Mar 29, 2024  
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

College of Business


Dr. Michael E. Busing, Interim Dean

Dr. Philip B. Dubose, Interim Associate Dean, Academic Affairs

Ms. Kimberley A. Foreman, Associate Dean, Human Resources and Administration

Ms. Molly G. Brown, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs

Phone: (540) 568-2785
MSC: 0207
Location: Zane Showker Hall, Sixth Floor
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/cob

Academic Units

Accounting, School of  
Dr. Michael Riordan, Director

Computer Information Systems and Business Analytics, Department of  
Dr. J. Art Gowan Jr., Head

Economics, Department of  
Dr. Ehsan Ahmed, Head

Finance and Business Law, Department of  
Dr. Hui Sono, Head

International Business, Department of  
Dr. Marion M. White, Director

Management, Department of  
Dr. Laura Leduc, Interim Head

Marketing, Department of  
Dr.Theresa Clarke, Interim Head

Mission Statement

The JMU College of Business is a learning community committed to excellence in:

  • Preparing students to be engaged, principled business professionals and leaders;
  • Advancing scholarship in business disciplines; and
  • Enhancing organizational performance through our outreach activities.

Vision Statement

To be regarded as a leader in preparing collaborative business partners engaged with ideas and the world.

Values

Integrity: We are a community dedicated to honesty, mutual respect, ethical reasoning and responsible behavior.

Intellectual Growth: We value academic excellence achieved through the intellectual curiosity and growth of both faculty and students, and through the creation and maintenance of a challenging and rigorous learning environment that encourages critical thinking and life-long learning.

Community: We value a supportive, inclusive culture where diverse ideas, backgrounds, and experiences strengthen our community, contributing to a global and multi-cultural mindset.

Engagement: We value an engaged, active learning environment inside and outside the classroom. We enrich the student experience through mutually beneficial internal and external relationships.

Innovation/Collaboration: We value initiative, creativity, collaboration and entrepreneurial spirit. We promote new ideas and solutions that advance intellectual growth and have a positive impact.

Overview

The College of Business offers baccalaureate degree programs leading to a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.), a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.). All degree programs offered by the College of Business are accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The following academic majors are offered as a B.B.A.: accounting, computer information systems, economics, finance, international business, management and marketing. Students may also earn a B.A. or B.S. in economics. Quantitative finance is offered as a B.S. degree. The B.B.A. degree essentially requires the same general structure consisting of the four components shown below:

  • General Education component
  • B.B.A. core component
  • Major component
  • Electives (non-business electives and free electives)

General Education Component

General Education is required of all students regardless of their major or professional program. While much of the general education component of a student’s baccalaureate program is completed during the first two years of study, a student has four years to complete this component.

B.B.A. Core Component

B.B.A. majors must complete all of the B.B.A. core components as part of their degree program. The following courses comprise the B.B.A. Lower-Level Core Component:

COB 242. Managerial Accounting  (3 credits) 4,5

The following courses comprise the B.B.A. Upper-Level Core Component:

1 MATH 220  may be substituted for COB 191 .
2 COB 191  or equivalent and MATH 205  or equivalent are prerequisites for COB 291 .
3 Calculus is required but not used in calculating the B.B.A. core GPA.  MATH 235  is preferred for Finance majors. 
4 COB 241  must be taken before COB 242 .
5 COB 242   is a prerequisite or corequisite for COB 300 and is not used in calculating the B.B.A. core GPA. COB 242   is a prerequisite for COB 300 for students taking COB 300 in Antwerp.
6 All four COB 300 courses must be taken during the same semester.
7 COB 300 is a prerequisite or corequisite for COB 318 . COB 318  is a prerequisite for COB 487 .
8 COB 487  must be taken during the senior year.

Major Component

The seven B.B.A. academic majors offered by the College of Business consist of 24-33 credit hours. Students pursuing a B.B.A. degree may take major courses after being formally accepted into the college and after they have enrolled/completed COB 300. The major program component of the B.B.A. degree is designed to be completed in three traditional semesters after COB 300. Students should plan their course work with that timetable in mind.

Acceptance into the College of Business permits a student to enroll in COB 300 and to be formally accepted as a business B.B.A. major. However, some majors in the college may impose standards that exceed those of the college as a whole. A student must meet both the College of Business requirements and the requirements of the major in which he/she seeks to enroll. Refer to the appropriate sections of the catalog for specific degree requirements for the individual majors in the College of Business.

