08832323.2014.988202
Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Assessing Cocurricular Impacts on the
Development of Business Student Professionalism:
Supporting Rites of Passage
William Wresch & Jessica Pondell
To cite this article: William Wresch & Jessica Pondell (2015) Assessing Cocurricular Impacts on
the Development of Business Student Professionalism: Supporting Rites of Passage, Journal of
Education for Business, 90:3, 113-118, DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2014.988202
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2014.988202
Published online: 22 Dec 2014.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 87
View related articles
View Crossmark data
Citing articles: 1 View citing articles
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=vjeb20
Download by: [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji]
Date: 11 January 2016, At: 19:12
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS, 90: 113–118, 2015
Copyright Ó Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0883-2323 print / 1940-3356 online
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2014.988202
Assessing Cocurricular Impacts on the Development
of Business Student Professionalism: Supporting
Rites of Passage
William Wresch and Jessica Pondell
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 19:12 11 January 2016
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA
Professionalism has a wide variety of definitions. The authors review some of those
definitions and then explore stages students pass through as they move from student to
business professional. Based on literature from the systems psychodynamics field, the
authors examine stages in student identity building, including social defenses, sentient
communities, and rites of passage. They then connect these stages to specific curricular and
cocurricular efforts. A variety of cocurricular activities assisting student growth are assessed.
Results indicate that activities such as attendance at business club meetings, attendance at
career fairs, and participating in internships can have a positive impact on student growth
and professionalism.
Keywords: assessment, business programs, cocurricular activities, extra-curricular activities,
identity, professionalism, rites of passage
The assessment of student professionalism efforts is
informed by two major strands of educational research.
One strand focuses on definitions of professionalism. While
the term is widely used, it is often used in very different
ways to describe very different activities and expectations.
A number of studies have attempted to at least place the
term in a context. A second strand of research attempts to
provide effective means of developing professionalism—a
growth in student maturity developed through a combination of classroom and out-of-classroom activities. Studies
conducted in this area generally connect specific curricular
and cocurricular interventions to professional behaviors
considered desirable in graduates of a professional program. We will give specific examples of these desired
behaviors subsequently in this article.
While the current study will summarize much of the
research concerning definitions of professionalism, this
work focuses more heavily on the concept of identity creation. Based on literature from the systems psychodynamics
field, the current study examines stages in student professional development. It then connects these stages to specific
curricular and cocurricular efforts. Because efforts to
Correspondence should be addressed to William Wresch, University of
Wisconsin Oshkosh, College of Business, 800 Algoma Boulevard,
Oshkosh, WI 54901, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
develop professionalism in students frequently takes place
outside the usual classroom experience, research into the
effects of cocurricular or extracurricular activities provides
helpful insights into the impact of such efforts. By following hundreds of undergraduate business majors for several
years, we hope to identify specific cocurricular activities
that assist students as they progress through stages of identity development and become business professionals possessing the professional behaviors considered desirable in
graduates of a professional business program.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Professionalism Defined
At one level, most people have some sense for the meaning
of professionalism. A common dictionary explanation suffices for most:
a: of, relating to, or characteristic of a profession, b:
engaged in one of the learned professions c(1): characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards
of a profession (2): exhibiting a courteous, conscientious,
and generally businesslike manner in the workplace. (Merriam-Webster, 2014)
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 19:12 11 January 2016
114
W. WRESCH AND J. PONDELL
Similar to many concepts, however, when examined
more closely, a range of definitions emerges. For high
school teachers trying to place their graduates, professionalism can mean simply showing up for work on time.
Responding to recent employer surveys, Bronson (2007)
noted the employer call for “good interpersonal and personal skills such as responsibility, self-esteem and integrity” (p. 30). Bronson goes on to say “It is daunting to
consider exactly how to teach students to be on time, cooperative or honest” (p. 30). These concerns are echoed by
Lewis (2006), who summed up employer concerns that
high school graduates were lacking in “professionalism and
work ethic, which were defined as ‘demonstrating personal
accountability, effective work habits, e.g., punctuality,
working productively with others, time and workload management” (p. 6).
