The Business School's admissions policy, however, has shifted toward more personal interactions with the school, Fadule says. More than 70 percent of the students enrolled in the class of '96 were interviewed prior to admissions, she says.

"Our current policy is to do much more interviewing," Fadule told the Harbus. "The applicant pool has become very sophisticated and it has become harder to differentiate candidates on the basis of written applications alone."

According to Fadule, first-round applicants were allowed to indicate their preference for either the traditional September program or the January pilot program designed by Leadership and Learning.

Students' preferences, which will not affect admissions decisions, will be used to create next January's class, officials say.

So far, approximately a quarter of students admitted have stated a preference for the pilot program, Fadule told the Harbus.

A Three-Phase Plan

Announced by Dean of the Business School John H. McArthur in spring of 1992, the Leadership and Learning program calls for a de-emphasis of traditional case-based classroom discussion and places special focus on teamwork and field-based learning.

The program is also designed to encourage development of business leaders rather than to "train managers," according to a newsletter.

Leadership and Learning takes place in three stages, officials say.

Phase I involved data gathering and a clear definition of the case for change in the MBA program. It identified key issues to be addressed by the initiative, including diversity, international content, social responsibility and ethics.

Results found many students, faculty, alumni and recruiters concerned about the Business School's inadequate pace to keep up with dynamic changes in management and the economy.

To design proposals and recommendations based on the findings of Phase I, a Core Design Team and Faculty Development Committee led eight task forces in the second phase to produce two reports outlining the MBA program's vision and standards for its participants.

Chaired by Chapman Professor of Business Administration James E. Austin, the Faculty Development Committee also proposed initiatives to attract a distinctive faculty and to enhance its capabilities.

According to a written statement, the designed teams met more than 50 times between March and October of 1993, including a three-day offsite retreat.

Reports drafted by Phase II committees were opened for school-wide discussion with every member of the faculty assigned to a discussion group.