Despite student and professor protests, the international business concentration might be discontinued after current seniors and juniors graduate. Although these students and faculty feel international business is thriving, Orfaela College of Business dean Dave Christy said the concentration is not fulfilling its goals.
As of now, incoming freshmen and sophomores will not be allowed to enroll in the international business concentration until an appropriate review is demonstrated by the academic senate, Christy said.
International business’ future is still in question, even though some faculty are opposed to it remaining a stand-alone concentration.
Margaret Camuso, analyst for the academic senate, confirmed the discontinuation is still in question.
“We have not received a write-up for request to review it again,” she said. “It is still in the College of Business’s court.”
Juniors and seniors will be allowed to finish out the curriculum they started, but students in the 2011-13 catalogue cycle will not be offered international business as a concentration, Christy said.
The current international business concentration was promoted to incoming students at Open House last April and Week of Welcome (WOW) last month and professors such as Michael Geringer, who teaches strategy and international management, said they feel those incoming students should be offered the program as well.
“We had dozens of students at WOW who were interested in international business, but now the dean would like to change the contract that had international business in the incoming students’ catalogue, which to me is a violation of the contract we had with them when they came in,” Geringer said.
“I know some students came here because of international business, and the dean is now suggesting that they will not allow them to do that,” Geringer said.
Students currently involved in the international business concentration are pushing for incoming students to be offered the program.
International business senior Bridget Zapata said students have sent many emails and are pushing for freshman who have the concentration in their 2011-13 catalogue to be offered it.
Students who feel international business is extremely important in the business world have begun to protest the potential elimination of the concentration.
“I think it’s such an important aspect of business because thinking globally in the business world is so important, and I think that it is something beneficial to offer incoming students,” international business junior Trevor Brumm said.
Despite the international business concentration potentially dissolving, Christy ensures that students will still be taught concepts of international business because it is such a necessary aspect of business.
“You can’t teach accounting or finance or marketing without teaching from a global perspective,” Christy said. “International business and globalization is so embedded in our college that there isn’t less focus on the topic, and our staff is from all over the world,”
Zapata said international concepts will not be enforced if the concentration is taken away.
“We are on the quarter system, and I don’t think teachers will have time to implement it,” she said.
Last May, faculty of the undergrad program held a vote on whether or not to keep the international business concentration. Out of 55 eligible voters, 50 took place in the voting process.
According to Christy, 25 voted to eliminate the concentration, six voted to keep it and 19 voted to not make a decision until the topic was further discussed.
The results of the ballot led the Orfalea College of Business to continue discussion about the international business concentration’s future.
A meeting was held on Sept. 15 at which those for and against the program presented their views. The approximately 40 faculty members in attendance remained for an hour-long question and answer period.
Fifty-one faculty members filled out ballots the following Monday. Thirty-four voted to close, and 17 voted to keep the international business concentration as part of the curriculum, Christy said.
Last year both the international business and entrepreneurship concentrations were in question. Meetings were set up with the faculty who taught in each concentrations to discuss changes that could be made to improve the programs, Christy said.
“(The international business concentration) went through an external review from people around the world, and they said the program was outstanding,” Geringer said. “As to what is the problem, it is not content. It is not the delivery. It may very well be some political issue within the college. Typically with respect to the dean and some of his colleagues.”
A document was prepared last spring by Christy to create a more successful curriculum, and Christy said that the “entrepreneurship program addressed the challenges and came up with a strong proposal.”
International business did not address the problems in the same manner as entrepreneurship, and the program continued to focus on only one or two areas, causing the program to stray away from its original purpose, Christy said.
Students and professors alike feel their needs aren’t being addressed, and that there wasn’t strong communication to the students and professors about the future of the international business program.
“We were never given a formal evaluation, ever,” Geringer said. “We did give a proposal, which did include a change, but it was never able to be reviewed at the undergraduate program committee. They’re the ones who review undergraduate programs and last year they reviewed every one of the concentrations except for us.”