Trank and Rynes (2003) provided a somewhat more
demanding definition of business professionalism. Writing shortly after the Enron debacle, they questioned
whether business education might be headed in the
wrong direction, fearing that a “variety of pressures in
the organizational field of business education are rapidly
steering us toward deprofessionalization” (Trank &
Rynes, 2003, p. 189). They cite a variety of problems
including dumbing down of courses, grade inflation, the
loss of ethics classes, and the increased use of adjunct
professors, among others. If business were a true profession, they argue, there would be membership rules, a
strong ethical component, and a foundation of generalizable, abstract knowledge useful as professionals respond
to a variety of situations, including changes in the
underlying knowledge base.
Where do these views and histories of professionalism
leave us? They remind us that the term can be used so
loosely it can refer to high school graduates deciding to
show up for work on time, while also connecting to traditional professions setting standards for behavior that serve
the public interest—high standards of practice that preserve
life and liberty. While we recognize the wide range of definitions and applications of the term professionalism, at
some point we need to pick one definition and institutionalize it in the curriculum. Our preference has been the Trank
and Rynes (2007) definition of business professionalism
with its three main components: membership rules, a strong
ethical component, and a foundation of generalizable,
abstract knowledge. Two of those components we can point
to in any good business curriculum. Ethical instruction is
infused into multiple courses, and typical business curricula
provide solid foundations in the business principles students
will apply over their careers.
The more complicated component is membership. On
the surface this could be something as simple as taking a
test and paying dues, but we know from anthropologic
research that there is more to the process of being a member. To get a better understanding of the membership
process, we also turn to the work of Petriglieri and Petriglieri (2010).
The Process of Becoming Professional
A substantial body of literature reviews student development during college (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005), but a
somewhat different view emerges as I consider the transition from the university into professional careers. An interesting description of this process is presented by Petriglieri
and Petriglieri (2010). Describing business schools as identity workspaces, they describe the role of business schools
in helping students build an identity. They note that as corporate environments transform and provide fewer opportunities for employees to build identities, it falls on business
schools to provide these experiences through identity workspaces. They build on systems psychodynamics literature to
explain necessary elements of identity building, including
social defenses, sentient communities, and rites of passage.
Social defenses are “collective arrangements—such as
an organizational structure, a work method, or a prevalent
discourse—created or used by an organization’s members
as protection against disturbing affect derived from external
threats, internal conflicts, or the nature of their work” (Petriglieri & Petriglieri, 2010, p. 48). One presumes that the
typical business school provides just such a safe organizational structure because it resembles experiences students
have had since childhood, experiences that have largely
been successful with only occasional periods of anxiety.
A second element to an identity workspace is a sentient
community, defined as “groups with which human beings
identify themselves” (Petriglieri & Petriglieri, 2010, p.
48). Among important “sentient groups are the professional communities that individuals invest in, relate to,
and identify with” (Petriglieri & Petriglieri, 2010, p. 48).
They pointed out that this identification process can begin
even before an individual is a member of the community.
They use the example of medical students who identify
with the community of doctors even though they have yet
to reach that level, and we could easily posit such a relationship developing for future accountants as they begin
their accounting coursework, already identifying with
their future profession.
The third element in identity building is the rite of passage. Such rites are said to consist of three stages—separation, disorientation, and incorporation. Anthropologists
argue these three stages are universal across cultures and
across centuries. As educators, we see this rite of passage in
our first-year students as they make the transition from high
school to college—separation from old friends and home,
disorienting first weeks of college, and final adjustment to
college status. We see them repeat this process as students
move through internships and finally to graduation.
If we accept this model of identity development, and if
we accept our role in helping the process, our next question
DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS STUDENT PROFESSIONALISM
becomes, how do we optimize our role helping our students
become business professionals? How does a college of
business become an identity workspace? We essentially
have two approaches—actions we can take within our classes—curricular efforts, and actions we can take beyond our
classes—cocurricular efforts. The efforts being reported in
this study relied mainly on cocurricular efforts, so some
background on such efforts follows.
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 19:12 11 January 2016
Cocurricular Activities and General Student Outcomes
It is commonly assumed that engagement in cocurricular
activities improves a variety of student and curricular outcomes. Writing in the context of sustainability education,
one author predicts that “cocurricular options for sustainability can allow students the opportunity for additional
experiential and applied learning outside the classroom”
(Rusinko, 2010, p. 508). She includes such cocurricular
examples as green or eco-fashion oriented speakers for
fashion merchandising majors, a student-run business to
recycle clothing, working with campus dining services
to purchase locally grown foods, and campus service days
to clean up local parks and recreation areas. While these
appear to be interesting and worthwhile activities, she is
unable to produce any evidence that such activities result in
additional student learning.
