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Curricular reforms
A cascade of reforms for the HSG’s curricula
In August 2022, HSG will be running more than 21 Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes, and two of these programmes did not even exist in July 2021. Seven of these 21 programmes are being subjected to fundamental reforms between 2021 and 2022. By HSG standards, these figures are historic. One overriding objective of these reforms is to prepare graduates optimally for their future.
Hardly an issue is currently occupying the Vice-President’s Board for Studies & Academic Affairs as strongly as curricular reforms, particularly the fundamental ones whereby the curriculum is radically revised. This is especially the case if students will not necessarily be able to graduate from the new curriculum with the work done in the old one. If, for instance, a new compulsory subject is introduced, students will be unable to graduate even though they have successfully completed all the coursework in the old curriculum. As a consequence of the reform, they lack a compulsory subject.
As a rule, curricular reforms are initiated for strategic reasons: the curriculum is out of date, it no longer appeals to the desired target group, or graduates’ positions in the labour market fail to come up to expectations. Curricular reforms are complex in terms of decision-making and implementation, they are labour-intensive and require interdisciplinary cooperation between programme directors, various units of the Vice-President’s Board for Studies & Academic Affairs, the Brand Department and IT.
New computer science programmes thanks to the IT education offensive
Two programmes will be newly introduced: a Master’s and Bachelor’s programme in Computer Science (in AS 2021 and AS 2022, respectively). This became possible thanks to the voting public of the Canton of St.Gallen approving the so-called IT education offensive. Here, HSG is entering uncharted territory: it will offer a Bachelor’s and a Master’s programme beyond the economic, social and legal sciences under its own steam for the first time. For this purpose, a new School of Computer Science was established, which will provide jobs for a total of 27 full, associate and assistant professors. It is expected that approx. 50 to 70 Master's students and 100 Bachelor’s students will start their computer science studies at HSG. The faculty and students of the School of Computer Science will pursue new approaches on the campus which will take effect in the whole region.
Extensive reconceptualisation of the legal curricula
All five law programmes will be reformed. The two majors in Law (BLaw) and Law and Economics (BLE) are being fundamentally reconceptualised for Autumn Semester 2021, with the BLE programme undergoing the furthest-reaching reform in its history. The revised Bachelor’s programmes will be characterised by a reinforcement of the core subjects and a more concise structure. Also, students will have to write a Bachelor’s thesis as in the other majors. In addition, the BLE programme will be supplemented by a legally oriented teaching programme. The Master’s programmes in Law (MLaw) and Law and Economics ( MLE) will also be radically reformed (implementation by Autumn Semester 2022), with the MLE programme duly being shortened by a
Two Business Administration programmes will be fundamentally reconceptualised for Autumn Semester 2022.
semester in line with the introduction of the teaching programme. The criteria for admission to the MLaw and MLE programmes will also be standardised; here, too, the legal profile will be enhanced in that the requirements with regard to previously acquired legal knowledge and thus the admission conditions to be potentially satisfied will be raised.
Two Business Administration programmes will be fundamentally reconceptualised for Autumn Semester 2022. This will also be mirrored in name changes, as in the Master’s programme in General Management (MGM, formerly Master’s programme in Business Management, MUG). A more extensive core area will sharpen the profile of the programme and its graduates and reinforce the area of Data Analytics, in particular. Furthermore, students will complete one third of their core studies in German and one third in English.
The Master’s programme in Accounting and Corporate Finance (MACFin, formerly Master’s programme in Accounting and Finance, MAccFin) is provided with a measured update of its core area, the aim being a precise coordination with the major in Business Administration, which was reformed as from Autumn Semester 2019, and a clearer demarcation from the Master’s programme in Banking and Finance (MBF).
Agility, individual support and personal commitment of members of staff
The great number of curricular reforms and new introductions (besides those at the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels, certificate programmes and two Ph.D. programmes will also be reformed) is evidence of considerable agility at HSG. The programme directors and the Vice-President’s Board for Studies & Academic Affairs are actively responding to the fast-changing realities in business and academia in order to prepare their graduates optimally for their future careers.
The individual support of students, which is already a hallmark of HSG in standard degree course operations, will also be written large when it comes to supporting students who are affected by reforms. Owing to its clear-cut structures and committed members of staff, HSG is in a position to react quickly, unbureaucratically and sustainably if any problems should occur.
