In Spring 2020, the Integrated Business program led by Dr. Jim Gilkeson received the AIM High Impact award. This award recognizes faculty who are going above and beyond to find creative ways to maximize impact for our students, save money, provide affordable access, add to their success, and prepare them for the future. Located in the College of Business, this program launched in Spring 2016 here at UCF. Today, the IB program is the 3rd largest program in the university with around 1,450 students.
Pedagogically, the faculty members agreed they not only wanted to offer students something new and innovative, but that they really wanted to think outside the box and push past the barriers in higher education. They would design the program with zero cost materials in mind. This means there are NO textbooks in the eight courses across the program. Instead of lectures, they are focused on team-based learning every day.
By using a combination of publicly sourced material and LinkedIn Learning material available to UCF faculty, staff, and students, they have made access to learning more affordable. There is, however, one simulation that has a fee associated with it to meet a specific requirement for the program, but otherwise, the learning materials are zero cost for students. By relying on OER (Open Educational Resources) the Integrated Business program is focused on building lifelong learners who are always “in the know” with the latest information and poised to enter the everchanging landscape of business in the real world.
