The customers of the Jones School are students and the firms that hire Jones School graduates. Jones School administrators conducted surveys and discussion groups with students to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the schools and to determine what role the curriculum plays in a student's decision to attend a business school. The school surveyed the 100 largest companies in Houston, as identified by the Houston Chronicle, to see what those businesses looked for when hiring MBAs, Westbrook said. Based on that survey, the Jones School learned that firms wanted MBA students with additional training in leadership, communication and the ability to implement change. Geoff Love, assistant professor of administrative science, is shown here teaching.
Graduate students enjoy small classrooms and ease of access to the faculty.
The result of the research is a curriculum that incorporates theory and practice or skills. Some business schools consider the skill work as cocurricular, but not an official part of the curriculum. Rice, on the other hand, has made the action-learning experience an important and required part of the curriculum. I think we've got a lot to learn about how to make this work, because it does move a step in a new direction. I think it will be a path-breaking integration of theory, application of skill and practice.