Discuss how value is added to Undergraduate Program of the Alberta School of Business

Who adds value to our UG program?

Where and how does this occur?
To what extent are these resources VRIST?
How can we overcome a weakness?

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Breakout Room 1

Your Names In Alphabetical Order:

1. Hansika Jhankur
2. Joshua McArthur
3. Kendrea Sicotte
4. Landon Currie
5. Sonia Lal

For the Undergraduate Program of the University of Alberta School of Business, List

Four Strengths
1. Program variability/selection
2. High quality instructors
3. High Ranking/Reputation
4. Opportunities for extra curriculars

For one of these, write why it is a strength. To what extent is it valuable, rare, inimitable, non-
substitutable, and non-tradable?

Program Variability/Selection
a. Why?:
i. Having various programs allows the ASB to cater to more individuals.
ii. Offering programs that other institutions cannot or do not offer (EX: SEM)
is a strength since individuals interested in that field have no choice but to
enroll in ASB if they wish to pursue that program.
iii. Allows for students to easily switch within the program to other majors
instead of having to deal with the hassle of switching to a different
institution to pursue a different major.
b. VRIST
i. Valuable: Having a diverse selection of programs is valuable as it attracts
new students and makes students feel more fulfilled.
 ii. Rare: A university with the size to boast this many programs is rare
compared to the amount of post-secondary institutions in Canada.
iii. Imitable: It would be very expensive and difficult for a new entrant to
imitate the U of A’s undergraduate program selection.
iv. Non-substitutable? Depending on what program the student is enrolled
in, the Undergraduate Program in ASB could be considered substitutable
since they could pursue it at another institution.
v. Non-tradable? To our knowledge, it is not possible for this
service/program to be traded.

Four Weaknesses
1. High tuition costs and fees
2. Outdated buildings
3. Restructuring/budget cuts affecting staffing and services available to students
4. Substitutability of other UG business programs across the country and world

For one of these, write why it is a weakness. How could this weakness be reduced or
compensated for?

High Tuition Costs and Fees

a. Why?
i. Limits how many students can attend the university.
ii. Exchange students are paying almost double the amount of Canadian students -
this limits how many international students want to do exchange programs at the
university.
iii. Does not encourage diversity among the student population
which could lead to homogenous/group thinking which hinders innovation and
can lead to narrowed/shallow perspectives on issues.
b. How could this be reduced/compensated for?
i. Access to more scholarships, grants, bursaries for students
ii. More funding from provincial government
iii. Make more fees optional (ex. U-pass, not all students need this as many
students have vehicles or walk to school, gym fees for those who use it)
iv. Limit pay raises given business executives (EX: directors, provosts, deans, vice
deans, etc.) if there are funding concerns for the program’s functionality.
v. Don’t outsource document verification to a service that charges $10 every time if
the previous system was free and worked.
vi. Reduce or eliminate fees for applying to programs or coop