It won't surprise
anyone to hear that business is a popular major. But would you
believe that the percentage of undergrads who major in business
at Notre Dame is more than quadruple the average at the nation's
20 highest-rated private universities?
The shift has become
so pronounced that Notre Dame's administration is considering
capping the number of students allowed to major in business.
Last year a report
from the provost's office to University trustees showed that almost
one out of every three members of the class of 2003 earned a business
degree. That was up from about one in four 10 years ago and about
one in five 25 years ago. The average at the other national universities
ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report
is just 7 percent.
The trend reflects
a reality of the higher education marketplace, namely, that for
the past couple of decades, more and more students have wanted
to train for professional careers in business -- as opposed to
getting, say, a broad-based liberal arts education. But the University's
officers aren't sure they want to let market forces alone determine
the makeup of the student body. Catholic universities have traditionally
emphasized the humanities. Plus the business college is overflowing
with would-be accountants and managers.
No decisions are
imminent, but one proposal being floated by the college would
cap the number of majors while guaranteeing nonmajors the opportunity
to take up to six business courses. With the college so crowded
with majors, nonmajors are frozen out of most courses now.
(January 2004)
