The Selection of a Business Major: Elements Influencing Student Choice and Implications for Outcomes Assessment

In this article, the authors examine the key factors that influence student choice of a business major and how business schools can help students make that choice more realistically. Investigating students at a regional university, the authors found that whereas those with better quantitative skills tended to major in accounting or finance, those with weaker quantitative skills tended to major in marketing and management. For adherence to the requirements for expanded assurance of learning (outcomes assessment) included in AACSB International's eligibility standards (2003), the authors suggest that schools of business provide their students with a clear statement of the opportunities and requirements in each business major.