Changes to the BBA Degree

Effective Summer 2010

The one constant in the business world is change.  The Mike Cottrell School of Business recognizes that preparing skilled and competitive graduates to meet the challenges of the changing environment means that we must review and revise our curriculum.  This review involves input from our Business Advisory Council, Student Advisory Council, a review of peer and aspirant schools, and actions to respond to our own assessment results.  As a result of the most recent review, a number of changes will take affect in Summer 2010.  These changes include the introduction of admission standards for earning the BBA degree (not to be confused with declaring a major in Business), changes to the course requirements for the BBA degree, changes in pre-requisites for some courses, and changes to grade requirements in some courses. 

These changes will apply to all students admitted to the University in Summer 2010 or later, all students requesting a change of major to business Summer 2010 or later, and to varying degrees to students who are already declared as business majors.  A link at the bottom of this page will address the impact on current business students.

The new Plan of Study forms and new list of course pre-requisites summarize the requirements that go into effect in Summer 2010.  The changes discussed below are easier to follow with a copy of these two documents in front of you.

Admission Standards for Earning a BBA Degree with a major in Accounting, Finance, Management, or Marketing

Beginning Summer 2010 the School of Business will distinguish between students who are declared as a business major and students who meet the requirements to take advanced courses in the BBA degree program.  Upon admission to the University, any student can declare a major in Business; also, any currently enrolled student with at least a 2.0 overall GPA requesting a change of major can declare a Business major. Students with a declared major in Business will be advised by faculty in the School of Business.  Currently enrolled students with less than a 2.0 overall GPA wishing to change to Business will be provided with specific suggestions for improving their academic record prior to making another request for a change of major to Business.

Being declared as a Business major is necessary, but not sufficient, to enroll in most advanced courses required for a BBA degree.  These courses are identified with a notation of [BBA] on the Plan of Study.  In addition to being listed as a Business major these courses will require students to meet the following requirements prior to the start of the courses: 1) a 2.1 overall GPA, 2) a 2.0 institutional GPA, and 3) completion of each of the following courses with a grade of C or higher:  ACCT 2101-Principles of Financial Accounting, ACCT 2102-Principles of Managerial Accounting, ECON 2105-Principles of Macroeconomics, ECON 2106-Principles of Microeconomics, ENGL 1102-English Composition II, and MATH 2040-Brief Calculus.  Students who are currently enrolled in the last of the courses and meet the GPA requirements will be allowed to pre-register for [BBA] restricted courses for the following semester, but must successfully complete the requirements for enrollment in order to remain in the courses. 

NOTE:  There is no application process required for Admission to the BBA degree program.  Any student with a declared major in Business who meets the GPA requirements and the pre-requisite course requirements, will be allowed to enroll in courses restricted to [BBA].  Students who attempt to register for a [BBA] designated course without meeting the requirements will receive a "test score" error.

Since Fall 2003, most upper level Business courses have been restricted [R] to students who have completed ACCT 2101, ACCT 2102, ECON 2105, and ECON 2106 with a grade of C or higher in each.  These four courses will continue to apply to other courses that were already designated as [R] and have not been identified as advanced courses subject to the [BBA] requirements.  The Plan of Study and the list of course pre-requisites summarize the restrictions for each course.
 

Course Requirement Changes

All BBA majors will see changes in Area F and in the Common Professional Component.  In addition, Accounting Majors will see changes in the major specific part of the Plan of Study.

Area F Change:  The requirements for ACCT 2101, ACCT 2102, ECON 2105, ECON 2106, and CSCI 1250-Information Technologies will remain.  The sixth course in the area will become a choice between BUSA 2810-Legal Environment of Business and ENGL 2238-Business Communication.  These same two courses will become a choice in the Common Professional Component--meaning that all Business students, including transfer students, will be required to complete both courses.

Common Professional Component;  The Common Professional Component will continue to include 30 semester hours.  For Finance, Management, and Marketing majors, BUSA 3200-Business Information Systems will replace ECON 3441-Money and Banking in the Common Professional Component.  For Accounting majors, ACCT 4330-Accounting Information Systems will replace ECON 3441.  A choice between BUSA 2810 and ENGL 2238 will replace BUSA 3810-Business Law in the Common Professional Component.

BUSA 3810-Business Law will be revised to be a more advanced course that will be taught less frequently as an elective.  ECON 3441 will remain "on the books" but will be taught less frequently as an elective.

Accounting Major Specific Courses;  Previously, Accounting majors took ACCT 4330 in the major specific area of their Plan of Study.  With the move of this course to the Common Professional Component, Accounting majors will include either ACCT 4320-Advanced Financial Accounting or ACCT 4350-Advanced Federal Income Taxation as one of the major specific courses.
 

Course Pre-requisite Changes

Many of the course pre-requisite changes relate to the need to improve the communication skills of our graduates. ENGL 1102 with a grade of C or higher will be added as a pre-requisite to MGMT 3661, MKTG 3700, and BUSA 2810.  ENGL 2238 with a grade of C or higher will be added as a pre-requisite to BUSA 4995.

MGMT 3661-Fundamentals of Management will become a pre-requisite to MGMT 4626-Labor Management Relations allowing the senior level course to build on the introductory material.

With the elimination of ECON 3441 as a required course, the pre-requisites for all of the major specific courses for the Finance major will become FINC 3440.
 

Grade Requirement Changes

In order to meet grade requirements for a BBA degree, students must earn a C or higher in ACCT 2101, ACCT 2102, BUSA 2810, ECON 2105, ECON 2106, ENGL 1102, ENGL 2238, MATH 2040, MATH 2400, all courses in the Common Professional Component, and all major specific courses.  Additional grade requirements may exist based on University requirements (e.g., a C or higher in ENGL 1101-English Composition I) or in terms of pre-requisites for specific courses (e.g., a C or higher in MATH 1111-College Algebra to take MATH 2040).