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2012-2013 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog

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Business Administration - Program Description

For additional information about opportunities your college offers, please refer to the Seidman College of Business section in this catalog.

Dean: Williams. Associate Dean: Reifel; Faculty: Accounting and Taxation: Bettinghaus, Cannon, Danko, DeBruine, de la Rosa, Dunn, Fanning, Godwin, Goldberg, Grant, Harris, Kessler, Lindquist, Ratliff-Miller, Sergeant, Sopariwala, Stovall, Williams, Yuhas; Economics: Dalmia, Giedeman, Isely, Lowen, Ogura, Reifel, Sicilian, Simons, Singh, Smith Kelly, Sturgill, Sun; Finance: Bhagwat, Blose, Chang, Dimkoff, Edwards, Gondhalekar, Griggs, Pettengill, Simpson, Sundaram, Willey; Management: Akbulut-Bailey, Crampton, Frey, Hodge, Hu, IsHak, Jones-Rikkers, Joshi, Klein, Koch, Kosalge, Koste, Kumar, Levenburg, Magal, Margulis, McGinnis, McKendall, Mishra, Mothersell, Motwani, Mudde, Sanchez, Sanford, Swift, Marketing: Benet, Cotter, Cowart, Dalela, Good, Hinsch, Kraft, Lane, Lehnert, Little, Pope, Robideaux, Walz.

Website: www.gvsu.edu/business

Undergraduate Business Program

The undergraduate program provides students with business education that blends liberal arts and professional courses with practical application. The programs are designed to prepare students for careers in various business areas as well as for admission into graduate and professional schools.

Admission

Refer to Seidman College of Business in the Colleges section of this catalog.

Academic Review

In order to graduate, admitted upper-division business students must achieve a 2.5 minimum cumulative GPA and a 2.5 minimum cumulative GPA in all Seidman business and economics courses. If the cumulative GPA falls below 2.5, students will be considered on probation with Seidman College and reclassified as pre-business students. Students will not be permitted to take additional 300- and 400-level business and economics courses. However, such students may repeat 300- and 400-level Seidman business and economics courses for which they received a low grade. Students are advised to contact the Seidman Undergraduate Student Services Office for assistance. Once students re-establish themselves in good standing with Seidman by improving their grade point average to a 2.50 or higher, they can be reassigned to their Seidman major.

Students may repeat up to three different business and economics courses in their undergraduate career, but no single business or economics course can be repeated more than once. Exceptions are made only with the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Business Programs.

It is the policy of the Seidman College of Business that no credit shall be earned for any course if, at any time, it is found that the student has not met the prerequisites as determined by the head of the unit offering the course.

Academic Advising

All routine advising for program requirements and scheduling for undergraduate students is provided by the Seidman Undergraduate Student Services Office, 101B DeVos Center. Appointments are available at either DeVos or Allendale by calling 331-7500. It is the student's responsibility to contact the office for program planning. Freshman and sophomore business students are encouraged to contact any faculty member or the Seidman Undergraduate Student Services Office concerning business career opportunities and advice. A faculty advisor will be assigned when a student is admitted to the upper-division program.

Internship Opportunities

Undergraduate business students are encouraged to become involved in, and receive academic credit for, a work experience directly related to their major. Junior and senior students who wish to apply must have completed at least nine hours of the core program requirements and should have an overall GPA of 2.5 or higher to be eligible. Application forms are available at the Seidman Undergraduate Student Services Office. Students selected will intern for a varied number of hours each week depending on the number of credits of the internship. Coordination for each internship is provided by the Seidman Internship Supervisor. Students may apply up to six hours of internship and independent research credit, in any combination, toward their degree requirements.

Minority Business Education Center

The Minority Business Education Center Program provides student participants weekly career educational opportunity meetings in which students develop personally and professionally through writing resumes, discussing topics such as time management and how to "dress for success," and holding mock interviews and business etiquette workshops.

For more information and applications, contact the Multicultural Affairs Office, 130 Commons, telephone (616) 331-2177.

Transfer Students

Transfer students may receive transfer credit for basic courses in accounting, business law, computing, economics, management, marketing, mathematics, and statistics completed at their junior or community college. Credit may be given for Intermediate Accounting I if the student is able to pass a validation exam.

In all cases, transfer students may apply a maximum of 24 hours of transfer credit for business courses toward their Seidman College of Business degree and must complete a minimum of five of the twelve business core courses and four of the six business major courses required for the degree at the Seidman College of Business. It is extremely important that transfer students meet with an advisor in the Seidman Undergraduate Student Services Office before registering for classes.

Career Opportunities

General business majors typically fall into one of two groups: those who prefer to take a generalist approach to their business education and those who have entrepreneurial interests such as small business management, a family-owned business, or the development of a new business.

