Undergraduate Education

Undergraduate business education at the University of Illinois continues to be very strong. From admissions through placement, the statistical data on our students confirm their quality. Although the majority of students enrolled in our program continues to come from Illinois, we stress diversity — geographical, cultural, ethnic, race, gender.

ADVISING IS ON THE RISE AT CBA. STARS (STUDENT TRACKING AND RECORDS SYSTEM) IS RISEN AND RUNNING. Counselors Teresa D'Urso and Jennifer Mueller have been hired. And, as of the start of spring semester, an advising desk — to handle front-line queries from students who drop by looking for help — has been formally established and is manned full time, during office hours. While the on-line advising afforded by STARS has simplified routine requests — such as petitioning to drop a course, change majors, or garner an extra semester to graduate — Doris Howard, head academic advisor, explains that students very often need more.

An upper classman helping orient
freshmen the summer before they begin.

CBA ENROLLMENT 1997
FR		SOPH	JR	SR	OTHER*	TOTAL
Accy	146	167	307	274	1	895
BA	111	99	253	297	1	761
Econ	23	4	11	12	0	50
Fin	82	78	274	266	0	700
Unassn.	315	215	30	1	50	611
______________________________________________________________________
TOTALS	677	563	875	850	52	3,017
*non-degree or second bachelor's

"Technology is great, but people still need to deal with people."

- Doris Howard, Head Academic Advisor

SINCE GETTING UNDERWAY IN 1992, THE STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM HAS BEEN SENDING more and more CBA students out upon the wide world. Seventeen institutions in ten countries — including the U.K., Brazil, Canada, and nations throughout Scandinavia and Europe — are now linked to Commerce through Study Abroad. Between June `96 and June '97, 119 CBA undergrads and twenty-three MBA students set sail for foreign lands. "It's such a unique opportunity for undergraduates and MBA students to improve their fluency in a second language, learn about how other countries do business, experience different cultures — and travel!" notes Jane Nathan, who directs the Study Abroad Program at CBA. "Especially in the case of the undergraduates, they come back changed — in a very positive way."

"They're much more independent," Nathan continues. "They're ready to take on the major challenge of senior year — interviews. And they do well. The Study Abroad experience also helps the recruiters to differentiate between applicants. They know that these students have shown interest in international business and in learning about other cultures."

Marketing major Beth Elder takes a
break from her studies in Barcelona
to visit Paris.

"UIUC is something I'm passionate about and I want to speak up for it."

- Hamish de Freitas, Accountancy Major

VITAL STATISTICS
CBA UNERGRADUATE ENROLLMENT
1996	2,937	11% of total
1997	3,017	12% of total
INCOMING FRESHMEN
Enrollment by gender:
1996	Male-56.2%	Female-43.8%
1997	Male-54.3%	Female-45.6%
Non-resident enrollment:
1996	10.5%
1997	10.0%
Average ACT score:
1996	27
1997	27
Average SAT score:
1997	1231
High School Percentile Rank:
1996	92
1997	90

STUDENT AMBASSADORS ARE STRIKING OFF ON THEIR OWN. There are now around thirty-five students in the College of Commerce Student Ambassadors (CCSA), whose members provide tours of CBA and the campus to UIUC visitors and who also do public presentations about the college for events such as the Commerce Open House and Illini Days. Hamish de Freitas, a rising senior and spokesperson for the group explains the organization's special edge. "The Ambassadors can offer a more personalized tour, specifically slanted toward prospective Commerce students. We are also available to alumni who come back to see how the university has changed." The group's members were also able to step into the breach last fall when the Office of Advising was severely understaffed. "We called the CBA freshmen — about 700 of them — and told them about available courses. It was a way of saying, `We care.'"

Now that CCSA, long an arm of Commerce Council, is getting set to become a registered student organization in the fall, de Freitas says he'd like to evolve services further. Ideas include a Web page, high school visits, and an "Overnight with an Ambassador" hospitality program for prospective students. Speaking not only for himself but other members of the group, he concludes: "I love talking about this university — because it's so easy to do. UIUC is something I'm passionate about and I want to speak up for it."