Unlike many business schools, the University of the Fraser Valley’s school of business doesn’t offer a smorgasbord of MBA programs. In fact, it doesn’t have an MBA program at all. Interim director of the School of Business Mark Breedveld spoke to the Globe about why that’s a good thing for undergraduate business students.
How does not offering an MBA degree affect the School of Business’s focus and curriculum?
For us, our Bachelor of Business Administration students are our flagship students. The BBA is our flagship program – not an MBA program. So we put more of our focus and our energy into our BBA students.
We’ve got a balance of theory and practice in our program.
In terms of the applied side of our program, we emphasize project-based learning. Examples of that include service learning projects (typically done for non-profit organizations), field studies and consulting projects.
On the theoretical side, we require students to do a course in business calculus, which some schools don’t require. We also require a course in business research methods.
Does the school emphasize industry experience when hiring instructors?
It’s certainly something we look for. … The preferred credential, all else being equal, would be a PhD. But it’s not just scholarly activity we’re looking for. We’re also looking for workplace experience and a record of teaching excellence. We’re looking at whether the candidate has professional or industry credentials, whether it’s a Chartered Accountant or a Certified Human Resources Professional.
Do undergraduate students receive a well-rounded education if they're enrolled in a professional program like business?
I would say yes. In our program, students take 11 or 12 courses in non-business subjects. [A few examples:] they take an English course, two communications courses, math and they have another four general electives they do within arts and science. About 12 of the 40 courses they take in a BBA would be taken outside of the BBA program.
UFV business students, who take up to 9 courses in a specific area, can specialize in accounting, marketing, human resources management and, as of next fall, finance. Is it better for undergraduate business students to have a specialty or to focus on getting general business knowledge?
I’d recommend a specialty rather than trying to be all things to all people. Once you graduate, to have more of a focus to your education is helpful when going into an interview.
How does a business undergraduate degree help students determine their career path?
At UFV, the first two years are all foundation courses. They take an introduction to human resources, a marketing course, a couple of accounting courses. They get a feel for different areas of business. Based on the grades they get and their interest in the course, typically what they do then is specialize in the third year in one of those options or concentrations.
As well, there are service learning projects and consulting projects that students do as they go through our program. For example, in the marketing option, we’ve got a group of students right now working on a promotion for a major Canadian brand of beer. The students get hands-on experience to see what they like.
Our career centre also puts on information sessions. We’ve done a couple of those in the last few months, a careers in HR workshop and a careers in finance workshop.
Then there’s also the co-op program. Students can get job experience and try out working [at a company like] Hewlett-Packard or Farm Credit Canada here in the Valley.
With more than 15,000 students, including many part-time students, the University of the Fraser Valley is considered a smaller university. Does that translate into smaller class sizes?
Yes. In the first two years of our program, class size is 36 and in third and fourth year, it’s 25. Students really get to know their instructors.
Does smaller class size enrich the learning experience?
It makes a big difference, especially for the shy student who is reluctant to ask a question in a big group. It also means you have easier access to instructors after class during office hours when you want to talk to an instructor. That’s a benefit to all students.
Many business students at UFV hold part-time jobs to pay for tuition. How has the school responded to that?
One of the things we try to do is to be sensitive to students. So we offer classes on Saturdays. We have evening courses, as well. Our business classes are typically once per week rather than twice per week. It just seems to fit better with students’ work schedules.
They can do their courses on a full-time or part-time basis. We don’t operate on a cohort program where we move all of the students along each year who are in a particular year. They can take as many courses as they want and work their way to a BBA at their own speed.
Because we have that close contact with students, we hear what they’re up against and the challenges they face. It makes us a little more sensitive to them and their needs.
Anything else to add?
Not having a master’s program is one of the things that has led us to be innovative with our BBA programs. We have a BBA Aviation degree, where students can get flight training and get a business degree at the same time. We do that in partnership with a private flight training company at the Abbotsford airport.
In the last couple of years, we’ve experimented with a couple of new degrees. We have one called the BBA Trades Management degree, where you can bring your trade certification, some work experience on top of that, take a couple of bridging courses and transition into the third year of the BBA program. We also have a BBA in agricultural management. So we’re experimenting that way and innovating.
Some schools … have a whole variety of MBA degrees. For us, we’ve been innovative with our BBA degrees.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Special to The Globe and Mail
