The Smeal College of Business Administration gave its MBA program a face lift last fall, eliminating the baggage courses and smoothing it over with leadership, teamwork and communication workshops.

According to the Jan. 26 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, this is a nationwide trend. But Roger Dagen, administrative director of Smeal's MBA program, said Penn State is one of the leaders and has been researching for three years.

"We weren't the first school to do it," Dagen said. "But we're an early adopter."

The face lift tightened the number of core courses and provided soft-skills workshops, which concentrate on leadership, teamwork and communication.

The department eliminated overlapping material in the core courses, reducing the requirement from 39 to 26 credits. This allows students to fulfill all of the required courses during the first year. The second year allots more time to emphasis work, Dagen said.

The second year allows students to explore their own interests while receiving a background in other business areas, said John Connelly (graduate-business administration).

"I think it's the cutting edge," said Connelly, vice president for public relations of the MBA association.

While reconstructing the program, University officials tried to make students more attractive to prospective employers.

"We try to provide things the customers want," Dagen said, adding that businesses are interested in soft-skill oriented workers.

Dagen said the University does not offer credit for nonacademic course work, such as soft skills, but it integrates the skills into other courses.

Linda Trevino, associate professor of organizational behavior, taught Business Administration 501 -- Managing People and Organization, last fall. In her course, she stresses leadership, motivation and communication.

There is always conflict and power in a group and the course deals with it, Trevino said.

The soft skills are also addressed in MBAction, a program for students entering the MBA program.

Connelly said the first-year MBA students organized into groups of 12 for the weeklong session. The students crossed a river using a rope to develop their team-building skills.

"Not everybody can be a leader. There has to be followers and this taught us that," Connelly said, adding the program helped develop communication skills.

Michele Sowko, coordinator of Smeal's internship program, said employers are demanding students with communication, analytical and technical skills.

"When the interns return, they usually say they have to work on their communication skills," Sowko said.

Barbara Nordblom, administrative assistant and accountant at Microdata Systems Inc., 2766 W. College Ave., likes the idea of soft skills being offered.

She said experience and other qualifications are not always the most important things she looks for when interviewing applicants. She goes with her "gut feeling," which usually includes how open and communicative they are.

"I like people with enthusiasm. We can always teach them the rest," she said.

Besides reducing the core programs and offering soft-skill courses, the curriculum can be improved a bit more, said Jair Pietersz, vice president of finance at the MBA association. Because the core subjects were crammed into the first year of classes, there was a time-scheduling problem, but it is improving.

"We're the guinea pigs. So far, it's been great, but it does need to be reshaped here and there," said Pietersz (graduate-business administration).