Don't Abolish the Business Major
A response to an article published in The Chronicle for Higher Education
Prior to starting this Substack, I published a letter to the editor in The Chronicle of Higher Education. It was in response some silly arguments in article, but those silly arguments were published in one of the most read news outlets dealing with higher education issues.
The whole letter is worth reading, but here are a couple excerpts. I start with the introduction:
As dean of an AACSB-accredited business school within a nationally ranked liberal arts university, I was disappointed to read Johann N. Neem’s “Abolish the Business Major!” (The Chronicle Review, August 13), much like I am when I see calls to abolish liberal arts majors.
Neem made three major claims about business majors. All three are incorrect and harmful to academia.
And concluding …
The more policymakers hear ridiculous arguments that business majors aren’t ready for jobs or that they don’t deserve a college degree, the more they will think academia is out-of-touch and should receive less funding. Let’s not further contribute to the public divide about higher education. Instead, let’s focus on how all disciplines can prepare their students to make positive contributions to society.
I do see both sides of the argument (although both are paywalled). I think the issue is that programs should be more focused and potentially separated from each other. For example, I'm to some extent surprised why haven't financial companies created their own programs - you want to learn iBanking and Finance, come to this school and be guaranteed a job. Economics courses in college on the other hand, feel like a complete waste of time to many students who are more interested in getting the finance job than understanding how minimum wages impact or do not impact the economy.