PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (February 5, 2020) – Business and finance students at Prairie View A&M University now have access to technology that Wall Street and international business professionals use. PVAMU was recently named a Bloomberg Experiential Learning Partner (ELP).

“We are fortunate to get this very expensive software, which is used in the professional industry,” said Yi Zhang, Ph.D., associate professor of finance in the Department of Accounting, Finance, and Management Information Systems at PVAMU. “I received a five-year Title III grant, which helped us to devote to this trading and investment program. In addition to a stock ticker, computers, and software, we also purchased stock simulation software. It costs about $100,000 a year.”

Educational institutions that subscribe to three or more Bloomberg terminals, and integrate them into their finance curriculum, qualify for the ELP program and can apply for it, which is what Zhang did last semester.

“Our students visited an investment company in Houston, and the first thing we saw were the Bloomberg terminals. We have an alumnus working there, and he is pleased to know we have the Bloomberg terminals,” Zhang said. “This prepares [our students] for their future careers.”

Bloomberg software provides real-time market information. If a student wants to know stock information or economic data, the software offers aggregated real-time market data.

“Students can go to the Bloomberg terminals to get the real data to see how much a particular stock is trading for and to see what is actually going on in the market. They can then apply the knowledge to the real world,” Zhang said.

She says the Bloomberg technology gives students more hands-on learning.

“For example, in the corporate finance classes, students use Bloomberg to actually analyze a public company. So, they would gather financial statements, get a company’s financial policy, and analyze the company’s stock performance and valuation. The students benefit a lot from this,” said Zhang. “Finance students will have more integration in their advanced finance classes — investment and corporate finance — and more assignments and projects. But for all business students, we want to introduce them to Bloomberg. We promote all business students to participate in Bloomberg Market Concepts, a certificate program, which boosts their credentials for getting employment. We have incorporated this for about three years. I would say, on average more than 100 students get the certificate every year.”

Bloomberg also gives PVAMU students free online access to the certificate program.

“We have terminals here in the trading room on the main campus and four terminals at the Northwest Houston campus,” Zhang said. “The online free access is good for those students who are taking only online classes. They can still get access to the certificate program without having to come to campus to use it.”

PVAMU business and finance students can now also compete with other schools in trading competitions like the Bloomberg Trading Challenge. It’s a ten-week competition in which student teams use Bloomberg terminals to generate the strongest investment strategy and most valuable portfolio.

PVAMU students are also participating in research challenges because Bloomberg provides resources for students to do securities analysis.

“About two years ago, PVAMU started organizing student teams to participate in the Chartered Financial Analyst Research Challenge, the largest challenge in the finance area,” Zhang said. “Now, we compete with students from top schools. We host an annual stock trading challenge campus-wide. Last year, one of our students won second place in a nationwide stock trading challenge. We are also setting up our student-managed fund, which allows the student to manage real money.”

Each semester, Zhang hosts an information session to introduce new PVAMU business students to the resources in the trading room,­ including the Bloomberg partnership, the certificate program, and a new course, Wall Street 101, for non-business students.

In the Houston area, the University of Houston, Rice University, and Texas A&M University are Bloomberg partners. PVAMU is the only smaller school and HBCU with it, Zhang said.

“Since we have all these resources, we have seen the quality of the program and the student quality improve over the years. We got more students and more finance majors, so our enrollment increased,” Zhang said.

Yi Zhang, Ph.D.

COB Dean Munir Quddus, Ph.D., said, “The finance program in the College of Business is one of the strongest programs we have at Prairie View. It has top-notch faculty and attracts talented students. The trading room, with Bloomberg terminals and ticker tape, is the crown jewel of the new building, and we look forward to naming this room for a generous donor, individual or firm, interested in supporting the PVAMU finance program as it moves from good to great.”

Zhang said the Bloomberg partnership boosts PVAMU’s image overall.

“We see the learning impact on the students, and they really like it. They feel they know the application, and it will help them in the job market,” she said.

Click here to learn more about PVAMU’s College of Business.

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By Sammy G. Allen