A study conducted at Hong Kong Baptist University
(Leung, Ng, & Chan, 2011) involved students in three
cocurricular activities: a business talk series, and two business simulation competitions. Results were very disappointing. Not only did over 40% of participants not complete
their involvement in these activities, but those who did had
worse course grades than those who did not. Study authors
concluded that students felt the cocurricular activities simply used up time that could have been better applied in
studying for class.
A study conducted at Georgia Tech (Gordon, Ludlum, &
Hoey, 2007) attempted to correlate results of the National
Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) with such outcomes
as freshman retention, grade point average, pursuit of graduate education after graduation, and employment upon
graduation. Among engagement measures are such features
as active and collaborative learning, and enriching educational experiences. The study authors concluded that “taken
overall, the NSSE benchmarks provide very little predictive
power on the student outcomes of concern” (Gordon et al.,
2007, p. 28).
The failure to produce evidence that cocurricular activities have a significant impact on student outcomes may be
evidence that cocurricular activities are ineffective—a
waste of effort—or, the lack of such evidence may be the
result of poor research methods. For example, a grade point
average or a job after graduation can be the result of many
factors.
METHOD
In another attempt to determine whether cocurricular activities could help students develop professionalism, a multiyear study was conducted at a large (over 2,000 undergraduate business majors) Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business–accredited business program in the
United States. One of the six learning goals for the program
is student professionalism: students will conduct themselves in a professional manner. Students will be able to
transition from student to business professional.
To meet these defined goals, the college created a set of
requirements for admission to the college and then for graduation from the program. These requirements went into
effect for students being admitted to the college in fall 2011.
These activities are broken down into the three stages of
identity building (see Table 1). Student data was collected
from 2007—before the new admission requirements—
through 2014. A variety of metrics was used to determine
student outcomes.
Social Defenses
These are collective arrangements meant to protect members against experiences that could cause anxiety. Certainly one source of anxiety is selecting the ideal college
TABLE 1
Evaluation Metrics
Identity stage
Social defenses
Sentient community
Rite of passage
Activity
Interest and strengths
Inventories
Occupation outlook
Handbook review
Club meetings
Career fair
Internship
115
Metric
Number of students changing their major after admission
Credits to degree
Salary expectations
Attendance reported by official club documentation
Career fair attendance
Internship acceptance
Supervisor evaluations (pre and post)
116
W. WRESCH AND J. PONDELL
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 19:12 11 January 2016
major. Activities to help with this decision included a personal inventory and a review of career data in the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2014) Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Interest and strengths inventories. Students were
required to complete the interest profiler through WisCareers (2014) before admission to the college. This profiler
is based on Dr. John Holland’s theories and career classifications. His theory is based on the assumption that occupations are an extension of people’s personalities
(WisCareers, 2014). As part of their admission application,
students were required to explain why the business major
they chose (why marketing and not human resources?) was
a good match for their personalities. In addition, in their
professional skills in business class, all students completed
StrengthsQuest (2014). This assessment pulls out their top
five strengths and helps students connect those strengths
with careers and helps them articulate how those strengths
fit the needs of certain industries and professions (Hodges
& Harter, 2005).
At the time of their admission to the college, students
were asked to describe what the BLS Occupational Outlook
Handbook says about job availability and expected starting
salaries.
Results. The first assumption was that by creating
more intentional activities prior to major selection, students
would change their majors less and have fewer credits to
degree. This was achieved. Average credits to degree
dropped by 1.3, and average major changes after admission
to the college dropped by 0.045. For this college, that
resulted in a savings of 559 credits in the first year of implementation. So it appears students now entered their final
two years more directed in their course selection and in
their major selection (see Table 2).
Second, we assumed that by researching careers, students would have a more realistic expectation of their
career choice. The measure we used to determine success
of this goal was salary expectations. In 2011, student surveys revealed significant numbers of students with inaccurate expectations about potential salaries in their chosen
fields. The table below indicates student understanding of
salaries as first year students and at admission to the college
TABLE 2
Credits to Degree and Major Changes
Time
Total credits to completion
Major changes
n
133.461
132.133
< .05
1.345
1.3
< .05
784
430
Before Fall 2011
After Fall 2011
p
(third-year students). As can be seen, after implementation
in 2011, students in 2012 scaled back their salary expectations to more realistically reflect actual college of business
starting salaries (see Table 3).
