Taking Care of Business Blog

If you are a junior or senior and would like to change faculty advisors, you should do so. The process is simple. Identify your new advisor and work together to complete this form. You do NOT need to contact your former advisor. When the form is completed, send it to the associate dean (kern@gonzaga.edu) for approval. If you need help identifying a new advisor, please contact the associate dean.

First-year and sophomore students are advised through the Academic Advising Center in the basement of Jepson (Room 011). When students are admitted to the School of Business after completing sophomore classes, they are assigned a faculty advisor.

If a student knows a faculty member whom the student feels would be a better advisor and mentor to the student than the assigned faculty advisor, the student should seek to change advisors.

Many students do not change advisors out of concern that the request to change will be perceived negatively by the current faculty advisor. In other words, sometimes students worry about hurting their advisor’s feelings. However, this concern is misplaced. All advisors want to see students be successful. If someone else can do a better job of advising the student, the advisor will want to facilitate a transfer.

The bottom line is this: Students should change advisors if doing so will help the student be more successful.

Dean of the Gonzaga School of Business Ken Anderson talks with parents at “Appetizers with Academics.”

This weekend, Gonzaga faculty members and parents of incoming freshmen met at an event called “Appetizers with Academics.” Organizers of this event always say “parents love to meet faculty members.” Based on the crowd at McCarthey Athletic Center, the organizers are right.

WHY do parents “love to meet faculty members” and what do they want to know?

Based on a few years of attending this event, what parents want to know about are the real world academic experiences their students can have. Parents do not ask about core classes or teaching philosophies. They are not inquiring about faculty research or the latest developments in the field. They want to know about study abroad, honors programs, internships, and academic clubs. They want to learn how their students can get involved and experience all that Gonzaga has to offer.

In short, they are excited for their students to take their learning beyond the classroom. Gonzaga School of Business faculty share that passion for out-of-the-classroom experiences. Some opportunities to get involved include:

• The Projects Class (BUSN 489 Multidisciplinary Action Projects): In this class, students work with real-world clients on projects like branding strategies and compensation systems. Register on Zagweb.
• The Community Mapping Project Class (BUSN 489 Community Mapping): In this class, students are working in the local neighborhood to map resources.
• Consulting (BUSN 494 Small Business Consulting): In this class, students provide management assistance to organizations.  This class is offered in the Spring. Register on Zagweb.
• Marketing Promotions (MKTG 490 Promotions): In this class, students form a marketing agency and create a promotion for a real-world client. This class is offered in the Spring. Register on Zagweb.
• New Venture Lab: This student-run organization works with local entrepreneurs to develop products and business ventures.
• Internships: Students can receive credit for working at an approved internship. To learn more about receiving academic credit for an internship, click here. Students can also get internships that do not count toward academic credit, but still pursue learning goals. For more information, contact the Career Center.
• Clubs: There are several student clubs that connect classroom learning to real world experience.
• The Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program is an honors program that will be taking applications from freshmen soon.

Gonzaga has a website dedicated to reporting sexual harassment and assault at www.gonzaga.edu/titleix.

At Gonzaga, students are encouraged to report any sexual harassment or assault immediately. If you have been sexually assaulted, you can call the police at 911 or Campus Security at 509.313.2222. You can also contact Gonzaga’s Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) at 509.313.2222 requesting SART. SART First Responders are university staff and faculty who volunteer to help with immediate, short-term needs. You also can talk to any member of the staff, faculty, or administration. As specified in Gonzaga policies, these members of the university will be required to report the harassment or assault to the Title IX Coordinator.

Should you want to report to a confidential source you may do the following:

1. Fill out the confidential reporting form. You can also use this as a non-confidential report.
2. Contact the Gonzaga Health Center | 509.313.4052 | 704 E Sharp Avenue
3. Contact any priest serving as a sacramental confessor or any ordained religious leader serving in the sacred confidence role. | 509.313.4242
4. Contact  Lutheran Community Services and SAFeT | 509.624.RAPE. Starting the first week of September, there will be a Lutheran Community Services advocate on campus for 20 hours per week.
5. Contact SART at 509.313.2222 requesting SART

From the university website: Gonzaga University encourages all individuals to report any instance of sexual harassment involving any GU student, staff or faculty. Gonzaga is committed to fostering a safe community for all.

