School of Business

Undergraduate students seeking admission to the School of Business must first be admitted to the University as degree seeking students. Students must complete any High School Deficiencies and any Academic Development coursework required. Students must also complete their skills requirements and have the minimum grade point average (GPA) required for the program to which students are seeking admission. (Please see the chart below.) Students will not be admitted or declared into the School of Business until they have achieved these standards. Enrollment into 300- and 400-level Business courses is restricted to only those who are officially declared into a program in the School of Business.

Undergraduate students seeking admission to the School of Business must first be admitted to the University as degree seeking students. Students must complete any High School Deficiencies and any Academic Development course work required.

After completing the following courses with a grade of C or higher, students are then eligible to enter pre-business status. Academic advisors in the Academic Counseling and Advising Office in Peck Hall, room 1315, will code students as pre-business students.

• English 101 and 102
• Speech Communication 104 or 105
• Philosophy 106 or Math 106, and
• Computer Management and Information Systems 108

Students in the pre-business status will be advised and registered in the School of Business Student Services Office and will receive information regarding school functions and the application process.

Students must apply for full admission to a business program once they have completed the following courses with a grade of C or higher and earning at least a 2.25 grade point average in the prerequisite courses and have at least a 2.25 cumulative grade point average. Students seeking admission to the Accountancy or Computer Management and Information Systems programs must earn at least a 2.5 cumulative grade point average.

• English 101 and 102
• Applied Communication Studies 101
• Computer Management and Information Systems 108
• Economics 111 and 112
• Accounting 200
• Math 120
• Management Science 250

Students must complete and submit an application to the School of Business by the deadline listed below in order to receive full consideration.

Summer and Fall – March 1
Spring – October 1

Applications are reviewed by the Undergraduate Admissions Committee of the School of Business and students are notified of their status within 45 days of the application deadline for the term for which they are seeking admission.

Admission decisions will be based primarily on the student’s performance in college-level work and the required essay. Other factors that may be considered in the admission decision include, but are not limited to, courses taken, pattern and trend of grades, institutions attended, co-curricular activities, as well as career- or work-related experience. The School of Business intends to admit students who demonstrate the greatest likelihood of academic success while also ensuring the diversity of the student body.

Admission to School of Business programs is competitive, and not all students who apply to the School of Business will be admitted. Since the number of students being admitted depends on the capacity of the school, applicants cannot be guaranteed admission to the School of Business based on a given grade point average.

Transfer students will follow the application process described above and may contact the School of Business Student Services Office with questions regarding transferability and equivalency of business course work completed at other institutions. The School of Business accepts lower-division courses taken at other institutions only as lower-division (100- and 200-level) courses.

To graduate from the School of Business, undergraduate students must complete specific requirements for their major, and general education program. For the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree, students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.25 on a 4.0 scale. Students must also maintain an overall 2.25 GPA in all Business coursework. (Students completing the Business Administration degree with a specialization in MIS must have a 2.500 in their MIS courses and students completing the Economics specialization must have a 2.25 in their Economics courses.) Students seeking a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy must maintain a cumulative 2.50 GPA as well as a 2.25 GPA in their Business coursework and a 2.50 in their accounting core. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Management and Information Systems Majors must maintain a 2.25 cumulative GPA as well as a 2.25 GPA in their Business coursework and a 2.50 in the CMIS core. Students completing the Bachelor of Science in Business Economics and Finance must maintain a 2.25 cumulative GPA as well as a 2.25 in their Business coursework and their Economics and Finance courses. Please see the chart below.

Students must attend the first day of classes in order to ensure that they receive the full educational benefit of the course. Instructors actually begin teaching on the first day of classes and cover important administrative and academic material. Attendance at all sessions of a class is expected. Non-attendance at the first session could result in your place in class being given to another student.

When courses in the School of Business fill to the limit determined by the department, waitlists are activated in CougarNet. School of Business waitlists are reviewed weekly and students are moved into the vacant seats manually. Please note the following procedures which are being used regarding business courses with waitlists: When moving students from the waitlist into vacant seats, students who are not already enrolled in the course are given priority; students who have "holds" are skipped; students who are already enrolled in another section of the same course are skipped; students who are already at the maximum number of hours for the term are skipped; students who are moved in are notified by SIUE e-mail. We encourage students on waitlists to check their SIUE e-mail and their CougarNet schedule regularly to see if their registration has changed. If students do not become registered for a course or section for which they are waitlisted before the first day of classes, they may go to the first day of class to find out if the instructor will allow additional students into the course. If students have questions regarding waitlisting procedures or practices, they should contact their academic advisor.

Business students must practice professional standards in writing. To this end, all written assignments must meet minimal presentation standards to be acceptable. These standards address spelling, punctuation, format and basic grammar. The term Fatal Errors refers to technical English errors of form. Specifically they include the following:

• Each different word misspelled
• Each sentence fragment
• Each run-on sentence or comma splice
• Each mistake in capitalization
• Each serious error in punctuation that obscures meaning
• Each error in verb tense or subject/verb agreement
• Lack of conformity with assignment format
• Each improper citation, or lack of citation where one is needed

Papers with more than three fatal errors marked by an instructor on any one page, or more than a number specified by the instructor for the entire document, will be returned to the student and subject to a grading penalty as prescribed by the instructor. Instructors will determine the number of resubmissions allowed and the penalty attached to each resubmission. Penalties for final course papers (where there is no time for a resubmission) will be determined by the instructor and will be based on the relative importance of the assignment to the determination of the final course grade. This policy applies to all 200-level and above business courses.

Since the nature of written assignments will vary from course to course, please discuss writing expectations and other details on the application of this policy with each of your instructors.

The Undergraduate Student Request Form should be used to make any special requests including, but not limited to course substitutions, courses taken out of sequence or without prerequisites, transferred courses, permission to continue under probationary status, etc. Any applicable documentation should be attached to the completed form and returned to Business Student Services in Founders Hall, room 3301.

Students who are pursuing the Business Administration major are strongly encouraged to choose a specialization to complement their educational goals. Students who do not complete one of the available specializations and only wish to receive a broad business program will be required to complete four approved courses for what is called the General Business Administration specialization. Only students who intend to pursue the General Business Specialization should use this form to seek approval for their program of study. The form, after it is fully completed, should be returned to Business Student Services in Founders Hall, room 3301.

Students who wish to enroll in an independent study should use this form to gain the approval of the faculty sponsor and chairperson of the department. Once the form is complete with appropriate signatures, students should return the form to their academic advisor for registration.

Visiting students who intend to take business courses at SIUE to transfer back to their home institution must complete the Visiting Student Request form, have their advisor or program director’s consent and process the completed form through the Service Center in Rendleman Hall, room 1309.