Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Business Leader Development Program (BLDP)

What is the BLDP?
It is a program, started in 2004, that is designed to identify, develop, and reward Rutgers School of Business Camden (SBC) students who demonstrate leadership qualities during their undergraduate program. It is hoped that the program will encourage SBC students to become better, more active leaders in school and in community activities before graduation and to become more effective in and more satisfied with their professional lives after they receive their degrees.

What are the advantages for me to become involved in the BLDP?
Other than the benefits mentioned previously, i.e., promoting students’ leadership potential and encouraging their involvement in school and civic activities, students will receive the following benefits: 1) Through the BLDP seminar that is required, students will gain numerous networking opportunities with local business leaders, executives, and previous program participants; 2) Each BLDP seminar participant will receive a BLDP T-shirt; 3) Involvement in and completion of the program is a great résumé-building item; 4) Students completing the program will receive a leather portfolio with the BLDP logo embossed on its cover;  5) Most importantly, students completing the BLDP will receive a special designation, “Business Leader Development Program,” on their transcript upon graduation.  

What are the BLDP seminars about?
For the foreseeable future, the fall seminar “Business Success,” will be taught by Dr. Gayle Porter. Visiting executives share their perspectives on career choice and offer advice on how to get the job you want and to survive it once you are there. The spring seminars will be taught on a rotating basis by faculty offering various topics. For the Spring 2008 semester the seminar is entitled “Outsourcing and the Global Business Environment.” Spring 2009 will examine the role of spirituality in business and one’s professional career.  

The BLDP seminar topics sound interesting. Can anyone take a seminar?

Yes and no. Any SBC student is allowed to apply to take—and if accepted enroll in—the BLDP seminar. (The online application is available on this website at a different location.) A student’s application will be evaluated by about five or six people—SBC faculty/staff, Rutgers SBC alumni, and/or previous BLDP alumni. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance into the seminar about the time that early registration commences and will be given a permission number to enroll in the course. A student can take a BLDP seminar even if s/he does not intend to complete the BLDP.

 

When do the BLDP seminars meet?

Most semesters the seminars meet each Friday morning from 9 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. For the Fall 2008 semester, however, for the first time the BLDP seminar will be offered in the evening, making it available to part-time students. On occasion when an on-site visit is planned that requires significant travel time to/from, the seminar meeting time may commence before and may extend beyond the usual starting/ending times. The seminar faculty will do his/her best to alert students at the beginning of the semester of any seminar dates on which those time extension are needed.

 

What if I really enjoyed one of the BLDP seminars, may I take another on a different subject?

The answer is a qualified yes. Students who have not enrolled in any previous seminars will be given admission priority. If there are any remaining spaces, however, past seminar participants would be permitted to fill them. (Currently the maximum seminar enrollment is 15.) Repeat seminar participants will be asked to write a brief essay explaining their desire to take the additional seminar and are not required to submit a new application. Students would not be permitted to repeat a seminar on the same topic, e.g., enrolling in Dr. Porter’s seminar on business success twice.

 

How are the seminars graded, and how do the seminar credits count towards my degree?

All seminars are graded on a pass-fail basis. The faculty member teaching the seminar has discretion to determine what is required to “pass” the course. The seminar credits are considered a business elective; they cannot count as discipline- or area-specific credits.

 

What is the BLDP seminar application deadline?

The exact deadline dates change from semester to semester, but generally the application deadlines are late March for the Fall seminar and late October for the Spring seminar. Check the main page of this BLDP website or contact the program director, Dr. Allie Miller, at milleraf@camden.rutgers.edu for the current application deadlines. Important note: The two required reference letters to support the student’s application must also be received by that deadline!

 

Is taking the BLDP seminar all that is required to complete the BLDP?

No. The seminar is only one part of the BLDP, but a student cannot complete the BLDP without having taken one. In order to complete the BLDP, students must accumulate 14 leadership “units.” The seminar counts for three (3) of the required 14 leadership units.

 

How do I accumulate the remaining 11 leadership units?

The remaining 11 leadership units will be earned by serving in a leadership or coordinator capacity in a school, community, or volunteer organization or event, not merely as a participant. Below are several examples of how one might earn leadership units: 1) Serving as an officer for a campus organization; 2) Serving in an on-going capacity as an organizer or leader in a community, church/temple, or other charitable organization; 3) Volunteering to act as organizer for a one-time campus or community event or activity; 4) Taking a second BLDP seminar, worth another three units. (Remember, however, that students who have not taken a seminar previously are given priority); 5) Taking other courses of which leadership is the subject. However, such a course would need to be taken while a student is enrolled in the SBC, and the number of units to be earned from this type of coursework will be at the discretion of the BLDP director. 6) Being involved in other type of projects or activities on- or off-campus which require significant initiative and motivation. Of course, to receive leadership units for any of the above activities, the student would be required to perform his/her duties in a satisfactory manner. The BLDP program director will require verification of satisfactory performance from appropriate faculty advisors and supervisors. Also, leadership units cannot be earned if the activity involves compensation.

 

Should I take the BLDP seminar first before I begin earning my remaining leadership units?
No, that is not necessary. A student can take the seminar anytime after being admitted to the SBC, even in his/her last semester of school. Accumulating the remaining 11 leadership units is probably more important since they typically involve a longer time frame to earn.