Chicago Business

Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: GSB Life

Cohorts play a very important role at Chicago GSB, although they function very differently than they do at other business schools. At our peer schools, cohorts are mechanisms for organizing the entire first-year academic experience, and often are the structures through which study groups are assigned and organized.

At Chicago GSB, only one course, LEAD, utilizes cohorts in order to accomplish its academic goals by developing intense relationships within smaller groups. The School's flexible curriculum and our respect for your ability to form your own study groups makes cohorting for other academic reasons inappropriate.

The GBC's creation of BSCIT (Business School Cohort Intramural Tournament) last year has taken the role of cohorts within the GSB to a new level. BSCIT is designed to keep cohorts together by maintaining the group's social connections throughout the entire first year, and bringing the first- and second-year students in the cohorts together in an organized way. Last year was a great success, and we look forward to seeing what BSCIT has in store for you this year!

Dean Kole and I plan to work much more closely with you via the cohorts this year. We think that these groups will be great channels for input on issues because each represents a cross-section of the entire student body. Dean Kole will be meeting quarterly with the presidents of each cohort, and I plan to gather the social chairs together at least that often. Our goal is to use the cohorts as sounding boards for issues that arise for us, while listening to suggestions and feedback from you.

So, stay tuned for more! We look forward to working with you.

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