Sentient Communities
In this stage of development, students begin to identify with
their professional community. Measurement here was conducted by reviewing business club attendance. The college
supports 12 business clubs in all areas of business. Meetings are usually held at 5 p.m., with most clubs meeting
biweekly. It is the norm to invite company representatives
to campus to make presentations at these meetings. Beginning in fall 2011, students were required to attend at least
three business club meetings before admission to the college. The intent of this requirement was for students to be
aware of the culture of business and to begin to spend time
with their professional peers.
Results. The measure used to assess the success of the
goal of increased club engagement was overall attendance.
As would be expected, club attendance by students
increased dramatically. The accounting club provides a
good example. Averaging about 48 students per meeting
just before the new requirements were to take effect, attendance averaged over 72 one year after the new requirements
took effect. The result was significantly increased engagement between students and employers—the enhancement
of professional communities (see Table 4).
In addition, another result of this implementation was
earlier leadership development of the students. Based on
qualitative data from both the marketing club and Society
for Human Resource Management (human resources club),
they saw students taking on executive board positions earlier
in their career and being able to progress through leadership
TABLE 3
Salary Expectations
Median
Year of study
First-year students
Third-year students
Average actual salary
Percentage expecting over $60,000 at graduation
2011
2012
2013
2011
2012
2013
$45,000–$50,000
$45,000–$50,000
$41,037
$50,000–$55,000
$45,000–$50,000
$41,862
$50,000–$55,000
$40,000–$45,000
$41,704
16.00%
16.00%
20.00%
7.88%
27.30%
4.86%
117
DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS STUDENT PROFESSIONALISM
TABLE 4
Average Club Meeting Attendance
Accounting club
TABLE 6
Credits at Time of Internship Attainment
Average meeting attendance
Fall 2010
Fall 2012
48.5
72.5
positions earlier because they had engaged with the club
their freshman year instead of the traditional junior year.
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 19:12 11 January 2016
Rites of Passage
Rites of Passages are shared experiences that all members progress through. According to Petriglieri and Petriglieri (2010), rites of passage are said to consist of
three stages—separation, a period of disorientation, and
incorporation. Two activities—career fair attendance
and the internship—were seen as contributing to this
rite of passage.
Career fair attendance. Once each semester, 130–
150 businesses put on a career fair for the university in this
study. Businesses are generally looking to hire either
interns or permanent employees, although a few also recruit
part-time employees. With the new attendance requirement
in 2011, it was hoped more students would not only attend
the fair, but that internship or job attainment through this
venue would increase. Results showed both of these to be
the case. Prior to the new requirement, in spring 2011, only
18% of students obtained their internships through interactions at the career fair. After the implementation of the new
admissions requirements, by spring 2013, 22% of students
obtained their internships through interactions at the career
fair and attendance had increased 19%. By spring of 2014,
internship attainment through the career fair increased to
25% and attendance remained steady (see Table 5).
Another measure used to assess the impact was if students would find internships earlier in their college career.
The data show the significant impact on when students
began their internships. In fall 2011, the average student
had earned 109.7 credits prior to starting his or her internship. The semester following the first required career fair,
that number dropped by a statistically significant amount
(p < .05) to 103.4 credits (see Table 6).
Time
Fall 2011
Spring 2012
M
SD
Population
109.7
103.4
23.3
24.4
99
113
By obtaining internships earlier, students are able to stay
at an internship longer and learn more, or students have the
ability to do a subsequent internship.
Internships. All College of Business students at the
university being studied are required to complete an internship to graduate. Internships may be as short as 100 hours,
but most are at least ten weeks in duration and many are
longer. Internships may be done any time after admission
to the college. Students are paid for their internship and
apply directly to companies. All internships are approved
by the Professional Development Director to ensure that
the internship is educational.
Results. Supervisors were asked to complete a preand postassessment of their interns related to the learning goals of this College of Business. Students were
rated on their business knowledge, communication skills,
and project management skills. The data below shows
significant improvement consistently in those three
learning goals each semester. The data are from spring
2012. Ratings are from 1–5, with 5 being the highest
(see Table 7).
While the data in Table 7 show individual interns making significant learning improvement each semester, a measure was also found to show improvement in the college’s
overall intern performances since implementation. To do
this, the supervisor end of semester evaluation was used. A
question asked consistently each semester to supervisor is,
In general, how do interns from this university compare to
interns from other business schools? The results are shown
in Table 8.
