I. Rationale
Business schools provide education primarily through their curriculum. Each degree
program, including curricular pieces or components that can aggregate to degree
programs, is designed to provide learners with a distinct set of competencies. The
knowledge and skills in these curricula should prepare learners for desired career
outcomes and a lifelong learning mindset.
There are definitive core competencies that a business school graduate with either a
generalized or specialized degree should be expected to have. Learners have the
expectation and right to access curriculum that is current and relevant. Curriculum
should also be innovative, impactful in its education of graduates, and promote
engagement in multiple contexts. Because technology is so impactful in business,
Standard 4 specifically addresses the need for learners to be agile with current
technologies and possess technological agility.

II. Clarifying Guidance
Curriculum Content
The primary objective of the standard is to ensure that the curriculum is properly
managed and covers appropriate competencies. The peer review team will want to
examine each degree program’s list of course offerings to ensure currency and
relevancy. Curricula should address competencies that would normally be included in
the type of degree program under consideration. Given the pace of change in business
practice today, both knowledge and skill areas may be dynamic over time.
Curriculum should be managed to ensure appropriate inclusion of technology. Schools are
required to describe the types of current and emerging technologies with which students
are expected to graduate with competency, for each program level. The purpose of this
requirement is to demonstrate that schools are providing learners with relevant technology
competencies in line with what might be expected for business degree graduates. As an
example, business graduates are generally expected to have a moderate or better level of
competency with Microsoft Excel. Some business degrees may require competency in

statistical software, programming software, or database software. The use of technology in
degree programs is just one example of curricular currency. However, lack of use of
relevant technologies in degree programs can provide an important signal that the
curriculum is not up to date and relevant.
Curriculum Management
Curriculum should be managed to ensure that it remains current and relevant. The school
should have governance that facilitates regular reviews of curricular content and
assurance of learning (AoL) processes and outcomes with internal (faculty and staff) and
external stakeholders (discussed in Standard 5). The peer review team can review the
school’s governance structure to determine whether committees or task forces are in place
related to curriculum updates and AoL. The peer review team should also ask about
frequency of meetings of curriculum-related groups, and perhaps review minutes of these
meetings if a concern exists, along with any other relevant documentation to ensure that
the school has an active curriculum management process.
Innovation, Experiential Learning, Lifelong Learning, and Societal Impact
An innovative approach to curriculum incorporates elements of cutting-edge content,
creative and experimental pedagogies, and variation in delivery or processes. A school
might demonstrate that it delivers innovative curricular content by creating new courses,
new degree programs, or new curricular and co-curricular initiatives. Examples might
include adding topics or coursework in new topical areas or offering interdisciplinary
courses. Other examples might involve curricular requirements for learners to acquire
proficiency in a programming language or with an emerging technology. With respect to
pedagogy, innovation can be expressed and documented where faculty are experimenting
with different approaches to teaching. Examples would be initiatives to overcome
unconscious bias and promote inclusive pedagogy or approaches that recognize different
learner styles and paces of learning. Delivery modes are part of the pedagogy process
and can include use of technology and online courses and varied classroom configurations
and processes, such as a student-centered classroom setting or “flipped” classrooms.
Curriculum should include experiential learning opportunities, including those that facilitate
the connection between academic and professional experiences. The peer review team
should be provided with examples of experiential learning opportunities that might include
field trips, guest speakers, and professional development workshops.
Curriculum should foster a lifelong learning mindset. This can be demonstrated through
myriad ways, including but not limited to student engagement with professional
associations, assignments that reach beyond what is taught in the classroom or a given
course, and demonstration of facility with emerging technology beyond what is required in
the classroom. Students should not just be prepared for their first jobs. While learning
current practices and technologies is important, the overall purpose of the education
should be to equip learners to continue their learning. This is difficult to assess, but the
report should include reference to how the school develops learner intellectual curiosity
and critical thinking and helps them take ownership of their learning.

There are many ways that curricular offerings can incorporate societal well-being and
foster and support students’ ability to have societal impact. Examples of curricular
components would be specialized finance courses or class sessions that are dedicated
to or cover environmental, social, or corporate governance (“ESG”) investing; courses
that have students complete consulting projects for nonprofit organizations or provide
services such as Voluntary Income Tax Assistance; and courses or class sessions that
cover sustainability.
Engagement
Curriculum should facilitate and encourage active student engagement in learning. In
addition to time on tasks related to readings, course participation, knowledge
development, projects, and assignments, learners engage in experiential and active
learning designed to be inclusive for a diverse student body, and to improve skills and
the application of knowledge in practice. Curriculum facilitates and encourages
frequent, productive learner-to-learner and learner-to-faculty academic and learner-toindustry
professional engagement. Successful teaching and learning demand high
levels of such interaction. The peer review team should seek examples of interaction.
As examples, the peer review team might expect that learners interact with each other
outside of class through student organization activities, that faculty hold office hours to
meet with learners, that there are applied projects and service learning opportunities,
and that faculty and learners read current literature and news reports related to
curricular subject matter.