New policy adds to business school prestige

By Preet Anand

I'm impressed with the business school's decision to limit enrollment, a decision which will benefit the school's top students.

The business school's resources are stretched thin because of the overpopulation of students.

Unmotivated students just hold the bloated classes back, and the leading students pursue double majors because they don't feel challenged enough.

However, because of all the students who are just floating through their classes, the achieving students can't do their second major within the business school because there isn't room.

They are forced to pick up their second major in the College of Arts and Sciences, where they will be forced to complete additional core requirements.

In the current situation, it almost hurts to be a smart business student.

This intelligence crisis is by no means the business faculty's fault. The professors have the most real-world experience of any at Santa Clara, and they are all proven leaders in their specific fields.

However, if the professors taught to their full capacity, the failure rate would be astonishingly high.

The undergraduate business program's Web site describes itself as "a business program ranked in the nation's top 5 percent." With the new business school building being completed and this new policy being unleashed, Dean Barry Posner is making the school worth its ranking.

The new building will bring vital Santa Clara organizations, such as the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, onto campus, where they can enjoy greater exposure among students.

The new admissions policy will shrink class sizes to the ideal Santa Clara strives for, as well as increase interaction between students and faculty.

Furthermore, it would be obvious to anyone who actually read what the policy states that no current students will be kicked out of the business school.

It basically ensures that in about five years time, the business school's enrollment will be down to a more manageable number by adding an application process. Additionally, this will increase the caliber of transferring students.

In an editorial two weeks ago, The Santa Clara argued that the trend is that more students are studying business. The students who don't go with this trend should rejoice because there are many successful business leaders who don't have an undergraduate business degree, such as former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, and former General Electric CEO Jack Welch.

As for the fear that the excess students will overcrowd communication and political science classes, maybe the university should reevaluate what type of intellectual atmosphere it has.

Or maybe, what type of students it admits.

Preet Anand is a sophomore bioengineering major.