Undergrad Programs

by Shannon Davis, associate dean

Tuesday, Nov 25, 2008

The NC State College of Management’s Office of Undergraduate Programs staff has put in place a number of new initiatives over the past 18 months to help assure a quality collegiate experience for our growing number of undergraduate students. Most significant is that students are now admitted directly into the college.

Direct Admission, More Professional Advising

With the new direct-admissions process, new students have three semesters to learn about our three majors or degree programs in accounting, business administration and economics. By the time they complete their third semester in the college, our students will have completed a comprehensive introduction to these fields of management and should be able to make an informed decision about their major. They also should have a good understanding of the concentrations within each degree program. This kind of background is important because, while most students come to the college knowing they want to ‘be in business,’ they may not have fully explored the possibilities available to them in today’s global business environment.

To help guide our students, we have expanded our team of professional advisors, so that we now can provide each student with a designated advisor. Students will work with their professional advisor from the start to the end of their time at the College of Management.

Assisting our professional advisors is a team of undergraduate students – our Peer Leaders – who provide a welcoming and informative collegiate network for new students. They work in teams with assigned professional advisors to help with new student orientation, which includes our annual Freshman Welcome picnic and first-semester course registration, and are available to help incoming freshmen get acclimated to campus life.

Members of our advising team are: Erin Dixon, director of admission and advising, and advisors Andrew Nowel; Lauren Brown, Ph.D.; Michelle Buretta; Melody Smith Young; Sarah Squire; and Michelle Koehler. In addition to student advising, Lauren Brown teaches our Introduction to Business (M100) class that helps freshmen build a solid academic foundation. Michelle Koehler and Melody Young Smith teach another section of the M100 class for transfer students. Michelle Koehler also advises students in our Hamilton Scholars Program, which is offered jointly by the College of Management and College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Stressing Career Development

Our Career Resources staff starts working with students early in their academic program, encouraging them to actively engage in career development activities early in their academic program. The career staff offer career development workshops and help to connect students with recruiters interested in hiring our undergraduates for internships and full time positions. This is part of a college-wide emphasis on providing real world experiences throughout our curriculum.

The college has always encouraged students to complete internships or co-op experiences, and this year, we began offering academic credit for students who complete a structured internship. Brenda McCarthy, our director of career and internship development, is creating a resource kit for employers interested in working with our internship program. An internship workshop for employers held in Raleigh earlier this year was well attended and has led to a number of internship opportunities for our students.

Also well attended was our fall Career Fair, which drew 117 employers, up about 20 percent over last year, as well as more students. The career fair was held at NC State’s McKimmon Center this year. Assisting Brenda with career coaching is Janet Rakes. Our next undergraduate career and internship fair will be held Feb. 2, 2009, at the NC State McKimmon Center in Raleigh, N.C.

We also have expanded our student recruitment staff, adding Bonnie Yarboro (B.S., Management, 2007) as admissions counselor. She is working with Erin Dixon, director of admissions and advising, and our communications office to create a communications path that enables both prospective students and their parents understand the opportunities and benefits of the undergraduate curriculum at NC State College of Management.

One more change that a few of our alumni may have noticed: our bachelor’s degree in business management is now called the bachelor’s in business administration. This change was made to better reflect the focus of our curriculum. We also added two new concentrations: a concentration in business economics for the bachelor’s in economics program, and a concentration in entrepreneurship for the bachelor’s in business administration program.

We are always pleased to welcome alumni back to the college – and appreciate those who do come back to speak in our classrooms, present projects for our practicum courses, talk with our student groups at their meetings, and, of course, to recruit our students for positions in their firms. One final change that you will notice when you do come to visit Nelson Hall. This summer, the Nelson Hall Student Commons area was enhanced with new tables and seating to go along with a Port City Java cafe that was installed this summer. The result is that our Nelson Commons has truly become a gathering space where students study, work in teams and visit.

Program Leadership

Program Director: Shannon Davis, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs
Director, Career and Internship Development: Brenda McCarthy

Stats

Enrollment, Fall 2008: 2, 558 [about 400 freshmen and nearly 150 transfer students].
Career Placement: of 278 May 2008 graduates reporting their status:
- 54.3 percent are employed
- 13.7 percent are going to graduate school or pursing another degree
- 18.3 percent, seeking employment
- 1.8 percent, deciding on a job offer
- 3.2 percent currently not seeking employment
- 4 percent, planning to start a business
- 8.3 percent, other.