This is a statistically significant improvement, with a p
value of
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Assessing Cocurricular Impacts on the
Development of Business Student Professionalism:
Supporting Rites of Passage
William Wresch & Jessica Pondell
To cite this article: William Wresch & Jessica Pondell (2015) Assessing Cocurricular Impacts on
the Development of Business Student Professionalism: Supporting Rites of Passage, Journal of
Education for Business, 90:3, 113-118, DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2014.988202
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2014.988202
Published online: 22 Dec 2014.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 87
View related articles
View Crossmark data
Citing articles: 1 View citing articles
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=vjeb20
Download by: [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji]
Date: 11 January 2016, At: 19:12
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS, 90: 113–118, 2015
Copyright Ó Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0883-2323 print / 1940-3356 online
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2014.988202
Assessing Cocurricular Impacts on the Development
of Business Student Professionalism: Supporting
Rites of Passage
William Wresch and Jessica Pondell
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 19:12 11 January 2016
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA
Professionalism has a wide variety of definitions. The authors review some of those
definitions and then explore stages students pass through as they move from student to
business professional. Based on literature from the systems psychodynamics field, the
authors examine stages in student identity building, including social defenses, sentient
communities, and rites of passage. They then connect these stages to specific curricular and
cocurricular efforts. A variety of cocurricular activities assisting student growth are assessed.
Results indicate that activities such as attendance at business club meetings, attendance at
career fairs, and participating in internships can have a positive impact on student growth
and professionalism.
Keywords: assessment, business programs, cocurricular activities, extra-curricular activities,
identity, professionalism, rites of passage
The assessment of student professionalism efforts is
informed by two major strands of educational research.
One strand focuses on definitions of professionalism. While
the term is widely used, it is often used in very different
ways to describe very different activities and expectations.
A number of studies have attempted to at least place the
term in a context. A second strand of research attempts to
provide effective means of developing professionalism—a
growth in student maturity developed through a combination of classroom and out-of-classroom activities. Studies
conducted in this area generally connect specific curricular
and cocurricular interventions to professional behaviors
considered desirable in graduates of a professional program. We will give specific examples of these desired
behaviors subsequently in this article.
While the current study will summarize much of the
research concerning definitions of professionalism, this
work focuses more heavily on the concept of identity creation. Based on literature from the systems psychodynamics
field, the current study examines stages in student professional development. It then connects these stages to specific
curricular and cocurricular efforts. Because efforts to
Correspondence should be addressed to William Wresch, University of
Wisconsin Oshkosh, College of Business, 800 Algoma Boulevard,
Oshkosh, WI 54901, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
develop professionalism in students frequently takes place
outside the usual classroom experience, research into the
effects of cocurricular or extracurricular activities provides
helpful insights into the impact of such efforts. By following hundreds of undergraduate business majors for several
years, we hope to identify specific cocurricular activities
that assist students as they progress through stages of identity development and become business professionals possessing the professional behaviors considered desirable in
graduates of a professional business program.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Professionalism Defined
At one level, most people have some sense for the meaning
of professionalism. A common dictionary explanation suffices for most:
a: of, relating to, or characteristic of a profession, b:
engaged in one of the learned professions c(1): characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards
of a profession (2): exhibiting a courteous, conscientious,
and generally businesslike manner in the workplace. (Merriam-Webster, 2014)
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 19:12 11 January 2016
114
W. WRESCH AND J. PONDELL
Similar to many concepts, however, when examined
more closely, a range of definitions emerges. For high
school teachers trying to place their graduates, professionalism can mean simply showing up for work on time.
Responding to recent employer surveys, Bronson (2007)
noted the employer call for “good interpersonal and personal skills such as responsibility, self-esteem and integrity” (p. 30). Bronson goes on to say “It is daunting to
consider exactly how to teach students to be on time, cooperative or honest” (p. 30). These concerns are echoed by
Lewis (2006), who summed up employer concerns that
high school graduates were lacking in “professionalism and
work ethic, which were defined as ‘demonstrating personal
accountability, effective work habits, e.g., punctuality,
working productively with others, time and workload management” (p. 6).
