The McCoy College of Business is forming a new required course plan for the fall for incoming freshman and transfer students to prepare them to securing jobs.
The new plan consists of three courses: “BA (Business Administration) 1310: Introduction to Business”, “Professional Development I: Preparing for Personal Success” and “Professional Development II: Preparing for the Corporate World.”
According to David Wierschem, associate dean of McCoy, this new route is meant to help students find their path of interest, gain professional skills and acquire internships before graduation.
“One of the perspectives that we’re taking is that our world is changing and so we have to change along with it and better prepare our students to be successful,” Wierschem said.
Starting in the fall, freshman business majors will take BA 1310: Introduction to Business, a class built to expose students to all fields of study and guide them in finding the business major that best suits their skills.
The current freshman course for business students, BA 2310: Introduction to Business in a Global Environment, focuses on “the interdependence of the business functions in a global environment,” according to the Texas State course catalog. The new class will allow students to get an idea of all potential majors instead of just business.
“We don’t want [students] taking hard courses they’re going to flunk and have to pay debt on and delay them getting into different majors,” Wierschem said. “That will help with retention and that will help with them with their success, academically, as well as when they’re trying to find a job.”
William McDowell, professor and chair of the department of management, is working with Wierschem to develop the classes.
“We’re going to actually have set time for [students] to either pivot or persevere,” McDowell said. “So [either] they’re in the right major, they feel confident after getting all the information or they can pivot at that point and maybe change to a different major within McCoy.”
During their sophomore year, business students will take a one-hour credit course potentially called Professional Development I: Preparing for Personal Success, according to Wierschem.
Wierschem said the course will teach students skills such as writing a resume and how to dress and practice interviews to set students up for applying for internships their junior year.
“Employers hire 70% of their entry-level through internships,” Wierschem said. “Internships happen between the junior and senior year, which means as a student, you need to have your resume and experience with interviewing done by the end of your sophomore year.”
The third class is a one-hour course unofficially named “Professional Development II: Preparing for the Corporate World”. The class will prepare students for internships in their respective fields.
“The hope is that we’re going to have those [courses] targeted within the majors,” Wierschem said. “So when you have that accounting internship, there are things that you’re going to need to know that are different than your marketing internship. There are different expectations in the different career fields.”
The second and third classes have a plan for curriculum but won’t officially be added to the course catalog until a later date.
According to McDowell, the hiring process for professors teaching these classes is in progress. Some candidates will come from an academic background, while many will be experienced in the business world.
