As experts probe deeper into the causes of the economic crisis, some are searching beyond Wall Street to explain what went wrong – and business schools are taking some of the heat.

Professors in the University’s Terry College of Business have taken note.

Critics are attacking business schools and MBA programs, claiming these institutions have emphasized scientific models instead of real-world issues and business ethics, according to a March 15 article in The New York Times.

Several critics believe a better business education model might have made the financial crisis less severe.

“[The criticisms] are a misunderstanding of what business schools do,” said Jeff Netter, a finance professor in Terry. “Business schools – finance departments specifically – teach that firms should look out for shareholders and maximize shareholder wealth. It’s not teaching [students] to be greedy.”

The causes of the financial crisis were complicated, and shouldn’t be traced only to faulty business schools, Netter said in a phone interview last week.

“Every time things go wrong, businesses or Wall Street get blamed,” Netter said. “I think financial people made big mistakes, but that doesn’t mean the [business school] curriculum was wrong.”

But Netter realizes some professors may need to modify their lectures in response to the current economic climate.

“[Terry] would be a very bad business school if we didn’t change what we taught based on what we’ve learned from all of this,” Netter said. “Does that mean that we should stop teaching the basics of finance? No.”

Eric Tonn, a senior risk management-insurance and real estate double major from Madison, Ala., has already seen professors adapting to the current situation.

“[In one of my classes] we’re talking just about what’s going on in the economic crisis,” Tonn said in a phone interview last week.

Tonn said he feels prepared to enter the real business world, but he recognizes the limitations of a business school education.

“Business schools are obviously an isolated environment,” Tonn said.

Harold Mulherin, a Terry finance professor, said he has faith in students’ abilities to understand that the simplified models and isolated examples used in business schools are not always perfect in the real world.

“Any tool you use should be taken with a grain of salt,” Mulherin said in a phone interview last week. “There’s science, and then there’s still some art. It’s a mistake to believe that if you put data into the computer, you’ll always get the right answer.”

Mulherin said he advocates taking a broader historical approach to business education, and he’s hesitant to make any sweeping changes to his lectures in response to “fads” in the business world.

“People always feel like they have to come up with something new,” Mulherin said. “There’s nothing wrong with adapting, but you shouldn’t necessarily throw everything else out.”

Robert Sumichrast, dean of Terry College, echoed Mulherin’s sentiments.

“The skills [business schools teach] may or may not be relevant five to 10 years from now, but I’m confident that our students will always have the ability to learn,” Sumichrast said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Sumichrast highlighted a variety of experiences available to Terry College students and said the business school critics focused too specifically on just one aspect of a business school education.

Terry College will continue to strive for improvement in its methods and curriculum, he said, but the current economic crisis won’t be the only consideration when curriculum review comes up.

“We review our curriculum every year by looking at what our peer business schools are doing, by talking to alumni and by evaluating current events,” Sumichrast said. “It won’t be that we change the curriculum solely because of the current economic crisis. It’s just one factor in the evolution and improvement of the business school.”