§eraphim said:
The name change was required for a couple of reasons.
The AGSM is a very large cluster of "schools" and following the merger we can expect that it will generally enhance research output for the faculty as a whole. So it is an integral part of research in the Faculty.
Secondly, I think the vision of the merger is to transform the faculty into something like UPenn's Wharton school which offers the full gamut of business and management degrees. As the MBA program is a one of the main selling points of the Uni, I believe that the name change is justified to backup the notion of a well-rounded business education, and that they offer more than just BCom's and BEc's.
The name change has nothing to do with undergraduate economics degree students, falling UAI cutoffs or being on par with USyd in terms of the name. The Faculty is characterised by more than just the straight 3-yr BCom/BEc students who pass through.
Also, they're not getting rid of any of the degrees. Quite the opposite, they're actually adding more specialised Commerce degrees.
I'll pay that.
Not really fussed, its just a name.
More concerned with the state of economics
look at the cut offs for UNSW
Degree Program 2003 2004 2005 2006
Bachelor of Commerce 95.50 96.00 95.00 93.00
Bachelor of Economics 93.15 93.00 90.05 85.00
Used to work really well about 3 marks difference and in the 90s
Look at Usyd - couldn't find them but they are closer together and still in the 90s for Eco and Com
Point is obviously this year a higher caliber of student has gone to Usyd - why is this, its clear UNSW has better teaching, and soon better facilities, plus with the merger even greater capabilities.
I know we opened up more places, and also you probably had people who wanted to do Ec taking up the new B Com/ B Ec Degree - but it would be interesting to know how many people take a B Ec at UNSW. Can't wait to see which way the marks move this year