Kanchi Uttamchandani | Assistant News Editor
Featured image: Critics may argue that change in nomenclature does not help much. | Amir Yazdanparast
After almost a year of petitioning and advocacy, professors and students in the School of Administrative Studies will finally see a change they can believe in.
The Bachelor of Administrative Studies, or BAS, program has been officially renamed to the Bachelor of Commerce, or BCom. Students graduating in February 2018 and onwards will officially receive a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
The proposal was approved by top decision-making bodies, including the Senate and the Board of Governors. It received overwhelming support from students, graduates and professional organizations, including York’s Career Centre.
“The most important reason for a switch to BCom is historical custom,” says Chris Robinson, finance professor at York’s School of Administrative Studies, or SAS.
He explains that previously, recruiters would look at a CV and recognize BAS as a business degree. He adds that the recruiting scene now is very different, with all CVs sent in for a job posting being scanned and filtered by computer programs that recognize keywords and phrases.
He says that BAS is not a key term, and hence gets tossed into a pile of unread applications. “The volume of applications for most jobs is so large that they cannot cope with it any other way,” he adds.
“All the undergraduate business programs teach much the same material from a choice of textbooks that are virtually indistinguishable,” says Robinson.
“Every business undergraduate degree in Canada will have virtually the same courses for the first two to three years.
“The accounting curriculum, in particular, is identical across Canada because of the influence of CPA Canada. So leaving our students with a name that no one recognizes as a business degree is […] mislabelling,” he says.
Stephanie D’Souza, president of the Atkinson Professional Accounting Association, is pleased to welcome this long-coming change.
“As president of the accounting association, and a student myself, I believe that this will aid in bringing in more prospective employers to meet students in this program, as well as give students a greater sense of accomplishment and provide clear evidence of their expertise in the business world,” she asserts.
Critics may argue that change in nomenclature does not help much, as there are better scholastic alternatives to choose from, such as the Schulich School of Business and other established business schools.
Robinson says that while Schulich is an outstanding business school, the quality of teaching is not necessarily the key difference between Schulich and SAS.
He explains that one point of distinction lies in the demographic of students enrolled in the two schools. For instance, the students at Schulich are primarily domestic and entrance marks are distinguishably high. On the other hand, SAS accepts a large number of international students, who are likely to experience language barriers and difficulty finding relevant jobs in Canada because of visa restrictions.
While the conversion to BCom will enable former BAS students to be recognized as business graduates, it will not guarantee them jobs, Robinson points out.
However, students remain confident that it will enhance their employability prospects.
“Last summer, I was applying online for various internships and most of them did not even have a BAS degree option to choose from on their websites,” says Tashwiq Khan, a third-year marketing student.
In a report by the Committee on Curriculum, Curricular Policy and Standard to consult on the BCom proposal, J.J. McMurtry, associate dean of LAPS, affirmed that the faculty supports this change, especially because it has no resource implications and requires no change in curriculum.
“This change has been motivated by the student and faculty body of the School of Administrative Studies to bring the program degree name in line with all other similar programs in the province and, indeed, internationally,” he said.
He further clarified that the name change will be retroactive to all alumni from the program upon request.