If you choose the generalist approach you may work in one of the more than 90 percent of all businesses that have fewer than 25 employees. Such businesses employ about one-half of the nation's workforce. Jobs in these organizations require generalists who can tackle a variety of responsibilities.

Participating Programs

B.B.A./J.D.
The Seidman College of Business and Michigan State University College of Law (MSU Law) have partnered to offer a "3+3" program (Legal Education Admission Program  LEAP) that gives Grand Valley business students the opportunity to earn a B.B.A. and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) in approximately six years.

Interested students complete a minimum of 91 credits comprised of the required undergraduate courses in their first three years of study at Grand Valley. This includes all university-level requirements as well as the requirements for the specific business major. Upon admission to the law school, Seidman students complete their undergraduate electives with law school courses. Up to 24 credits of MSU Law work in which the student earned a 2.0 or above will be accepted. MSU Law courses may be applied to the four upper-division elective courses (12 credits) required for the B.B.A. The B.B.A. will be awarded upon satisfactory completion of the number of credits and requirements necessary for the undergraduate program.

Students may apply any time during their junior year for admission to LEAP. GVSU students interested in LEAP must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.60, and a score of 156 or higher on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is highly recommended. A Joint Committee comprised of faculty from both institutions will admit students to the LEAP program on the basis of undergraduate record, ACT scores, and other information deemed relevant. Additionally, applicants to the program must obtain letters of recommendation from the GVSU LEAP advisor and a second recommendation from another GVSU faculty member, with both recommenders commenting on the applicant's preparedness for this accelerated program.

Student Organizations ( www.gvsu.edu/stuey )

Honors Organizations

Beta Alpha Psi
Beta Alpha Psi is a national scholastic and professional honors society. The primary objective of the society is to encourage and give recognition to scholastic and professional excellence in the field of accounting, finance and information systems. Grand Valley State University's chapter of Beta Alpha Psi is dedicated to enhancing career opportunities and providing a social environment for persons of similar life goals. The chapter has regular meetings, sponsors speakers, and participates in outreach programs such as the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program, and holds numerous social events. Members have the opportunity to attend regional meetings held in the Midwest regional area and national meetings held in different cities each year. Membership allows students to learn first-hand about elements of a successful accounting career and ensures multiple network opportunities with practicing professional accountants.

Membership is open to any part- or full-time student majoring in accounting and finance at Grand Valley State University with a upper level cumulative GPA in declared area of concentration of at least a 3.0 (based on a 4.0 scale) and a cumulative overall GPA of at least a 3.0 (or an overall GPA of 3.25 for the last 35 credits).

Beta Gamma Sigma
The Grand Valley State University chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, a national honor society in business administration, promotes high scholarship in business education by recognizing and rewarding scholastic attainment in business subjects.

Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is awarded once each year to certain undergraduate and graduate students who are in the top 7 percent of the junior class, the top 10 percent of the senior class, and the top 20 percent of graduating master's students.

Omicron Delta Epsilon
Grand Valley State University is home to Omicron Delta Epsilon's Rho Chapter of Michigan. Omicron Delta Epsilon is the international honor society for economics and is one of the world's largest academic honor societies. The objectives of Omicron Delta Epsilon include recognition of scholastic attainment and the honoring of outstanding achievement in economics and the establishment of closer ties between students and faculty in economics within colleges and universities, and among colleges and universities.

Membership is open primarily to economics majors (although nonmajors who have a significant interest in economics will also be considered) who have completed at least 12 credit hours of economics courses, have at least an overall "B" average at Grand Valley State University and a minimum 3.0 GPA in their economics courses, and be ranked in the top third of their class. Induction occurs annually towards the end of the Winter Semester.

Core and Cognate Degree Requirements for the Bachelor of Business Administration

To complete the requirements for graduation with a B.B.A. degree, the following course requirements for a total of 120 undergraduate hours must be met: general education; business core; business major, major requirements listed with information on individual majors; cognates; and electives.

Cognate Degree Requirements

Core Courses

All business core courses acquaint you with various fields in business and help you learn to communicate, to interact, and to assume responsible positions in your chosen field.

For a major in business administration, you must complete the following courses:

Students are required to select one class from the following list. This course may count toward the major, minor, or cognates if applicable.

Required Business Electives

Three upper-division Seidman courses not applied to the major, minor, or cognate (9 credits total), however, these courses can be applied toward a second business major.

Electives

Students may elect non-business or business courses to fulfill their elective course requirements. However, at least 60 hours of the total program must be in non-business courses. Students may apply up to six hours of internship and independent research credit, in any combination, toward their degree requirements. Business majors may not take any of the major or cognate courses, except the internship, on a credit/no-credit basis. Lower-division economics courses and economics courses used in the B.B.A. cognate are counted as non-business credit.

The following program is available:

Bachelor of Business Administration

Master of Business Administration


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