Curriculum

Integrating Academic and Practical Skills

Our business students are active in integrating the skills they learn in the classroom with those in the real world through a variety of programs. Some are these programs include:

Applied Technology in Business: 10 years strong, the Applied Technology in Business (ATiB) Program allows business students from all majors to work with sponsoring companies on applied technology projects. This program has celebrated two important milestones that are testaments to its success. It graduated its 10th class in May, 2008 and boasts over 150 alumni. Most recent sponsors include Alps Automotive, Champion Homes, Comerica Continental AG, Credit Union One, Crittenton Hospital, SBA, Eaton, GM-TEP, GMU, Hutchinson, Lear Norma US, OCCMHA, Takata, T-Systems, Trubiquity and TTI.

Scholars and ACHIEVE: The Scholars program (started in 2007) and the ACHIEVE program (started in 2008) allow students to integrate their classroom skills with business and professional development skills through a variety of activities. For example, scholars take a lead role in organizing several SBA social events like SBA Welcome Picnic and Conference activities, and have initiated work on several community internship projects in 2008. Similarly, the ACHIEVE program provides business freshman N1, N2, N3, N4 an opportunity to network with business professionals and Executives-in-Residence.

A new Experiential Learning and Innovation (ELI) program allows graduate students to engage in experiential projects that put their advanced skills to work in real-world applications. For example, a team of two graduate students worked this summer on a social entrepreneurship project, in partnership with Family Service Alliance and the SIM Foundation. Four other projects span entrepreneurship (feasibility studies, business plan evaluation, market research) and additional projects in areas like marketing, data analysis and global business are under review.

Leadership project integration in the Executive MBA program: The revised EMBA in Health Care Management and IS Leadership program is incorporating an 18 month leadership project, using both academic and business practitioner support. To surface critical leadership challenges, the EMBA program will host a leadership conference each year. The first such conference was held on October 9-10, 2008. See the outreach section for details of this conference.