BUS (Business, Business Administration)

BUS 200 Independent Study in Business Administration (1-4 hours)
This course provides the opportunity for an intense study of diverse topics under the direct supervision of the instructor. The student and instructor will collaborate to develop the content of the course, which must be approved as outlined by the Independent Study Policy.  (Sec. 6.15.)

BUS 215 Strategic Communication Practicum (4 hours)
This course allows students to apply knowledge about Public Relations and Marketing to develop and implement a campaign for a real client. Students will function as a Strategic Communications firm, taking on the roles that exist in the professional world. Students may take this class once at both the 215 & 415 level and both instances would count towards the COM or BUS major. Additional instances of the class would count as elective credits toward the overall degree (not the major). Prerequisite: COM 270 or one Marketing course. Cross-listed as COM 215.

BUS 240 Business Law I (4 hours)
This course provides an overview of the legal and ethical environment of business with special emphasis on the law of contracts, negotiable instruments, agency, sales and warranties, credit and secured transactions, intellectual property, business organizations, and on-line commerce. Cross-listed as ACC 240.

BUS 241 Business Law II (4 hours)
This course is a more in-depth study of current issues in the legal and ethical environment of business, including topics such as employment law, antitrust issues, and the social responsibility of business.  Prerequisite: BUS 240 or ACC 240. Cross-listed as ACC 241.

BUS 260 Principles of Management (4 hours)
This course is an introduction to the principles of management and emphasizes the four functions of a manager:  planning, organizing, leading and controlling.  Attention will also be given to an analysis of the firm’s external environment, the global marketplace, and current events in the business world.

BUS 275 Business Analytics (4 hours)
This course develops the principles and techniques that are required to enable you to turn data into actionable intelligence.  The course addresses how to ask a proper research question; how to formulate a hypothesis; how to gather the data needed to test your hypothesis; how to conduct a preliminary analysis of your data; how to create a predictive model; and how to communicate the results of your analysis. Excel is integrated throughout the course allowing students to enhance their Excel skills.

BUS 290 Special Topics in Business Administration (1-4 hours)
Courses of selected topics will be offered periodically as determined by the needs of the curriculum. Prerequisites can vary based on the topic selected. See individual course listings for each semester for the specific topic and any prerequisites.

Specifically, this Business course is an intense study of diverse business topics under the direct supervision of a business administration faculty member.

BUS 296 Student Investment Fund (2 hours)
Students will learn how to evaluate and differentiate among investment alternatives. Students will develop skills with multiple analytical techniques associated with building an investment portfolio. The student’s work in this course will result in actual investments into the live market. The experience is open to students from any academic background with no prior investment experience required. May be repeated for credit up to six hours.

BUS 310 Corporate Finance (4 hours)
This course studies the fundamentals of asset valuation.  This course addresses how to identify and measure the amount and timing of an asset’s expected future cash flows; how to select the appropriate risk-based discount rate; how to select the appropriate valuation approach or model; and how to compute a reasonable valuation.  Attention is given to fundamental financial concepts, techniques of financial analysis, time value of money and financial decision making under conditions of uncertainty. Prerequisites: ACC 230; and either (BUS 275 and ACC 231) or (MAT 345 and CSC 180).

BUS 325 Advanced Business Analytics (4 hours)
This course provides the foundations for true quantitative business analysis.  We will learn to use a proper analytic workflow; get real data into an analytical program; transform and wrangle the data into a usable form; explore the data with visualization and predictive modeling; and communicate results.  Prerequisite: BUS 275.

BUS 350 Marketing (4 hours)
This course is an introduction to the discipline and function of marketing in its role of bringing customers and organizations together via the creations, communication and distribution of value.   It will examine broad principles and concepts involved in market planning, market segmentation, consumer behavior, product management and pricing, distribution and promotion of goods and services. Aspects of global marketing, current marketing topics and ethical and social responsibility issues in marketing are addressed. Students are introduced to the case study method as a means of enhancing their critical thinking skills in the field of marketing. Prerequisite: Junior standing.

BUS 351 Retailing (4 hours)
This course is designed to acquaint the student with one aspect of the marketing activity of distribution known as retailing. The course will examine all the activities necessary to sell goods and services to the final consumer. This will include an examination of such retail topics as consumer markets and behavior, retail site location, retail store operations both traditional and online, management, pricing and communication decisions, merchandising, decision analysis and evaluation and the regulatory, technological and ethical environments in which retailing operates. Prerequisite: BUS 350.

BUS 352 Marketing Communications (4 hours)
Principles, concepts and practices relating to the various kinds of communications employed to disseminate information about products and services to potential buyers are topics in this course. Communication methods to be studied include traditional as well as non-traditional advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations. The behavioral aspects of both messages and media will be explored. The course is designed to be both theoretical and applied through group projects for actual for-profit and not-for-profit firms. Prerequisite: BUS 350.

