BACKGROUND:

This proposal involves changing the name of the present Economics II option of the Bachelor of Science in Economics degree program. Economics courses currently offered will enable the School of Business and Engineering Administration to offer a strong and respected degree in Economics. No new courses are required to implement this proposal.

There are two primary reasons for the proposed change in the name of the Economics II option. The first reason involves attraction and retention of qualified students. There are four general categories of students who are attracted to Economics undergraduate degree programs: students taking the degree as a terminal degree; students intending to do graduate work in Economics; pre-law students; and students intending to do graduate work in business administration, social science, or behavioral science. Potential students in the first two categories rarely come to MTU because MTU does not presently offer a degree in Economics which can be recognized as such by a casual perusal of MTU's descriptive literature. Some students in the last two categories do not come to MTU for the same reason. Most universities including those at which the Economics Faculty is located within a Business School offer distinct degree programs in Economics. The label of the degree does matter, both in the attraction of students and in the acceptance of students by graduate and professional schools.

A second reason involves the professional accreditation of the School of Business and Engineering Administration. A visitation team of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business recommended, following a January 1977 visit at MTU, that the Economics II option be made into a separate degree program. This recommendation was based, in part, on an accreditation standard that candidates for undergraduate degrees in Business Administration be provided with a "common body of knowledge" in business and administration which involves the equivalent of at least one academic year of coursework including courses in production and operations management, marketing, finance, legal and social environment of business, business ethics, accounting, business statistics, business data processing, organization theory, organizational behavior, interpersonal communications, and management policy. The Economics I option satisfies this accreditation standard but the Economics II option does not. The "common body" accreditation requirement cannot be satisfied in the Economics II option without sacrificing the depth and breadth of the Economics content. This is why most universities offer separate programs in Economics.

The proposed change in name has the unanimous support of the Faculty of the School of Business and Engineering Administration. The academic officers of other Michigan-supported universities have been informed of the proposed change and have no objections. The Senate Curricular Policy Committee has reviewed the proposed change in accordance with Senate Policy 10-70, Procedures for Developing Significant Changes in the Academic Program, and recommends it for presentation to the Senate.

PROPOSAL:

The Senate of Michigan Technological University approves of the establishment of a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree program. A description of the program follows (Available by Request from the Senate Office).

Adopted by Senate : 15 March 1978
Approved by Administration: 14 April 1978