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Apathy and social disconnectedness among undergraduate business students remain poorly understood and under‐researched—despite evidence that they produce an adverse impact on learning‐related outcomes. Qualitative research was initially conducted among a sample of undergraduate business students to identify the antecedents and learning‐related consequences of apathy and social disconnectedness, develop grounded definitions, hypotheses, and scales. This was followed by a survey that aimed to test a conceptual model that emerged from qualitative data. The study finds evidence to suggest that high levels of anxiety among students antecedes social disconnectedness and powerlessness, which trigger apathy or the lack of caring about being a student or attending college. These psychosocial problems are severe enough, the study finds, to adversely impact the quality of students’ learning experiences. Implications for new thinking and research are discussed, and implications for improving instruction are derived from the findings.

Business schools continue to grapple with the issue of curriculum integration. Although faculty are encouraged to work conjointly and students are told that theories, concepts, and techniques learned in one course will be used in future courses, the challenge of integration from course to course remains elusive. This article presents a model for curriculum integration developed by the business school at the State University of New York at Geneseo. The model uses a comprehensive case based on a real-world insurance company. Incoming business students will be presented with a synopsis of the case in their first year of business school. The same case with the relevant topical additions will continue to be used in all subsequent primary business courses. The article presents the rationale, methodology, and curriculum development of the case. The article also outlines how the school plans to integrate the case into the upper-level business courses.

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