Using the Journal in Small Ways in Your Classes

Would you like to use the Journal but not quite sure about the commitment? Or not exactly sure how to begin? I encourage anyone who wants to incorporate the Journal for the first time, to take a small step. You can increase your involvement as you discover what works well for you, your courses, and your students.

It begins to seem very natural to open class with a discussion of current events, even if you do not formalize it as an assignment as I have. (Please see one of my earlier posts for a detailed description.) In my classes, many students only see introductory accounting as an obstacle (and tough one at that!) to their ultimate goal of graduation and getting in a job in another area of business. If we can show them that a particular subject has application to business in general, they will have a greater incentive to learn.

If you are contemplating using the Journal in a small way, you may be hesitant to require your students to purchase the subscription. I had these exact thoughts before I started to use the Journal. I was a reader myself, and would frequently discuss articles, but I did not require the purchase. Because I am well aware of the high cost of textbooks these days, I was reluctant to add the Journal as a requirement. If this concerns you, here are a few points to consider.

First, are other professors at your school already requiring purchase of the Journal? If other instructors are already using the Journal, your use will not cost your students an additional fee.

Second, the subscription is heavily discounted for students. It is competitively price, usually less expensive than textbooks or casebooks. I found that a subscription was less than a casebook I had been using, and ultimately was a better resource for my class.

Third, the student subscription also includes a subscription to WSJ.com, which is a very valuable resource for students to use in many business classes. The website provides a very nice search feature for all kinds of business research.

Also, while books and supplies are very expensive, I find that most of my students have enough money to pay for many 'extras' unrelated to school. The benefits my students experience are so great, that it is easy for me to justify that cost.

Finally, is your school an Academic Partner of the Journal's or considering this partnership? If a business school partners with the Journal, many of the professors use the Journal and all the students have subscriptions. I used the Journal for years before my school became an Academic Partner. Before the partnership, usage of the Journal was more of an individual decision. Now the students see the integration across the curriculum and come to expect usage in many classes as they progress through the program. The difference in student awareness and sophistication between before and after our partnership is amazing. This might be an option for your school.*

Small integration is a terrific way to begin using the Journal into your courses. It is much better to start small and enjoy it, than to jump into something large and unfamiliar. And as you evaluate the venture, you can gradually increase involvement as it works for you.


* * WSJ Academic Partnerships - This is a special arrangement in which the WSJ partners with individual schools with some special advantages. For more information see http://info.wsj.com/professor/academicPartners.html, contact your WSJ sales representative through http://info.wsj.com/professor/educationalRep.html, or contact Stephanie Major at stephanie.major@dowjones.com.