Fairfield University unveils new BEST classroom in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business | Press Releases

Fairfield University undergraduate and graduate business students can now get their first taste of working on a stock trading floor before they graduate, thanks to a new state-of-the-art classroom.

Equipped with 35 multipurpose PCs and 15 Reuter stations, the 2,300 square-foot high-tech Business Education Simulation & Trading (BEST) classroom provides students with the experience of dealing with real-world situations ranging from case studies and contact with other companies to discussion of current economic and business events.

The new BEST classroom is located in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business. The cost of establishing the BEST project will total more than one million dollars.

"This classroom has enabled us to train our students with cutting edge technology that will help prepare them for a variety of careers in business," said Norman Solomon, Ph.D., dean of the Dolan School.

The classroom gives students the opportunity to become acquainted with the stock market by bringing it directly to them via multipurpose PC's that function as trading terminals. The students use a simulated stock trading system developed by the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University. The goal of this program is to have students experience how theories explain or fail to explain financial markets.

Because the modern digital trading floor is where ideas and frequently the health of the global economy is often determined, teaching financial theory alone is not enough to educate students, Solomon said.

The BEST classroom allows students to actively engage in experiential learning while still utilizing the financial theories that look at the quantitative explanations of business trends.

"This program is so essential to the University because many business people believe that the stock exchange and world market is based on a set formula, and this is not necessarily the case. While formulas and numbers can be accurate and very useful, human behavior also plays a large role in the global market and it is important to study how people's behavior impacts the economy," Dr. Solomon said.

Information systems management is the crucial starting point for the BEST classroom. Students will be given the opportunity to work with faculty and peers to create systems within the University for simulating market decisions and then managing that information.

Most recently, the classroom was used to prepare graduate students who participated in a trading contest at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management competing with students from MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, Penn State and other schools. Undergraduates have been downloading real-time Reuters data and financial statement information, plugging downloaded data into Excel files in order to do comparative analysis, said Michael Tucker, Ph.D., professor of finance in the Dolan School. "We're using software that's used on Wall Street and we're using it in the same way as it's used on Wall Street: for purposes of investing and managing a portfolio," Tucker said.

Continuous feedback from faculty and students using the classroom is of primary importance for the Dolan School. After each in-classroom or virtual classroom experience and at the end of the semester, questionnaires will be handed out to track what is working with the program and what is not.

"The opening of the BEST classroom allows faculty to engage students in experiential learning activities that were previously unavailable," said Anna Martin, Ph.D., chair of the finance department in the Dolan School.

"Our department has taken steps to quickly integrate the BEST classroom resources into courses throughout our programs - from our basic sophomore-level Introduction to Finance course, where students participate in a bond trading simulation and learn how to use Reuters, to our advanced Research Methods in Finance course that is part of the Master of Science in Finance program, where students utilize the advanced technology in their analyses. I believe the BEST classroom, as a state-of-the-art learning facility, motivates students and teachers to get even more excited about finance."

The Charles F. Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University is a leader in business curriculum innovation. An AACSB International-accredited program, The Dolan School annually serves 1,500 students in its undergraduate and graduate programs, preparing students to advance within their professions and empowering them to become leaders in their fields. In addition to substantial professional business experience, faculty members are recognized nationally and internationally for their scholarship. The School itself is housed in a technology-rich building dedicated to excellence in a business-learning environment - a facility that is among the best in the nation. For more information on the Dolan School of Business, call (203) 254-4070, or e-mail kcraig@mail.fairfield.edu .