Trank and Rynes (2003) provided a somewhat more
demanding definition of business professionalism. Writing shortly after the Enron debacle, they questioned
whether business education might be headed in the
wrong direction, fearing that a “variety of pressures in
the organizational field of business education are rapidly
steering us toward deprofessionalization” (Trank &
Rynes, 2003, p. 189). They cite a variety of problems
including dumbing down of courses, grade inflation, the
loss of ethics classes, and the increased use of adjunct
professors, among others. If business were a true profession, they argue, there would be membership rules, a
strong ethical component, and a foundation of generalizable, abstract knowledge useful as professionals respond
to a variety of situations, including changes in the
underlying knowledge base.
Where do these views and histories of professionalism
leave us? They remind us that the term can be used so
loosely it can refer to high school graduates deciding to
show up for work on time, while also connecting to traditional professions setting standards for behavior that serve
the public interest—high standards of practice that preserve
life and liberty. While we recognize the wide range of definitions and applications of the term professionalism, at
some point we need to pick one definition and institutionalize it in the curriculum. Our preference has been the Trank
and Rynes (2007) definition of business professionalism
with its three main components: membership rules, a strong
ethical component, and a foundation of generalizable,
abstract knowledge. Two of those components we can point
to in any good business curriculum. Ethical instruction is
infused into multiple courses, and typical business curricula
provide solid foundations in the business principles students
will apply over their careers.
The more complicated component is membership. On
the surface this could be something as simple as taking a
test and paying dues, but we know from anthropologic
research that there is more to the process of being a member. To get a better understanding of the membership
process, we also turn to the work of Petriglieri and Petriglieri (2010).
The Process of Becoming Professional
A substantial body of literature reviews student development during college (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005), but a
somewhat different view emerges as I consider the transition from the university into professional careers. An interesting description of this process is presented by Petriglieri
and Petriglieri (2010). Describing business schools as identity workspaces, they describe the role of business schools
in helping students build an identity. They note that as corporate environments transform and provide fewer opportunities for employees to build identities, it falls on business
schools to provide these experiences through identity workspaces. They build on systems psychodynamics literature to
explain necessary elements of identity building, including
social defenses, sentient communities, and rites of passage.
Social defenses are “collective arrangements—such as
an organizational structure, a work method, or a prevalent
discourse—created or used by an organization’s members
as protection against disturbing affect derived from external
threats, internal conflicts, or the nature of their work” (Petriglieri & Petriglieri, 2010, p. 48). One presumes that the
typical business school provides just such a safe organizational structure because it resembles experiences students
have had since childhood, experiences that have largely
been successful with only occasional periods of anxiety.
A second element to an identity workspace is a sentient
community, defined as “groups with which human beings
identify themselves” (Petriglieri & Petriglieri, 2010, p.
48). Among important “sentient groups are the professional communities that individuals invest in, relate to,
and identify with” (Petriglieri & Petriglieri, 2010, p. 48).
They pointed out that this identification process can begin
even before an individual is a member of the community.
They use the example of medical students who identify
with the community of doctors even though they have yet
to reach that level, and we could easily posit such a relationship developing for future accountants as they begin
their accounting coursework, already identifying with
their future profession.
The third element in identity building is the rite of passage. Such rites are said to consist of three stages—separation, disorientation, and incorporation. Anthropologists
argue these three stages are universal across cultures and
across centuries. As educators, we see this rite of passage in
our first-year students as they make the transition from high
school to college—separation from old friends and home,
disorienting first weeks of college, and final adjustment to
college status. We see them repeat this process as students
move through internships and finally to graduation.
If we accept this model of identity development, and if
we accept our role in helping the process, our next question
DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS STUDENT PROFESSIONALISM
becomes, how do we optimize our role helping our students
become business professionals? How does a college of
business become an identity workspace? We essentially
have two approaches—actions we can take within our classes—curricular efforts, and actions we can take beyond our
classes—cocurricular efforts. The efforts being reported in
this study relied mainly on cocurricular efforts, so some
background on such efforts follows.
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Cocurricular Activities and General Student Outcomes
It is commonly assumed that engagement in cocurricular
activities improves a variety of student and curricular outcomes. Writing in the context of sustainability education,
one author predicts that “cocurricular options for sustainability can allow students the opportunity for additional
experiential and applied learning outside the classroom”
(Rusinko, 2010, p. 508). She includes such cocurricular
examples as green or eco-fashion oriented speakers for
fashion merchandising majors, a student-run business to
recycle clothing, working with campus dining services
to purchase locally grown foods, and campus service days
to clean up local parks and recreation areas. While these
appear to be interesting and worthwhile activities, she is
unable to produce any evidence that such activities result in
additional student learning.
