CBA Integrated Business Forum

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Honors Project Course Information

BUS:497—Honors Project in Business Administration (1–3 credits)
Prerequisites: Senior standing in Honors Program.

Individual directed research relevant to the student's major. Group integrated symposium or an individualized study format available.

General Information

The CBA Integrated Business Forum will be a common honors project experience for students in all CBA majors. It will be team taught by a CBA Executive in Residence and another CBA faculty member. The project will consist of participation in a series of forums with executives during the Fall semester and the completion of a comprehensive applied research team project during the Spring semester. During each of the two semesters students will complete various “milestone” team assignments pertaining to the comprehensive research project, have assigned reading assignments, and participate in team building activities and project management workshops. In addition, students will also be coached on their team process and personal leadership competencies.

Students may participate in the Honors Integrated Business Forum during their junior year or senior year. The advantage to participating as a junior is that students may leverage the contacts they make with the participating firms to obtain internship opportunities. One reason the firms want to participate in the Integrated Business Forum is to be able to meet promising prospective interns and future full-time associates.

Exceptions

Students may pursue an approved exception to the CBA Honors Symposium. Exceptions must be approved by three semesters prior to graduation. Alternatives to the CBA Honors Symposium are

1. Individual, discipline specific scholarly research papers
2. Leadership Experience Projects (per Institute for Leadership Advancement) — an experiential team project on a topic selected by students

Make an appointment with Dr. Deborah Owens if you wish to be granted an exception.

Schedule

During the Fall semester, students will attend class weekly and will register for 1 credit of 6100:497 Honors Project in Business Administration. Speakers from multiple firms will share their firm's approach to multi-disciplinary business processes and to innovation. Students will complete reading assignments, conduct research, and participate in discussions on topics related to innovation and disruptive processes. Teams of students will be assigned to a project at the firms participating in the symposium. The firms will provide a team of associates that will work with the team(s) assigned to their firm. The projects will require primary and secondary research and will be eligible for funding from the Institute for Leadership Advancement. While a formal written proposal is not required for the Honors College, student teams must still create an account through IdeaExchange to register with the Honors College, following the guidelines for the proposal submission process.

The Spring semester will include less regular class meetings and more independent study teamwork and students will register for 2 credits of 6100:497 Honors Project in Business Administration. The final project report must be uploaded to IdeaExchange and include the Honors College signature page.

General Guidelines

• You must receive a grade of "B" or higher on your Honors Research Project to graduate as an Honors Scholar. If you do not achieve this grade you may still meet the requirements to graduate as an undergraduate student in your major. Please contact your Honors Advisor for more information.
• When there are multiple students involved in an Honors Research Project, each student should be included as authors on the final report, even if they are not part of the Williams Honors College. Every student should receive the proper recognition for thier contributions.
• Every committee must be composed of a Sponsor and two Readers. More information on these roles is available here.
• Students expecting to work on an honors project involving the use of human subjects should be aware that such projects may need to be evaluated by the University of Akron Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB reviews all proposals for research involving human participants to insure appropriate ethical and safety standards are observed. Depending on the nature of the proposed research, IRB review and approval may be required prior to moving forward with your study. In the same way, any research involving live animals will require review by the University of Akron Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC). Please communicate with your project sponsor regarding the need for IRB or ACUC consideration as it relates to your specific project. Information concerning research applications and review procedures can be obtained via the University of Akron Office of Research Administration (ORA).