Riverside, Calif., August, 2000--"Technology companies," according to a recent article in the journal of the International Association for Management Education, "are scouring campuses for people who are equipped to consult with corporate customers on issues related not only to IT [Information Technology] but to Internet marketing, managing and decision-making, as well."

The article presented statistics about the overwhelming demand for academic programs in electronic commerce and for graduates trained in the same field. Employers need graduates who understand business and who can apply the technological tools that are reshaping the world economy.

"If you don't think that technology changes how business is done, then eCommerce is just an unimportant fad," said Johnny Thomas, dean of the La Sierra University School of Business and Management. Thomas and his academic staff are determined to prove that technology not only changes how business is done, but it can change how business classes are taught.

This fall, a vanguard degree program will debut in the School of Business and Management: bachelor of science in business with a concentration in eCommerce. The program will not only educate students in the business of organizing, marketing and managing electronic commerce, but to give them real world experience while they study.

Phoenix-based 2HQ.com, an e-commerce retail site, has donated software to La Sierra for student-mall.com, an Internet laboratory where students receive hands-on experience running an internet business. Student-mall.com, an actual, active site, carries 500,000 varied items such as books, sheet music, digital cameras, and even vegetarian foods.

Site maintenance and management opportunities for La Sierra students will make them highly employable in a high-tech sector where experience is key, Thomas said.

Profits generated on the student-mall.com site will pay for expenses and, ultimately, create scholarship endowments for more business school students.

La Sierra's position in Southern California is particularly advantageous, Thomas said. Students can learn in a region emerging as one of the nation's leading high-tech and e-commerce corridors. The program will be able to draw from a vast community of professionals who can merge workforce experience with classroom learning. Several companies have expressed interest in contract teaching opportunities in the e-commerce program including Aqcess Technologies Inc., Peoplesoft, GreatCities.com, AltaVista, Optimized Technology, Inc. (OTI), 2HQ.com and E-Toys.

New course offerings for the program include eBusiness and the Digital Economy, which will explain the historical development and socioeconomic significance of the Internet. Another class, Technologies for eBusiness, will teach the underlying programs and skills that go into managing an Internet business. The Legal, Social and Moral Context of eBusiness is a class that focuses on security, privacy and other ethical eBusiness concerns.

Other universities in Southern California are also trying to build eCommerce studies into their business curriculum, but Thomas said their programs lack the practical applications found in La Sierra's endeavor. The university's smaller size enables it to respond quickly to student needs and changes in the Internet medium.

"If there is a lesson to be learned from the 'dot.com revolution,' it is that technology has changed how services and product are delivered and distributed," said Thomas. "We need to fuse old and new models."

Current projections anticipate 25 students to be enrolled as eCommerce majors, as early as this fall quarter. For more information, prospective students can call the School of Business and Management, (909)785-2064, (800)874-5587.

Story by Allison Lamon, Public Relations newswriting intern.