A study conducted at Hong Kong Baptist University
(Leung, Ng, & Chan, 2011) involved students in three
cocurricular activities: a business talk series, and two business simulation competitions. Results were very disappointing. Not only did over 40% of participants not complete
their involvement in these activities, but those who did had
worse course grades than those who did not. Study authors
concluded that students felt the cocurricular activities simply used up time that could have been better applied in
studying for class.
A study conducted at Georgia Tech (Gordon, Ludlum, &
Hoey, 2007) attempted to correlate results of the National
Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) with such outcomes
as freshman retention, grade point average, pursuit of graduate education after graduation, and employment upon
graduation. Among engagement measures are such features
as active and collaborative learning, and enriching educational experiences. The study authors concluded that “taken
overall, the NSSE benchmarks provide very little predictive
power on the student outcomes of concern” (Gordon et al.,
2007, p. 28).
The failure to produce evidence that cocurricular activities have a significant impact on student outcomes may be
evidence that cocurricular activities are ineffective—a
waste of effort—or, the lack of such evidence may be the
result of poor research methods. For example, a grade point
average or a job after graduation can be the result of many
factors.
METHOD
In another attempt to determine whether cocurricular activities could help students develop professionalism, a multiyear study was conducted at a large (over 2,000 undergraduate business majors) Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business–accredited business program in the
United States. One of the six learning goals for the program
is student professionalism: students will conduct themselves in a professional manner. Students will be able to
transition from student to business professional.
To meet these defined goals, the college created a set of
requirements for admission to the college and then for graduation from the program. These requirements went into
effect for students being admitted to the college in fall 2011.
These activities are broken down into the three stages of
identity building (see Table 1). Student data was collected
from 2007—before the new admission requirements—
through 2014. A variety of metrics was used to determine
student outcomes.
Social Defenses
These are collective arrangements meant to protect members against experiences that could cause anxiety. Certainly one source of anxiety is selecting the ideal college
TABLE 1
Evaluation Metrics
Identity stage
Social defenses
Sentient community
Rite of passage
Activity
Interest and strengths
Inventories
Occupation outlook
Handbook review
Club meetings
Career fair
Internship
115
Metric
Number of students changing their major after admission
Credits to degree
Salary expectations
Attendance reported by official club documentation
Career fair attendance
Internship acceptance
Supervisor evaluations (pre and post)
116
W. WRESCH AND J. PONDELL
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major. Activities to help with this decision included a personal inventory and a review of career data in the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2014) Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Interest and strengths inventories. Students were
required to complete the interest profiler through WisCareers (2014) before admission to the college. This profiler
is based on Dr. John Holland’s theories and career classifications. His theory is based on the assumption that occupations are an extension of people’s personalities
(WisCareers, 2014). As part of their admission application,
students were required to explain why the business major
they chose (why marketing and not human resources?) was
a good match for their personalities. In addition, in their
professional skills in business class, all students completed
StrengthsQuest (2014). This assessment pulls out their top
five strengths and helps students connect those strengths
with careers and helps them articulate how those strengths
fit the needs of certain industries and professions (Hodges
& Harter, 2005).
At the time of their admission to the college, students
were asked to describe what the BLS Occupational Outlook
Handbook says about job availability and expected starting
salaries.
Results. The first assumption was that by creating
more intentional activities prior to major selection, students
would change their majors less and have fewer credits to
degree. This was achieved. Average credits to degree
dropped by 1.3, and average major changes after admission
to the college dropped by 0.045. For this college, that
resulted in a savings of 559 credits in the first year of implementation. So it appears students now entered their final
two years more directed in their course selection and in
their major selection (see Table 2).
Second, we assumed that by researching careers, students would have a more realistic expectation of their
career choice. The measure we used to determine success
of this goal was salary expectations. In 2011, student surveys revealed significant numbers of students with inaccurate expectations about potential salaries in their chosen
fields. The table below indicates student understanding of
salaries as first year students and at admission to the college
TABLE 2
Credits to Degree and Major Changes
Time
Total credits to completion
Major changes
n
133.461
132.133
< .05
1.345
1.3
< .05
784
430
Before Fall 2011
After Fall 2011
p
(third-year students). As can be seen, after implementation
in 2011, students in 2012 scaled back their salary expectations to more realistically reflect actual college of business
starting salaries (see Table 3).
