<p>Coveting Kellogg </p>
<p>Undergrads want to take it down a degree </p>
<p>by Robert Stein </p>
<p>May 05, 2005 </p>
<p>The Kellogg School of Management -- located at the center of the Evanston campus -- isn't on the academic map for undergraduates. </p>
<p>The powerhouse has outranked every other business school in the country in BusinessWeek's rankings five times since the survey began in 1988. But undergraduates in the economics or Business Institutions programs can only watch Kellogg's success from a distance and wonder why a business degree is off-limits to them. </p>
<p>Some administrators argue it's for their own good. Future business professionals are better off studying liberal arts disciplines at the undergraduate level, they say, and leaving business education for graduate school. </p>
<p>The industry debate about the effectiveness of an undergraduate business education was heightened by the University of Michigan's recent move to expand their undergraduate business degree. Despite the interest in business at Northwestern, University President Henry Bienen said an undergraduate business degree is unlikely here. Besides, NU already tried having an undergraduate business major -- for 61 years. </p>
<p>Undergraduate Interest </p>
<p>The impetus for discontinuing the undergraduate business major in 1969 was a Carnegie and Ford Foundation report on higher education. It concluded the best way to prepare for a business career was to pursue liberal arts as an undergraduate. </p>
<p>Kellogg also decided to refocus efforts to build one of the best graduate schools of management. </p>
<p>Now that Kellogg has positioned itself among the business elites, there is the question of whether resurrecting the undergraduate program would benefit NU. </p>
<p>Despite the educational philosophy of studying liberal arts as an undergraduate, students are still expressing a burgeoning interest in business at the undergraduate level. </p>
<p>There are more than 400 students enrolled in the Business Institutions Program, which is offered as a minor. More than 15 percent of Weinberg students are economics majors, with 663 students declared. </p>
<p>Several organizations exist to promote business at the undergraduate level, such as the Nugget Group, with 600 people on its mailing list. </p>
<p>Nugget president Derek Moeller said NU needs to offer more to students interested in business. </p>
<p>"There is a huge demand here for business," said Moeller, a Weinberg junior studying economics. "Most economics majors would rather be business majors ... they came to NU because they knew it was a good school, but would rather study marketing or finance." </p>
<p>Some students said the BIP minor didn't satisfy their thirst for learning about business. </p>
<p>"We don't take a lot of practical classes that are business-related," said Tiffanie Wong, a Weinberg sophomore in BIP. "There are some marketing classes, but that is it." </p>
<p>Moeller said a Kellogg undergraduate program would help NU recruit high school students. </p>
<p>About 10 percent of students taking the PSAT reported an interest in majoring in business and management, according to the College Board's Summary Report of this year's high school juniors. Only health sciences and services registered greater interest, at about 17 percent. </p>
<p>At Kellogg, about one in five students has an undergraduate business degree. That's the second most popular degree, behind engineering and science majors -- 44 percent of the class. </p>
<p>"There aren't many top-tier undergrad programs out there," Moeller said. "If NU would make the investment, I think it would do the same thing for NU that Wharton has done for (the University of Pennsylvania). In the long term, the school would stand to benefit from the decision." </p>
<p>Students are trying to find outlets for their business interests through programs that capitalize on Kellogg's proximity. Nugget will hold its first Undergraduate Business Conference May 14 to address corporate strategy and outsourcing. </p>
<p>Could it Work at NU? </p>