One year later, a plan to improve MBA life may still require a bit more work.
The MBA Executive Committee - chaired by Statistics professor Ed George, composed of Wharton faculty and students and charged with setting the direction for most of the Wharton MBA program - issued a four-point plan last February.
The plan, which was passed shortly after it was proposed, included a recommendation that students disclose their transcripts to prospective employers, a reformation from pass-fail to a traditional letter-grade system, the implementation of classroom-behavior rules and a revamping of the recruitment process.
And while George said that these rules are collectively intended to do good, a couple of them are still generating controversy among the MBA community.
A mid-January online poll created by the Wharton Graduate Association, a student-government organization for Wharton's graduate programs, found that 94 percent of respondents support grade non-disclosure, a student-formulated policy that has been encouraging students not to show their grades to potential employers since 1994.
Second-year MBA candidate and WGA President Hassan El-houry said that "a policy of grade non-disclosure is a vital component of the MBA experience."
Second-year MBA candidate Raghav Gandhi added that the Executive Committee's support of grade disclosure has already caused first-year MBA students to participate in fewer extra-curricular activities in an effort to focus more on their grades, which they may likely feel pressured to show to recruiters.
"I believe that has been a direct result of the administration's stance on grade disclosure," Gandhi said.
George, however, countered that students should retain control over their own grades.
Meanwhile, the committee's "concert rules" - rules governing classroom behavior that instruct students to follow seating charts and turn off cell phones - have provoked mixed responses.
"Some of the concert rules are just childish in their nature," said second-year MBA candidate Eric Stone. "If we're treated like grade-school kids, the likelihood is, we're going to act like grade-school kids."
However, Marketing professor Eric Bradlow, another member of the committee, said he is pleased with the concert rules.
There has been "significant positive change in the classroom learning environment," he said.
Some students, like Gandhi, echoed these sentiments.
"I know they might seem patronizing," he said, but "there are some people who needed them."
Despite mixed feedback, Wharton officials say the four-point plan has been generally effective.
Like with anything new, "there could be some unintended consequences," Bradlow said. "If that happens, the MBA executive committee and the students . will make changes in the implementation and, if necessary, in the plan itself."
