Marriott School Offers Unique Undergraduate Experience

Students with Undergraduate Program Director Joan Young.

PROVO, Utah — Jan 16, 2004 — Borrowing from the Marriott School’s top-ranked graduate programs, administrators and faculty have created a unique experience for undergraduate students. For one semester, students work together everyday in the same business management, marketing, organizational behavior, supply chain, and business management suite classes.

Designing and implementing the new curriculum was a faculty project that continues to evolve. Changes include a one-semester schedule students attend together called the integrated core; the creation of the business management suite, a combined business-religion class; and improved opportunities for faculty collaboration.

“We wanted to build a tighter undergraduate community. We wanted our students to have deeper friendships,” recalls Associate Dean Lee T. Perry. “We figured if our students were closer, the dynamics of the classroom would change—creating a more comfortable learning environment.”

Teamwork is a key factor in the integrated core. Besides attending the same classes together, students are also placed in teams of five and assigned to work together on nearly all projects and assignments throughout the semester.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the curriculum is the business management suite class—a course that combines two religion credits and one business credit. To help students prepare for their careers, class discussions focus on the application of personal and religious values in a business context.

Like most religion classes, this one begins with a hymn and a prayer. But discussions often take unexpected turns as students explore topics that include: pride and the economic cycle, women in management, idleness versus relaxation or the difference between gambling and investing in the stock market.

“The course was established on the premise that we do not live separate lives—we cannot be a different person at work than we are at church,” Perry explains. “By anticipating future dilemmas, students prepare themselves to deal with them more effectively and valiantly.”

Integrating the core has given the faculty more incentive to collaborate and coordinate their curricula. Throughout the year, the professors meet to compare their syllabi, topics and schedules and make necessary adjustments—often trying to help students by spreading out due dates for major tests, papers and projects. Faculty teaching post-core classes also benefit because their students have had a more standardized undergraduate experience.

Professor Grant McQueen, a member of the committee that overhauled the curriculum, says, “Before the core, there was just a menu of classes; there was no culture or chance to form friendships. Now, for at least one semester, students can take classes together in sync, where they’re exposed to the same ideas and discuss the same issues.”

This community effort is making a difference to hundreds of business students. “It’s been a great experience,” says Jeff Dempsey, a senior from Raleigh, N. C. “I’ve learned skills I’ll be using for the rest of my life. I feel the program has helped me prepare both academically and ethically for a career in business.”

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.