Non-business Elective Component

The B.B.A. degree requires a minimum of 120 credit hours of undergraduate course work. Fifty percent of this work, 60 credit hours, must be taken outside of the College of Business. In counting the 60 credit hours of non-business courses, B.B.A. students may include all hours taken in general education (usually 41), up to nine hours of economics courses (including ECON 200   and ECON 201 ) and three hours of COB 191 . The remaining hours, to bring the total to 60, must be taken from any academic unit outside the College of Business. Students should carefully select these non-business electives to help them gain additional knowledge and expertise for their careers and personal lives.

Recommended Course Sequence

In order to remain on a four-year graduation track, students should follow the recommended course sequence below:

Courses to be Completed During the First Year

1 MATH 220  may be substituted for COB 191 .

Courses to be Completed During the Sophomore Year

Progression Standards for the College of Business1

Any student admitted to JMU can declare any major offered by the College of Business. Students are not formally accepted into the College of Business until certain requirements are met. Requirements to continue pursuing a B.B.A. degree are described here.

Students are formally accepted into the College of Business as a B.B.A. major and permitted to register for COB 300 when the following requirements are met:

  • A completed application for acceptance into the College of Business is submitted to the COB Academic Success Center according to the following schedule:
    • November 1 for upcoming spring semester.
    • February 1 for upcoming summer session.
    • April 1 for upcoming fall semesters.
  • Successful completion with a GPA of 2.7 or better in the business course courses: COB 191 , COB 202 , COB 204 COB 241 COB 291 , ECON 200  and ECON 201 .
  • Successful completion of calculus.

No core course may be attempted more than two times. Attempted courses include courses in which a final letter grade, including “W,” “WP” and “WF,” is recorded on the student’s official JMU transcript.

Acceptance is granted within one calendar year of the applicant’s first application. Two applications, in consecutive semesters or sessions of enrollment, are permitted.

The B.B.A. core GPA is calculated using grades earned in the B.B.A. lower-level core excluding calculus (MATH 205  or MATH 235 ). Only grades earned at JMU will be used.

The university policy for calculating repeat-credit and repeat-forgive will be followed. Students with a 2.7 B.B.A. core GPA are assured acceptance into the College of Business and COB 300.

Students who fail to meet the standards described above will be denied acceptance into the College of Business and will be referred to Career and Academic Planning for assistance in choosing another major.

Consult with the major department for further progression requirements in the specific major.

1 Requirements to be accepted into the College of Business are effective based on when a student intends to enroll in COB 300. Students are advised to consult the College of Business Academic Success Center for current requirements.

Declaration of a Business Major

JMU students seeking to change/declare any major or minor in the College of Business (CoB) must be in “good standing”, meaning they must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher at the point they submit a change/declaration of major/minor request.  Students will follow the Office of the Registrar’s procedure for making such requests.  Students are expected to closely follow explicit department guidelines and deadlines for completing the process.

The CoB policy does not supersede acceptance standards of the College of Business for enrollment in COB 300 or junior-level courses in the CoB major programs.  And it does not supersede admission requirements for specific academic programs in the CoB.

Business as a Second Major

A student enrolled in any JMU degree program other than the B.B.A. program who wishes to select a B.B.A. major field (i.e., accounting, computer information systems, economics, finance, international business, management or marketing) as a second major must complete the following courses:

  • All B.B.A. core courses (refer to the B.B.A. core component section); and
  • All requirements specific to the major selected.

Transfer Credit Policy

Transfer of Lower-level Courses that are offered at Upper-level at JMU

The College of Business (CoB) normally does not award transfer credit for courses that were taken at the 100-200 level if those courses are offered at the 300-400 level at JMU.

Transfer of Courses Toward the Major

Each program in the CoB will accept no more than two courses of transfer credit toward the major except in extraordinary circumstances.  The major is defined as the course work required by a major field of study in addition to the lower and upper-level BBA core courses.  For a course to be considered for acceptance in the student’s major, it must have been completed in an AACSB International-accredited business program, or a similarly accredited program, at a four-year university.  Certain majors within the CoB may have more restrictive policies on transfer credit.

Limit on Business Course Transfers

Any student desiring to earn a BBA degree from the JMU CoB must complete at least fifty percent of the business credit hours required for the degree at JMU.  Required business credit hours include the BBA core and the courses required for the major.  The following BBA Core courses do not count toward meeting this requirement:  COB 191 ECON 200  and ECON 201 .

College of Business Minors and Concentrations

Programs

Courses

    College of Business