Undergraduate Business Statistics: A Survey of Topics and Teaching Methods

Participants in the annual conferences on “Making statistics more effective in schools of business” have made recommendations for improving the teaching of statistics in schools of business. To determine what is being taught and how it is being taught in terms of these recommendations, we surveyed professors teaching undergraduate business statistics courses. We found that hypothesis testing receives the greatest share of coverage and quality control the least. Computers are not used in one quarter of the courses, and lecturing is still the dominant teaching method. When asked for a wish list of changes, professors most often listed greater use of computers and more relevant data.