During every transition of life, personal finances play an influential role in deciding goals for the future. In an effort to provide families and individuals with the tools and resources necessary to obtain financial freedom, the Marriott School has introduced a personal finance web site designed to help users at every stage of financial knowledge.

“A solid understanding of basic financial principles plays an important role in the well-being of individuals and families,” says Ned C. Hill, dean of the Marriott School. “This project is one of our many efforts to increase financial literacy and self-reliance among our students as well as families and friends outside the university.”

The web site, located at personalfinance.byu.edu, is divided into three courses: the beginning course is designed for high school students and college freshmen, the intermediary course is intended for college students and married couples, and the final course teaches retirement planning and investing. Each of the courses is founded on the principle of setting goals and is designed to help participants obtain their goals.

“Once people determine their goals, we give them the tools to achieve them and keep their personal finances in order,” says Bryan Sudweeks, the principal web site developer and Marriott School associate professor of business management. “We want to help people put foundations to their dreams.”

Web site visitors can access individual lessons and manuals based on their own financial knowledge and course level. Shortened lessons and PowerPoint presentations are also available for family activities and for teachers who would like to incorporate the topics into their curriculum. As part of the advanced course of study, participants may download the complete college manual used by MBA students in Sudweeks’ personal financial planning class.

Each set of lessons requires participants to complete a financial plan assignment. At the end of the course, the assignments are compiled into a personal financial plan, a tool designed to lead to economic self-reliance and financial freedom.


Honored Marriott School’s Ginny Richman was named Air Force ROTC Civilian of the Quarter in recognition of her contribution to the Brigham Young University AFROTC detachment.

“Ginny is an essential asset to our detachment, and we nominated her knowing she was a well-rounded candidate,” says Col. Gordon Jacobs, professor of aerospace studies. The award is part of a quarterly recognition program for thirty-four university detachments in the northwest region under the administration of Col. David L. Mintz, region commander of the AFROTC. As department secretary of the BYU AFROTC detachment, Richman’s nomination focused on her accomplishments during the fourth quarter of 2007.

Richman coordinated a recruitment effort that led to a 5 percent increase in AFROTC enrollment during the quarter. She also helped administer the commissioning of four graduating cadets to the Air Force. Additionally, she designed a plan to increase the professional appearance of the AFROTC department and secured the approval for the office refurbishment.

“Not only does Ginny coordinate the efforts of the AFROTC office in a professional manner, but she has a great outlook on life,” says Lt. Col. Russell Hopkinson, an executive officer for the BYU AFROTC. “Her positive attitude transmits to the cadets.”

Richman, who has been part of the BYU AFROTC for more than seventeen years, has assisted 515 cadets through their commissioning to the Air Force. Her longtime contribution to the program was also recognized by the Marriott School with a Staff Excellence Award in 1999.


BYU’s undergraduate business programs ranked seventh overall and first among recruiters according to BusinessWeek magazine’s comprehensive ranking of U.S. undergraduate business programs. The school was also ranked first in return on tuition for private colleges. The magazine’s survey says students hail the Marriott School’s emphasis on producing successful and ethical business leaders.

“This is a thrilling recognition to be in the top ten all three years,” says Joan Young, director of BYU’s undergraduate management program. “I think it says something about our staying power and the mix we have of highly motivated students and a curriculum that really stretches them.”

The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School ranked No. 1, followed by No. 2 University of Virginia, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Cornell, No. 5 Emory, No. 6 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; No. 7 BYU, No. 8 NYU, No. 9 MIT, and No. 10 University of Texas at Austin.

“I don’t believe there is a brighter group of students anywhere,” says Marriott School Dean Ned Hill. “The fact that our faculty is so interested in undergraduate students says a lot about our program. We also try to keep our classes small enough to facilitate that essential interaction between faculty and students.”

Only 127 colleges met BusinessWeek’s stringent criteria to be considered for the undergraduate business rankings. Schools must have an accredited undergraduate business degree program that meets criteria for program size, age, test scores, grade point averages for business majors, and number of full-time tenured faculty, among other things.

Colleges were ranked according to five weighted sets of data: a survey of more than 80,000 students; a survey of 618 corporate recruiters; median starting salaries for graduates; the number of graduates admitted to thirty-five top MBA programs; and an academic quality measure that consists of SAT/ACT test scores for business majors, full-time faculty–student ratios in the business program, average class size in core business classes, the percentage of business majors with internships, and the number of hours students spend preparing for class each week.

“I believe that we have some of the best faculty in the country,” says Heidi Green, a senior majoring in finance from Centerville, Utah. “They not only motivate and inspire me to learn business concepts but also teach me to become better in my personal life.”

The weakest point in BYU’s performance was the percentage of students with internships. “Although we strongly encourage internships, we don’t require them,” Young says. “The number of students doing internships has been a point of discussion for several years. And I’m happy to report that we recently introduced new online resources to help students find internships, determine the quality of internships, and make good company contacts. This is an area we are strongly focusing on.”


BYU’s business and law schools are among the top fifty in the United States, reports U.S. News & World Report in its “America’s Best Graduate Schools” issue. Other BYU graduate programs and specialties rank in the top 100 in their categories.

The Marriott School is ranked twenty-ninth, tying its highest ranking ever from U.S. News, while the J. Reuben Clark Law School is ranked forty-sixth.

“While the best measure of our success is our graduates’ impact on society, we are grateful for the recognition of academic excellence and the fine quality of our students,” says Ned C. Hill, dean of the Marriott School.

The Marriott School was ranked forty-first in last year’s rankings and the Law School was ranked forty-fourth. This year’s rankings come from surveys of more than 1,200 programs and nearly 14,000 academics and other professionals conducted in fall 2007.

“The jump in this year’s rankings is in part due to the superb efforts of our placement office,” Hill says. “They helped find good positions within three months of graduation for nearly all of our MBA students seeking employment.”

The Marriott School’s graduate accounting program is also ranked eighth in the 2009 rankings, up from tenth last year; and the Romney Institute of Public Management ranked fifty-first in top public affairs programs.

U.S. News ranks graduate programs in the areas of public management, business, education, engineering, law, and medicine. These rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinion about program quality and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research, and students. The magazine also ranks programs in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and many other areas based solely on the ratings of academic experts.

Published by the Marriott School at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Copyright 2012 by Brigham Young University. All rights reserved. All communications should be sent to Marriott Alumni Magazine, 490 Tanner Building, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602. Email: marriottmag@byu.edu. Telephone: (801) 422-5083. Fax: (801) 422-0501. The views expressed are those of the various authors and not necessarily the Marriott School. Change your mailing address here.