Motivating Students – Undergraduates’ Expectations From The Educational Process And Perceptions Of Career Success

Motivation in the educational process is crucial, yet it assumes a series of challenges, especially in the first year of study. In order to improve the Management course we deliver in the first semester of the academic year, we applied a short questionnaire in the first seminar to our first-year students from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of Finance, Insurance, Banking and Stock Exchange – FABBV, at the very beginning of their first year of study. The questionnaire consisted in 16 questions, out of which a quarter were open questions. There were 294 respondents (13 groups of students), who had the opportunity to present their views with respect to their preferences for projects as a teaching and learning method, the main skills they need to develop during university years, and a series of aspects related to their career choice. This paper aims to present first-year students’ expectations from the educational process, as well as their perceptions of career success, as resulted from their responses.