Bachelor of Science in Business

The undergraduate degree programs provide opportunities for breadth of education as well as for a reasonable amount of specialization. As a member of AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, IU South Bend’s Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics subscribes to the principle that a significant portion of a student’s academic program should center in general-education subjects.

The general-education aspects of the degree program are then complemented by study in the basic areas of business administration. The application of this principle ensures the planning of balanced study programs and, at the same time, enables a student with an interest in one or another professional area of business to specialize in that field.

In addition, all undergraduate study programs include courses that ensure the development of a basic understanding of the principles and practices involved in the management of business firms in the dynamic, social, and political environment of the world today.

Consideration is also given to basic trends of development that are likely to shape the patterns of the world in the years ahead. Beyond these basic requirements, students are given an opportunity to pursue studies in a general program or to select a major from a wide variety of subject areas.

Upon admission to senior standing, the student enjoys a number of privileges and opportunities. The range of elective courses is wider than at any other stage of the program. Special opportunities are provided for discussion and counseling with senior members of the faculty. Courses on this level assure widespread participation by students in the discussion and solution of cases, projects, and special problems drawn from the contemporary business scene. Also, seniors typically hold responsible offices in professional student organizations, affording them unusual extracurricular opportunities for development.

The course BUS-X 310 Business Career Planning and Placement prepares students for transition to the world of business and helps them locate and select employment opportunities that hold greatest promise for them.
The study program does not end with graduation. In recognition of the importance of continuing education beyond the classroom and after completion of formal courses, the school’s faculty encourages all seniors to pursue a program of guided reading and general development following graduation.

Undergraduate students in the school may pursue curricula in:

• A general degree program
• Specialized subject-matter fields
• Combined programs based on selected courses in the school and in various other academic programs of the university

Admission

Students eligible to apply for admission to the undergraduate business degree program in the Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics must:

• Have completed a minimum of 60 credit hours that count toward graduation on the college level either at IU South Bend or elsewhere (have completed their freshman and sophomore years)
• Have earned a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 2.0 over all courses taken (averages are computed on the basis of all course enrollments in which grades A, B, C, D, and F were awarded; all WF and FN grades are counted as F in determining the grade point average)
• Have completed the following courses (or their equivalents) either at IU South Bend or elsewhere with a minimum grade point average of 2.0 (C) and a minimum grade of C in any of those courses marked with an asterisk (*)

• BUS-A 201 Introduction to Financial Accounting*
• BUS-A 202 Introduction to Managerial Accounting*
• BUS-B 190 Human Behavior and Social Institutions*
  VT: Principles of Business Administration
• BUS-F 151 Personal Finances of the College Student*
• BUS-K 201 The Computer in Business*
• BUS-L 201 Legal Environment of Business*
• BUS-X 220 Career Perspectives*
• ECON-E 103 Introduction to Microeconomics*
• ECON-E 104 Introduction to Macroeconomics*
• ECON-E 270 Introduction to Statistical Theory in Economics and Business*
• ENG-W 131 Reading, Writing, and Inquiry I*
• ENG-W 232 Introduction to Business Writing*
• MATH-M 118 Finite Mathematics*
• MATH-M 119 Brief Survey of Calculus 1*
• SPCH-S 121 Public Speaking

Eligibility for Enrollment in Business and Economics Courses Numbered 301 and Above

Business and economics courses numbered 301 and above are offered only to students who meet one of the following criteria:

• Students officially certified to the Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics as Bachelor of Science degree majors (provided the student has accomplished a minimum of 60 credit hours, junior-class standing)
• Students officially registered in the minor in business (provided the student has accomplished a minimum of 60 credit hours, junior-class standing)
• Students registered for other university programs that specifically require upper-division business or economics courses (provided the student has accomplished a minimum of 60 credit hours, junior-class standing)
• Other students who have obtained specific permission from the Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics (provided the student has accomplished a minimum of 60 credit hours, junior-class standing)

Freshmen, sophomores, and prebusiness students are not permitted to enroll in business and economics courses numbered 300 or above.

Enrollment Restriction

No undergraduate student, except those who declare business as their major, is allowed to take more than 23 percent of their coursework credit in business courses under any circumstances. The undergraduate business program has the responsibility of monitoring the implementation of this requirement. Any minor in business is subject to approval by the undergraduate business and economics program office.

Transfer Credit Policy

Students of approved colleges who transfer to undergraduate study in the Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics must take the courses required in the freshman and sophomore years by the Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics if they have not had equivalent courses in the school from which they transfer.

Courses taken at other institutions that appear similar in either title or objective to the 300- or 400-level (junior and senior) courses offered by the Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics are transferred as undistributed electives and are not regarded as equivalent unless at least one of the following validation processes is performed:

• Completion of a course review with documented evaluation of the content, level, method of instruction, objectives, etc., used in the course(s) validated. The evaluation must be performed by an appropriate member of the school’s faculty; or
• Successful completion of an examination based upon the material covered in that course.

At least one of the validation processes must be completed and documented before any administrative action can be taken to officially equate a transferred course with a course offered by the school.

The validation process can be completed prior to a student’s certifying to the school; but no actual transfer course equivalency can be effected until after the student has officially certified to the school.

The validation process cannot take place prior to receipt of an official IU South Bend credit transfer report or if the student is registered in a course offered by another institution.

Courses in advanced business subjects (not open to freshmen and sophomores) which have been taken at other institutions in the freshman and sophomore years, are not accepted as equivalents of the courses offered at Indiana University unless the student passes special examinations of the Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics in such subjects. Additionally, courses in advanced business subjects (not open to freshmen and sophomores) which have been taken at two-year institutions, are not accepted as equivalents of the courses offered at IU South Bend.

Credit hours earned through junior and community colleges are limited to a maximum of 60 credit hours.

Only credit hours earned at Indiana University count toward a student’s grade point average. Grades from other universities transfer as credit only, although transfer grades appear on the credit transfer report. The school accepts transfer students as late as the senior year.

Student’s Responsibility­­

All colleges establish certain academic requirements that must be met before a degree is granted. Advisors, directors, and deans always help a student meet these requirements; but each student is individually responsible for fulfilling them. If requirements are not satisfied, the degree is withheld pending adequate fulfillment. For this reason, it is important for each student to be well acquainted with all requirements described in this publication.

Photo credit | Teresa Sheppard

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