By Carolyn Ryan hy should he worry about e bird course when he’s Policy to do?” his question, overheard week at the UPEI Book- 6, may seem incompre— sible to those of us who ’t Business majors. 0 those who are, it makes e. olicy, or more formally, iness Administration 492: nagement Policy, is the tre hanging over the ds of 103 fourth-year iness majors at UPEI this

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lumcl Number 5 x

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Johnathan Orlowski how many hours dc the student, attend s and study? Did you gauge yourself? Have 'er a DICELIC’: h0w many your professors put in their_ required forty, a week? Did you ever that your professor he or she is the only it campus assigning

professor at his colleagues are this -minded. “I’m not a bleeding-heart posi- for students; much will . require much Professor

.y ,

n,

taste of things to come? Winter is a-corning in

least I

exploiting

"week. It’s a required course —- there‘s no avoiding it — marked entirely on the basis of a research .project con— ducted by groups of our stu- dents. Formal presentations take place on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week; so the air in Kelley Building is tense.

It didn’t start out that way. When UPEI was established in 1969, the project was no

' more than a term paper in a

traditional business policy course. Gradually, however, the

l ‘ he etted Gem

But is this effort reason- able or disproportionate? “I suspect that if all course requirements were docu- mented we would find the total required effort and time excessive and unrea- sonable if indeed this turned out to_ be so, it would be hard to deny that this was an abuse.”

It is the student who is taking five or six credited courses who is being affected during'the course of the semester. Isn’t the student aware of what is going on? “Such abuse can survive and thrive for a long period of time (in any system) through

.. tion ' by '

level of competition grew. In 1973, the graduating class presented a plaque to the best Policy project of the year. Then, in 1975 the De- partment of Industry, which has been and is still using completed projects, insti- gated prizes of $500, $300 and $200 for the top three presentations. It now pro- vides for expenses of $185 per four-person group as well.

Doing a Policy project involves selecting an idea for starting up a business enter- prise (which requires creati-

Thursday, Dec 1/83

legitimate claims of other courses and professors. What may ‘be most regrettable would be the state of mind already demonstrated by professors involved in such

abuse and then offered to‘

students for imitation.”

Students are being con- ditioned, as in Pavlov,’s famous stimulus

dog re- sponse experiment, by professors, with the result

of a loss of credibility for students. What can be done

~ about it? “A full presenta-

tion of this matter together with a demand for appro- priate action, would require a high level of documenta- students ...-

the '

judgement is

vity and imagination) and then developing the idea using skills taught in the first three years of_ a Business Administration program. Group members have to do marketing, financial, and feasibility studies, using in- formation gathered inside and outside the university community, and operate their business on paper for three or four years.

J. Joseph Revell, Director of the School Administration, calls the research project a “mini- thesis", an “exercise in group dynamics”. He says the course is valuable in that it gives students experience in working with others under deadlines and pressure, a common situation ,in the world of business, and in entrepreneurial creativity, as groups are encouraged to select their own topic and to develop a completely novel line of thought or approach to their topic.

It takes a lot of ingenuity and a grasp of basic business principles, but students manage to live through it, Competition helps, as does the hope of having one’s project used in the business world. This does happen: the Charlottetown Spa is living proof of a policy pro— ject that survived Presenta— tion Week. 1

This takes time and effort. According to Revell, projects

. are now reaching lengths of

200 pages or more. Students have told him that they are doing the work of three regular courses in Business Administration 492. Many take reduced course loads in order to deal with the work- load. Some let their non- Business electives slide. “But they manage to scramble through it,” says Revell. He points to a virtually 100% pass rate in the course.

The course is Only offered in the fall semester, so the

rofess'ors_0v_erloading Students?

Student Union might render an excellent non-political service by doing a thorough study aimed at two goals: I) to determine whether overs loading of students with‘work exists. If there is evidence of an abuse here, then 2) to work with Senate to insist that this abuse be completely and permanently eliminated in the future.”

A final word from Pro-

' fessor Kelly, “In short, is the

apparatus of education expanding so vastly as to encroach upon and threaten the very existence of the process?”

You, the student.‘ must

decide for yourself.

of Business '

, ARCHIVES

rare ones who don’t make it have to wait a year and do it over again. That alOne is an incentive to succeed.

Still, year after year, stu- dents go through the ex— perience and seem to benefit from it.

“Most people who’ve gone through it feel that it should stay as it is,” says Business Society President Kenny Mutter. “They say it's the only I course they really remember once they‘ve graduated.”

Recently, there has been doubt in the School of Business Administration as to whether the course should stay as it is. The amount of time it takes from other courses has the administra tion concerned.

Last week, at a meeting between the Business Society and Business Faculty. three different courses of action were proposed.

One was to preserve the present system, but with some fine—tuning, such as the introduction of a marketing research course in the se— mester preceding Policy. Mutter believes the addition of seminars and guidelines would help students greatly.

Another idea discussed was

U.P.E.l.

{if

to make 492 a full year course. with the project worth only one-third of the course evaluation.

Finally, administration proposed varying the type of project required so that individuals could work .m them, with professors' he‘r‘, during the summer months. This proposal would cause difficulties with the. present system of competitiw rating. Because of the quality of projects criteria might have to be altered.

Mutter says the changes, which would begin in September of 1984. would first affect this year‘s sopho. more class. In order to help administration decide the issue, he and the Business Society are trying to discoicr how students in the program react to the ideas.

For this year at least. Policy remains mainly as it has been for the last eight years. Participants will be working far into the night. typing frantically, assimi- Iating information. and praying.

When the presentations end oniFriday, one has the feeling that celebrations will by no standards be scaled or lukewarm.

J'u’n . (:lli’c c'll

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SU explains soft 3 drink positidn

Rv .lnhn Dougan

ion was raised recently concerning the Student Union’s support for a non-Island soft drink firm, when it could be dealing with one that operates right. in the heart of Charlottetown. Heather Love, General Manager of the UPEI Stu~ dent Union said, “The University has been dealing with Island Beverage Coke (the present supplier) for quite a number of years, and it was originally owned by an Island company.” Ownership was then transferred to a firm off the Island which even— tually led to the purchase of off—Island products. “We have always happy with the supplier. Love said, “and it’s a very good supporter of the Student Union, providing the proper equipment and spending a lot of time ad— vertising through the Uni- versity. With all the pur— chases made, it would be

been

as

very hard to consider whether each and every one provides income to the

Island economy.” The idea to change or to look for something civ: ..iid

not surface until about a month ago, when an Island firm came to check the pop machines on campus. t was then that the issue sur— rounding support t‘ot Island businesses first appeared. The fact remains. hovercr, that the Student Linton was IIC\€‘r approached by an island firm with a p" concerning soft dr.. . Love. .

The Student Union \i‘w‘l'ij not be expected {0 present dealings and 1"”: stood services: of a supplier ' middle of the acadenm «. r

..is? because ‘t 's it»

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iosra‘ it should do so ir “a: s when we have the s; *nn consider at. If a orwm .. made by an Island 111"“: .md it’s reasonable and does not cost more, I can see no reason

why it wouldn‘t be ac? ccpted."

In light of Yh:>, Term .;:i anyone sag. that . . " ' L'nion is not eager :c s * Island business. when its eagerness has new: tested}