Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: News

Correction appended

Penn students might soon be able to find a business education outside Huntsman Hall, but without Wharton's blessing.

College administrators, along with the Dean's Advisory Board, are working on a plan to create a new, business-based minor called B-FLAT - Budgeting, Finance, Leadership and Teamwork.

But over at Wharton, officials don't see the point.

"I think it provides a disservice to the school," said Georgette Chapman Phillips, Wharton's vice dean of Undergraduate Education. "If you are going to take all these business classes, why aren't you doing it in" Wharton?

The minor, first proposed last year, is designed to provide college students with a comprehensive understanding of the business world.

If passed, it will likely consist of four core courses yet to be determined and two electives. It would be offered through the Fels School of Government.

Phillips called the proposed course load a "dilution" of the rigorous business education that Wharton already offers.

Still, College officials say, it won't be interchangeable with a Wharton education.

College Dean Dennis DeTurck said Wharton classes are taught as part of a larger series of courses designed to provide a complete education. As a result, introductory classes in subjects like marketing or finance provide an education that is "in depth but not comprehensive."

College senior Elie Gittler, a member of the Dean's Advisory Board - a group of students that serves as a liaison between students and DeTurck - added that the minor should "complement the college education" and "will not substitute for the professional, technical and quantitative knowledge offered in the Wharton curriculum."

Gittler also said many students view Wharton classes as "too difficult and not worth their time."

Though the minor may be well suited to some, students with an intense interest in business seem likely to stick with Wharton.

College sophomore Nicole Harris, for example, said she would consider the B-FLAT minor if she could apply Wharton courses to fulfill some of its requirements. If not, she said, she would prefer Wharton's courses.

Wharton and College sophomore Elizabeth Volynsky, currently pursuing a dual degree in Wharton and the College, has similar preferences.

Even if the College had offered a minor before she transferred, Volynsky said, she probably would have opted to switch regardless.

In the meantime, College and Fels officials are working to develop the core courses further before presenting a final plan to the faculty.

And despite Wharton's opposition, those involved with B-FLAT remain positive about its potential.

"It's the kind of thing that many students have said they see great value in," Kettl said.

Correction: Due to an editing error, the first reference Dr. Don Kettl, Director of the the Fels Institute of Government, was inadvertently omitted.

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