A System Dynamics Approach to Improving an Advising System For Business School Undergraduates

Abstract

A School of Business located in the northeast United States annually administered the AACSB/EBI Undergraduate Business Exit Survey to all its graduating seniors. Students evaluated various aspects of their educational experience, and the School of Business took the results very seriously in its efforts to improve its programs. One area that consistently received low marks was advising. The Associate Dean of the Business School wanted to address the situation and see how to improve the system. Through interviews with the Associate Dean and the advising staff, a consulting team compiled information about the School’s advising program, and analyzed it using systems thinking and system dynamics. Between the survey results shared and the staff interviews done with the team, the information painted a very clear picture of the systemic nature of the problem.