Sentient Communities
In this stage of development, students begin to identify with
their professional community. Measurement here was conducted by reviewing business club attendance. The college
supports 12 business clubs in all areas of business. Meetings are usually held at 5 p.m., with most clubs meeting
biweekly. It is the norm to invite company representatives
to campus to make presentations at these meetings. Beginning in fall 2011, students were required to attend at least
three business club meetings before admission to the college. The intent of this requirement was for students to be
aware of the culture of business and to begin to spend time
with their professional peers.
Results. The measure used to assess the success of the
goal of increased club engagement was overall attendance.
As would be expected, club attendance by students
increased dramatically. The accounting club provides a
good example. Averaging about 48 students per meeting
just before the new requirements were to take effect, attendance averaged over 72 one year after the new requirements
took effect. The result was significantly increased engagement between students and employers—the enhancement
of professional communities (see Table 4).
In addition, another result of this implementation was
earlier leadership development of the students. Based on
qualitative data from both the marketing club and Society
for Human Resource Management (human resources club),
they saw students taking on executive board positions earlier
in their career and being able to progress through leadership
TABLE 3
Salary Expectations
Median
Year of study
First-year students
Third-year students
Average actual salary
Percentage expecting over $60,000 at graduation
2011
2012
2013
2011
2012
2013
$45,000–$50,000
$45,000–$50,000
$41,037
$50,000–$55,000
$45,000–$50,000
$41,862
$50,000–$55,000
$40,000–$45,000
$41,704
16.00%
16.00%
20.00%
7.88%
27.30%
4.86%
117
DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS STUDENT PROFESSIONALISM
TABLE 4
Average Club Meeting Attendance
Accounting club
TABLE 6
Credits at Time of Internship Attainment
Average meeting attendance
Fall 2010
Fall 2012
48.5
72.5
positions earlier because they had engaged with the club
their freshman year instead of the traditional junior year.
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Rites of Passage
Rites of Passages are shared experiences that all members progress through. According to Petriglieri and Petriglieri (2010), rites of passage are said to consist of
three stages—separation, a period of disorientation, and
incorporation. Two activities—career fair attendance
and the internship—were seen as contributing to this
rite of passage.
Career fair attendance. Once each semester, 130–
150 businesses put on a career fair for the university in this
study. Businesses are generally looking to hire either
interns or permanent employees, although a few also recruit
part-time employees. With the new attendance requirement
in 2011, it was hoped more students would not only attend
the fair, but that internship or job attainment through this
venue would increase. Results showed both of these to be
the case. Prior to the new requirement, in spring 2011, only
18% of students obtained their internships through interactions at the career fair. After the implementation of the new
admissions requirements, by spring 2013, 22% of students
obtained their internships through interactions at the career
fair and attendance had increased 19%. By spring of 2014,
internship attainment through the career fair increased to
25% and attendance remained steady (see Table 5).
Another measure used to assess the impact was if students would find internships earlier in their college career.
The data show the significant impact on when students
began their internships. In fall 2011, the average student
had earned 109.7 credits prior to starting his or her internship. The semester following the first required career fair,
that number dropped by a statistically significant amount
(p < .05) to 103.4 credits (see Table 6).
Time
Fall 2011
Spring 2012
M
SD
Population
109.7
103.4
23.3
24.4
99
113
By obtaining internships earlier, students are able to stay
at an internship longer and learn more, or students have the
ability to do a subsequent internship.
Internships. All College of Business students at the
university being studied are required to complete an internship to graduate. Internships may be as short as 100 hours,
but most are at least ten weeks in duration and many are
longer. Internships may be done any time after admission
to the college. Students are paid for their internship and
apply directly to companies. All internships are approved
by the Professional Development Director to ensure that
the internship is educational.
Results. Supervisors were asked to complete a preand postassessment of their interns related to the learning goals of this College of Business. Students were
rated on their business knowledge, communication skills,
and project management skills. The data below shows
significant improvement consistently in those three
learning goals each semester. The data are from spring
2012. Ratings are from 1–5, with 5 being the highest
(see Table 7).
While the data in Table 7 show individual interns making significant learning improvement each semester, a measure was also found to show improvement in the college’s
overall intern performances since implementation. To do
this, the supervisor end of semester evaluation was used. A
question asked consistently each semester to supervisor is,
In general, how do interns from this university compare to
interns from other business schools? The results are shown
in Table 8.
This is a statistically significant improvement, with a p
value of