School of Business advances programs
One of the fastest growing schools, the School of Business currently enrolls 20,000 students
Meet and greet — Aug. 29, students had the opportunity to meet and talk to professors from the School of Business to discuss the newly added programs. Photo credit: Jill Springer
The School of Business has undergone many new changes this semester in an effort to enhance what it offers to students interested in the business world.
According to Scott Hicks, Dean of the School of Business, they are approaching 20,000 registered students, per year, residentially and online. The business school comprises approximately 20 percent of the students enrolled Liberty University.
“We’re one of the fastest growing schools on campus,” Hicks said.
Wednesday, Aug. 29, the School of Business held a meet and greet at William’s Stadium. Several student groups, professors and interested parties attended the event to welcome back and introduce new students to the new and improved School of Business.
One of the newest additions to the School of Business is the financial planning concentration.
Profession — Williams Stadium hosted the School of Business meet and greet on the Club Level. Photo credit: Jill Springer
“This program has been in the making for two years and is now part of the degree completion plan,” Kurt Cornfield, a professor of business, said. “I’m very excited to see where it will go. It has the potential to grow exponentially.”
The financial planning concentration helps students become Certified Financial Planners (CFP). Undergraduates will take a total of six combined business and accounting classes in order to become eligible to take the 10-hour, two-day CFP exam.
The school recently received the Superior Merit Award from the Society for Human Resource Management. The award is widely considered one of the highest honors of its kind.
According to the Liberty University website, last semester, businesswoman Pamela Green, a professional who has held executive positions in globally-recognized organizations such as HeadStart Columbus and the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus, presided over the Backpack to Briefcase event. Her presentation helped students to better understand the gap between exiting college and entering the workforce.
The School of Business has recently highlighted its “ambassador program,” which includes six separate student groups. Students who are a part of the program said that they have three main focuses they want to achieve.
The first concentration, student outreach, involves business majors reaching out to non-members through outlets such as devotionals and fitness groups. This helps provide public interaction and directs attention to the School of Business.
The second focus is on professional development, which helps students acquire jobs after graduating from college and allows them the unique opportunity to have professional mentors guide them in their future career paths.
The final concentration of the ambassador program is community outreach. “Business majors try to use their skills to help better their local communities and to motivate the populace,” Hicks said.
“The new Center for Entrepreneurship is on the leading edge of business education,” Hicks said. According to Liberty University’s website, the center is an “initiative focused on developing students to gain a mindset in leadership and innovation through entrepreneurial endeavors on behalf of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.”
The new Center comprises three phases. According to Hicks, the first experimental phase was a “pilot program” that began last semester. The next two phases will begin in the upcoming semesters for undergraduates in business and other majors. These phases will be available to both residential and online students in fall 2013. The third phase, with a pilot starting in spring 2014, will expand services beyond residential programs to the online programs.
For more information about the School of Business, visit liberty.edu/academics/business/.