GENERAL INFORMATION

Accreditation

 The College of Business Administration's undergraduate and graduate programs are accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the premier national accrediting body for business colleges in the United States.

Management

 Managers are the cornerstone of all organizations and are responsible for seeing that tasks are completed and goals are met. In a wider sense, they make the key decisions that result in organizational performance and competitive advantage. The management major provides an opportunity to acquire the education and experience necessary to become a successful manager. The study of management provides a sound foundation in quality management, organizational behavior, production issues related to products and services, personnel and human resources issues, international business, and overall policy issues, leadership skills, and strategic planning. Management students are recruited by local, regional, and national organizations. The management degree also provides the foundation for pursuing a graduate degree in business.

Majors and Minors

 The College of Business Administration offers seven major programs: Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, Finance, Management, Professional Land and Resource Management, and Marketing. All students must select one of the seven major fields upon entering the College. The College also offers an Insurance and Risk Management Concentration under the Finance Degree. Business students must select a minor or other option. The minor can be in the fields of Accounting, Business Law, Economics, Finance, Management, and Marketing. The minor consists of nine hours specified by the department offering the minor. These courses are in addition to the core required courses.

Business Minors for Non-Business Students

 Non-business students may obtain a business minor that provides fundamental coverage of the basic business disciplines. The 18-hour business minor includes Accounting 201, Economics 201 or 300, Finance 300, Management 320, Marketing 345, and Business Administration 205 or an approved business elective.

Procedures

Admission Requirements

Junior Division. The University regulations on admissions apply to all entering students. First-time students enter the Junior Division. All students must initially select one of the seven business majors upon entering USL, although a student may elect to change majors at any time after admission. Advice and guidance is available within the Junior Division regarding the scheduling of courses, choice of a major field of study, and development of a career plan during the student's first two years of study. All students are assigned an advisor from the faculty of the major field of study; students should meet with their academic advisors on a regular basis.

Upper Division. Students may apply for admission to the Upper Division of the College of Business Administration after completing a minimum of 30 semester hours, not including developmental work, with a minimum 2.25 overall Grade Point Average (GPA). In addition, the student must have earned a minimum grade of "C" in English 101 and 102, Mathematics 105, Accounting 201, Economics 201 and 202, Business Administration 205 or a "Computer Proficiency" exam, and achieved a satisfactory score on the CAAP exam.

Only students in Upper Division may register for 300 and 400-level courses offered by the College of Business Administration. In addition, a student must have junior standing (that is 60 hours excluding developmental courses) to register for Business Law, Finance, Management, and Marketing courses.

Non-Resident Credit

After transfer students are admitted to the University, their transcripts are reviewed by the Office of the Dean, as well as by the Department Head in which the student's major is taught. Courses completed elsewhere are individually accepted or rejected based on comparability to courses at USL.

In addition to general University regulations concerning transfer credit and degree requirements, a transfer student pursuing the degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration must complete at least fifty percent of the business credit hours required for the business degree at USL.

Courses taken at a junior college at the freshman/sophomore level, when required at the junior/senior level in the College, will require a validation examination before credit can be given.

Catalog Requirements

Transfer students must fulfill the catalog requirements in effect at the time of their transfers. This applies to all students who transfer from another university or from another college at USL. Students transferring from one department to another within the College of Business Administration (i.e., changing majors within the College) may remain under their original catalog requirements so long as they have been continuously enrolled in the College of Business Administration and otherwise are eligible to do so.

Specific Degree Requirements

All baccalaureate degrees of the College require a cumulative grade point average of 2.25; a grade of "C" or better in each course in both the Common Body of Knowledge and in the student's major; and a minimum of 132 hours of academic credit. Some programs of study require more than 132 hours.

Each student is responsible for reporting to his/her departmental office his/her graduation plans prior to the final year of study. A graduation check-out sheet, which outlines the student's current scholastic position and the course requirements remaining for the degree, is then prepared and forwarded to the Dean's office for final checking and approval.

All graduating seniors must take the ETS Business Examination or other assessment exams specified by the College.

Internship

Students are encouraged to pursue internship opportunities in their major field during their junior and senior years. The College has a designated internship coordinator in each department, a student coordinator, and a faculty internship director. All majors use BADM 398 and 498 for internship credit. Credit is granted for business electives only with the prior approval of the major department, and all internships include a required academic component. Only three hours of credit applies toward graduation.

General Education Requirements

A minimum of fifty percent of the students program of study must be in courses other than courses in the College of Business Administration. At least forty-five hours of course work at the 300-400 level must be satisfactorily completed. The forty-five hours can include business as well as non-business courses. Developmental courses cannot be used toward a degree.

Selection of electives must follow University regulations. In general, electives may not be courses which are prerequisite to or which contain subject material on a more elementary level than courses already completed or required in the student's curriculum.

  1. Approved courses which meet the three-hour Communication elective in the Core Curriculum are as follows:
    CMCN 200CMCN 310CMCN 322
  2. Approved courses which meet the three-hour Arts, Humanities, and Behavioral Science elective in the Core Curriculum and the College requirement for coverage of the subject of demographic and cultural diversity are:
    ANTH 201ANTH 325SOCI 100SOCI 310
    POLS 120POLS 312POLS 327POLS 374
  3. Approved courses which meet the three-hour Arts elective in the Core Curriculum are as follows:
    VIAR 121MUS 300MUS 304THEA 261
    VIAR 122MUS 301MUS 360
    DANC 101MUS 302MUS 362
    DANC 102MUS 303THEA 161
  4. Economics 250 or Math 250, Philosophy 316, and Computer Science 307 are required for all business majors.

Common Body of Knowledge

All baccalaureate students in the College of Business Administration must complete a Common Body of Knowledge (CBK), or Core Requirement, consisting of the following courses: Business Administration 100; Accounting 201-202; Economics 201-202; Business Administration 205 or successful completion of a computer proficiency examination; Finance 300; Quantitative Methods 251; Business Law 310; Management 320, 382, 490; Marketing 345; Management 303 or Accounting 401; and an appropriate international business course designated by the department. A grade of "C" or better is required in each course.

Retention Policy

Any student in the Upper Division of the College of Business Administration who fails to maintain a cumulative average of 2.25 or greater will be dropped from the Upper Division of the College.

In order to reapply for Upper Division status, a student shall:

  1. Take or repeat courses to strengthen his/her foundation for advanced study in the College;
  2. Raise his/her cumulative grade point average to at least 2.25; and,
  3. Not be on probation or suspension at the time of re-entry into the Upper Division.

Programs and Facilities

 The College maintains and operates a number of computer laboratories for student usage. These labs are generally open seven days a week and provide access to popular business software, case studies, data bases, E-mail, and the internet.

Updates of this Catalog

Policies and curricula listed here are sometimes changed after the publication of this document; please contact the Dean's office for current information.