001, entering students do not have a set GPA for guaranteed admission. This will allow the school to cap undergraduate enrollment at 1,300 students, compared to more than 1,600 in recent years.

The change is good for the students who are admitted, but disappointing to those who are not. "The hardest part of my job is having to tell a lot of really good students that they can't get into the business school," said Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs James Johannes. "Many of these people could go on to be excellent businessmen and women but the competition is so high, we can't accommodate them all." Those who are admitted benefit from enhanced services provided by the school's Undergraduate Programs Office. In recent years, increased staffing has allowed expanded programming to provide more individual and group academic advising opportunities for students. The Undergraduate Programs Office offers in-depth information on program requirements on the School of Business website and produces a weekly online newsletter for undergrads.

So, would a business student from 25 years ago be surprised at what goes on in classrooms today? Yes and no. Faculty are still drawing supply-and-demand curves. They are just as likely, however, to be using PowerPoint presentations to convey complex information. Professors still assign extensive course readings to their students as they did a generation ago, but now students can often find course readings posted on websites specifically for their classes rather than having to track down reserved reading assignments in the less-than-friendly confines of the basement of Bascom Hall, the location of the business school library prior to 1993's move to Grainger Hall. Today's students are more likely to be exposed to realistic simulation exercises and have hands-on experience of the real world by working with businesses. The disciplines of 30 years ago, such as accounting and marketing, are still taught. However, a new emphasis is being placed on topics such as e-commerce and just-in-time manufacturing. More work is being done in student teams, and international aspects are being brought into day-to-day class discussions to a greater degree.

Someone who has been on hand to see many of the changes over the past three decades is Management Professor Ramon J. (Ray) Aldag. "In light of the many changes that have taken place in undergraduate education over the last few decades, it's fascinating to ponder what may lie ahead," Aldag said. "To me, though, two constants are even more remarkable. First, over its history the School of Business has been able to consistently attract and educate remarkably intelligent, enthusiastic and highly motivated undergraduates. Second, the School of Business has remained steadfast in its dedication to undergraduates even as many other business schools have chosen to sacrifice undergraduate education on the altar of MBA rankings. As a faculty member of the School of Business, I am very grateful for the ongoing quality of our undergraduate students and deeply proud of the school's commitment to providing those students with the world-class education they deserve."

Lari Fanlund is the editor of UPDATE magazine.