The Zicklin undergraduate program has undertaken its annual faculty development initiative and as usual it is focused on improving the learning experience for our students. In previous summers the theme for the seminar germinated from assessment results, informal conversations with faculty, and special initiatives in Zicklin and Baruch. Since 2007 groups of Zicklin faculty have met to redesign our pre-business and business core courses in order to offer more active learning experiences; better integrate quantitative and technological skills within the undergraduate curriculum; and to develop a new interdisciplinary elective course based on case teaching. Each of these initiatives brought together 8-10 Zicklin faculty representing each department. The results of the seminars have been measureable in terms of increased classroom activities emphasizing oral communication, written communication and technological skills. These classroom changes have translated into improved student performance on our learning assurance assessments.

This summer's focus was on the Baruch College undergraduate honors program and how it can better serve our Zicklin undergraduates. On average 80% of the students these students seek a BBA degree, but generally students in the program take 7 or more of their required 10 honors courses in arts and science/general education areas. Though very valuable, these courses do not embody the kinds of business school experiences that could and should be available to outstanding BBA students. The 2011 summer seminar participants focused on building a Zicklin Honors program that may be integrated into the current program or if necessary stand alone. We decided to create a group of three or four upper division business courses that would be available to both students who started at Baruch as freshman and our remarkable transfer students. We determined that the new courses should develop problem-solving, team building, leadership, independent learning and outstanding communication skills for a small group of outstanding students.

The participants of the seminar: Molly Kern (Management), Sebastiano Manzan (Economics), Debbie Kaminer (Law), Carol Marquardt (Accounting), Nanda Kumar (Computer Information Systems), Ameet Padnani (Finance), Ann Brandwein (Statistics), Myung-Soo Lee (Marketing), Andra Ghent (Real Estate), Jody Vaisman (Associate Director, Baruch Honors Program), Nancy Aries (School of Public Affairs), Zicklin Associate Dean Linda Friedman, Associate Provost Dennis Slavin and Associate Dean Phyllis Zadra met on June 20 and 21. After learning a little bit about each other, we moved on to understanding the current honors program, the enrollment patterns of our students, and the undergraduate curriculum. We considered what kinds of learning experiences might best hone the skills of our finest students. With that in mind, each seminar participant returned the second day with a description of a new course that he/she would want included in our undergraduate Zicklin honors program. Those descriptions were shared and discussed and we decided to build three new courses

The faculty divided themselves into teams to develop the syllabi, reading lists, and activities for each of the courses during the next month or so.

At the end of the seminar (August 17 and 18) we determined the structure for the Zicklin Undergraduate Honors Program. Zicklin Honors students will be required to complete 5 BUS honors courses (15 credits) including a mandatory Zicklin Honors capstone. (We recommend that all of the applicable courses carry the BUS label. They will not be tied to any department and easily recognizable by prospective students). The capstone courses are Venture Creation (3 credits); Consulting (3 credits); and Thesis- 2 semester course (6 credits). Students will be required to have an overall GPA of 3.6 in order to register in a BUS honors course. Those students who complete the entire Zicklin Undergraduate Honors Program with a 3.6 overall Baruch GPA will be certified as having completed the Zicklin Undergraduate Honors Program. This achievement will be noted on their official transcript.

The syllabi for the new honors courses will be brought to the Zicklin Undergraduate Curriculum Committee in fall 2011. It is expected that there will be three new courses at the 4000 level (Financial Analysis, Global Political Economy and Company/Industry Analysis), along with the three capstone courses (Thesis; Consulting; and Venture Creation). It also is expected that the Interdisciplinary Case Seminar course developed in summer 2010 will be made into one of the 4000 level honors courses.

The Baruch Honors Office has expressed interest in advising students who are admitted to the Zicklin Undergraduate Honors Program. The marketing materials and application process for the Zicklin Undergraduate Honors Program has yet to be delineated.

We hope to run one or more of the courses on an experimental basis in spring 2012. Please stay tuned for more details on the courses and the Zicklin undergraduate honors program.