WAB works in small initiative teams to implement change on a number of issues at the undergraduate level, from in-class issues (i.e. evaluating class participation) to extra-curricular issues (i.e. the impact of international experience). Here are some notable past WAB initiatives:
Formerly known as the Wharton Undergraduate Leadership Initiative, Wharton Leadership Ventures aim to provide students with experiential opportunities to learn leadership. Past WLV events have included whitewater rafting, SWAT simulations, power lab simulations, and a trip to Gettysburg to walk through the battlefield. WLV has since become a separate organization jointly sponsored by WAB, the Wharton Council, and the Management 100 TAs.
The Wharton Research Scholars program pairs selected juniors and seniors one on one research with a professor to conduct research on an area of interest. Participants conduct research over the course of a year and earn one class credit. The Research Scholars program is currently run by Dr. Marty Asher, Director of Undergraduate Research.
To take advantage of technological advancements, WAB worked with Wharton Computing and Information Technology (WCIT) to put class syllabi on-line, so that students may more easily choose classes.
Implemented in 1989 by Andrew Tsai and Ishamel Limkakeng, Manement 100 was initially the application topic of a new WAB member. The course has undergone continuous change, with its name evolving from Wharton Connects to Wharton 101 to Management 100. The Management 100 program is now under the auspice of the Wharton Leadership Programs and Dr. Anne Greenhalgh.
The Board noticed a rising interest among students in OPIM and Marketing. Many students concentrated in both or were choosing between the two. We worked with faculty to design a concentration that would focus on the intersection of these two subject areas. The concentration was approved by the faculty and curriculum committee and is now available to all students.
The Stakeholder Survey is Wharton undergraduate division's annual survey, sent to all undergraduates with the intent of soliciting feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the Wharton experience. Survey results help the administration to track trends and identify areas for improvement. The survey began as a Board initiative, and WAB continues to play a major role in its design and distribution.
The professional mentoring initiative is designed to bring alumni in as mentors to students in their career development process. Hence, we developed the Wharton Alumni Virtual Experience (WAVE), an online community for students and alumni. WAVE provides a fully searchable database of alumni willing to help/talk to other alumni/students.
WAB has often worked with Career Services in an effort to develop a more efficient and informative career development program.
The primary objective of the Wharton Worldwide (WWW) was to increase the opportunities for Wharton undergraduates to obtain challenging, high caliber summer employment abroad. The pilot program sent a student to Melbourne, Australia.
Since our inception, WAB has provided the undergraduate office feedback on the high school recruiting process. Among other things, WAB has worked recruiting videos, redesigned phone recruitment efforts, improved the interview process, and conducted a geographical analysis of Wharton's applicants.
This experiential education program, modeled after those at Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, aims to bring together students and faculty in an experiential, casual context. This initiative paved the road for current programs such as Wharton Leadership Ventures and the Wharton Undergraduate Leadership Initiative (WULI).
This initiative involved gathering information on women in Wharton, including grades and success in job recriutment. WAB also considered introducing a summer program for women, as well as additional branding and awareness efforts targeted at women.
Continuing the goal of improving the teaching quality at Wharton, WAB proposed this handbook as a standard for teaching excellence. In particular, visiting professors, who have little time to become accustomed to Wharton were targeted. Highlights included information on classroom support, teaching enhancement, student life, and faculty life.
To facilitate improved communication, WAB developed a strategic plan to assign a Wharton e-mail account to every faculty, administrator, club, and student. This initiative has since been fully implemented.
Printed annually, this manual provides essential information about all of Wharton's academic requirements, extracurricular activities including Wharton clubs and community service opportunities, and study abroad options.
The Leadership Lecture Series was started in 1991 by Ellen Kountz and Lillian Sun. Its original goal was to sponsor prominent Wharton alumnae every year to speak about the “Secrets of their Success.” Since receiving a generous endowment from Mr. Musser and Dr. Schoemaker, the lecture series has become a separate organization and grown to be a huge success.
Although no longer in existence, the alumni mentor program was set up to provide students with access to Wharton alumni, who volunteered to mentor Wharton undergraduates for a summer. This initiative has resurfaced multiple times since first proposed in 1984.
The ultimate aim of the initiative was to gauge the students perception on their own writing skills and whether writing in Wharton should be improved. A survey was distributed to students asking their opinions about their classes and how their level of writing skills were improved or utilized in those classes. The survey also asked about their own opinions of their own writing skills and if Wharton reinforces those skills. A report was given to the Dean and Vice Dean in Spring of 1998.
In response to an increasingly diverse and global environment, the Board worked with the Wharton Curriculum Committee to develop the Global requirement that is currently a part of the undergraduate curriculum.
In 1994, the Board was asked for a student perspective on the benefits and drawbacks of adopting a plus/minus grading. After research and discussion, WAB delivered a positive recommendation in support of such a grading policy.
After investigating the effects of randomized groups, we concluded that such groups would improve the learning process involved with group dynamics. Hence, we delivered a positive recommendation on randomized groups to the Administration.
Teaching and learning is a topic that is continuously reevaluated on the Board. IN 1993, WAB developed a three-pronged strategy to dialogue and interaction between faculty and students. First, WAB developed a plan to distribute beginning and mid-semester course evaluation forms. Second, we held Quality Circles for professors and their students. Finally, we conducted a study on the effectiveness and quality of professor/teaching assistant office hours. This initiative was spun off into the Wharton Quality Council.
The Hauck Award is the most prestigious undergraduate teaching award given by the Wharton School. The implementation of this award reflects WAB's emphasis on teaching and learning.
In the spring semester of 1984, WAB outlined a program to screen Teaching Assistants for their mastery of the English language. Teaching Assistants with a lesser mastery of English were tied into the resources at the Wharton Communications Department.