The Beta Alpha Psi chapter in the Department of Accounting won first place at the 2012 Southwest Regional BAP Conference on March 3 in San Antonio, Texas.
The chapter’s project, entitled “Social Networking: Appropriate and Effective Use,” was selected as the winner of the Best Practices in Social Networking category. Five teams competed against the UCA chapter.
The goal of the project was to learn the appropriate use for social networking tools, increase student use of social networking as a means of professional development, improve chapter communications and involvement through social networking and connect alumni and professionals through social networking with the Business Department, students and faculty.
The project entails using LinkedIn for professional networking and Facebook with security settings for personal networking along with a chapter Facebook page, networking with professionals in person, and mentoring within the club. The judges commended the students for the design and sensibility of the project, the high level of chapter participation, and how it was presented at the competition.
The members of the winning team are: master’s student Will Baker of Rose Bud, senior Asselya Kaliyeva of Almaty, Kazkhstan, junior Olen Jacob Goodner of Mena and junior Cheyenne Marcum of Little Rock.
“They each came to the presentation team with different challenges,” said Stephanie Watson, co-advisor of the BAP chapter. “The four of them practiced and helped each other overcome their challenges and they gave a winning presentation and developed as a team and as friends.”
The win earned the chapter $500 and a chance to compete at the annual conference in Baltimore in August. The UCA chapter will compete against schools from seven regions from across the country.
“We plan to continue [the project] in the future because we feel like social networking is here to stay and our students should learn to use it appropriately and effectively,” Watson said. – Lisa Burnett