For inquiries or concerns about gender-based harassment, discrimination or sexual misconduct or the complaint process at Gonzaga, contact Stephanie N. Whaley, Title IX Coordinator, Business Services Center, 102 E. Boone Avenue or 509.313.6910, whaleys@gonzaga.edu, www.gonzaga.edu/sexualmisconduct.

Are you taking all the courses you need to complete your degree on time? Your advisor will help you with this, but there is also help on Zagweb. Many students miss the valuable “Degree Evaluation” link. This tool will allow you to see what courses you have taken, what you are currently taking, and what you still need to take to complete your degree.

To access it, go to zagweb.gonzaga.edu and click on: Enter Secure Area (enter your id number and pin), Student Profile, Degree Evaluation, Generate New Evaluation. Follow the prompts and generate a new evaluation. Always double check that your degree evaluation is accurate.

Also, if you are thinking of changing your major or concentration, you can use the “What If Analysis” link under Degree Evaluation by clicking What If Analysis instead of Generate New Evaluation. Most business majors begin with Bachelor of Business Admin and then add either the Accounting major or the Business Administration major. From there, you can add concentrations and minors by clicking add more.

The first day of any course follows a pretty predictable script.

Act 1: The professor greets the class and provides a bit of background.

Act 2: The syllabus is handed out.

Act 3: As if you could not read it yourself, the professor reads the syllabus to you.

Why show up at all? Why not just pick up the class on Day Two? This blog is about the value of the first day of class. Day One is the day when the professor sets expectations and a tone for the semester. It is one of the most important days of the class. Professors spend a lot of time preparing the syllabus and its presentation to provide a successful semester to everyone.

So what do successful students do on the first day of class? Here are some observations:

Show up

Students who miss this first day of class struggle more throughout the semester with understanding the expectations for assignments. Important informal information is conveyed on the first day of class that is not in the syllabus. It is understandable that some students miss the first day of class because they are still shopping for their schedule. However, whenever you can, show up on the first day.

Show up on time

It’s easy to think that being late to the first class of the semester is no big deal. You can always brush it off with a “I had trouble finding the classroom” or “I just added this class 10 minutes ago.” You might think being late will help you skip some of the more boring parts of the syllabus recital such as office hours and textbooks. However, remember being late never makes a good impression and that this is the first impression you are making on your professor. Make it a good one.

Make a schedule

Put every due date on your calendar. Successful students know what is due and when it is due. Do not make the mistake of only noting when the tests are. Do not rely on the professor or your classmates to remind you of due dates. Successful students are the ones who are not taken by surprise when the professor says, “I look forward to reading your reflections next week.”

Leave the laptop/tablet alone

There’s a lot of good research out there that indicates personal technology such as a laptop or tablet hurts hurts not only your classroom performance (it can lower your grade from a B+ to a B-), but the performance of those who sit close to you. Also, studies find that students who take notes with pen and paper actually learn more than students who type notes on a laptop, even though students with a laptop take MORE notes. Do yourself (and your classmates) a favor and leave your technology alone during class.

In short, the first day of class can set you up for a successful semester. But don’t miss the importance of all the class days that follow. I will repeat the advice my parents gave me when I went to college (in 1983): “Always go to class, always.”

As a management professor, there are certain mantras that I repeat to students every semester. One of them is this: “If an organization’s actions do not match its mission statement, either the actions or the mission statement need to change.”

Therefore, it is appropriate to begin blogging with the mission statement of Gonzaga’s School of Business. This is the statement that guides all our actions. It is our promise to students, parents, and the community about what our work means.

The mission statement of the Gonzaga School of Business:

We develop professionally competent and intellectually curious graduates who exemplify the humanistic, ethical, and moral values of a Jesuit institution. We provide a challenging and supportive learning environment, with quality students and faculty marking our excellence. As part of a global environment, we promote relationships with regional, national, and international business and scholarly communities.

As always, the faculty and staff of the School of Business will measure their actions against this mission and ask the question: Is this mission central?