BUS 355 Data Visualization (4 hours)
This course focuses on how to use art and science to turn data into easily consumable information by exploring how to design and create data visualizations.  This involves evaluating the effectiveness of visualizations in order to develop best practices with regard to designing, organizing raw data, and creating data visualizations.  Prerequisite: BUS 275.

BUS 360 Leadership and Power in Business (4 hours)
One of the most popular subjects in the field of management is leadership.  At the macro level, leadership plays a critical role in the success of the organization.  At the micro level, the debate continues as to whether leaders are born or made.  This course will explore both macro and micro issues of leadership through a review of leadership research as well as the study of current business leaders. Prerequisite:  BUS260.

BUS 362 Human Resources Management (4 hours)
Students will learn about the opportunities and challenges of human resources management (HRM) within the context of an emerging global economy.  Traditional HRM topics such as HR planning, recruitment, selection, training, and compensation will be covered.  Students will explore HR from both the employer and employee perspective. Prerequisite:  BUS260.

BUS 370 International Business (4 hours)
This course is designed to acquaint the student with the problems encountered in conducting business outside one’s own country and to provide a basis for evaluating the impact on business activities of changing economic, political and cultural factors. Cases will be used throughout the course to give the student experience with the problems and advantages of doing business across national frontiers. Current topics in international business will be used to highlight business challenges and institutional decision making in an international setting. Prerequisite: BUS 260.

BUS 375 International Marketing (4 hours)
The course will aid in the development of a global perspective and understanding of the marketing process along with the challenges faced by multi-national corporations in the 21st century.

BUS 380 Operations Management (4 hours)
This course familiarizes the student with the application of business skills and problem-solving skills in the context of management of the operations of the corporation.  We examine operations in factory, retail, and service environments and focus on key operational decisions driving process, capacity, layout, quality, and production planning choices.  Prerequisites:  BUS 260 and BUS 275.

BUS 382 Management-Labor Relations (4 hours)
This course will explore the dynamic relationship between management and organized labor beginning with the history of the U.S. labor movement.  Other topics to be covered include labor legislation, labor organizing, collective bargaining, and grievance arbitration.  Emphasis will be on the impact organized labor has had on the workplace.  Prerequisite:  BUS260.

BUS 400 Advanced Independent Study in Business Administration (1-4 hours)
This course provides the opportunity for an advanced, intense study of diverse topics under the direct supervision of the instructor. These offerings are generally suited for junior or senior students. The student and instructor will collaborate to develop the content of the course, which must be approved as outlined by the Independent Study Policy.  (Sec. 6.15.)

BUS 410 Advanced Corporate Finance (4 hours)
This course does a deep dive on asset valuation approaches.  The course features scholarly and investment analyst report readings.  Students will use Excel to model valuation fundamentals in a multi-period analysis, including “what-if” scenario analysis.  Readings and case studies will be used to emphasize actual business situations and to focus on the management of the firm.  Prerequisite: BUS 310.

BUS 411 Investments (4 hours)
This course is an introduction to financial investments with a focus on stocks and bonds.  Other investment vehicles will be discussed.  Students will use Excel to construct and manage investment portfolios.  Topics explored will include the risk-return trade-off using modern portfolio theory, the capital asset pricing model, single- and multi-stage discounted cash flow models, country and other idiosyncratic risks, and performance measurement and attribution. Prerequisite: BUS 310. Cross-listed as ACC 411.

BUS 415 Strategic Communication Practicum (4 hours)
This course allows students to apply knowledge about Public Relations and Marketing to develop and implement a campaign for a real client. Students will function as a Strategic Communications firm, taking on the roles that exist in the professional world. Students may take this class once at both the 215 & 415 level and both instances would count towards the COM or BUS major. Additional instances of the class would count as elective credits toward the overall degree (not the major). Cross-listed as COM 415. Prerequisite: COM 270 or one Marketing course.

BUS 419 Management Science (4 hours)
This course is an introduction to operations research, model building, optimization, linear programming, inventory models and simulation. Major techniques and models of quantitative analysis as applied to business are studied. Prerequisites: BUS 275.

BUS 450 Consumer Behavior (4 hours)
This course draws upon the fields of economics, marketing, psychology and sociology to enable students to develop an understanding of how individuals and organizations select, secure, use and dispose of products. Students will explore key aspects of consumer behavior including attitude formation, group influence, problem recognition, information search, brand evaluation, purchase and post purchase behavior.  Important explanatory models and theories relevant to each of these topics are covered.  Secondary information sources and databases are used to explore consumer behavior relative to a product/service category to produce original research with a goal of uncovering insights into category users and usage. Ethical, legal and international aspects of consumer behavior are explored. Prerequisite: BUS 350.

BUS 451 Direct and Interactive Marketing (4 hours)
This course is designed to introduce the student to the specialized field of interactive marketing which uses all media to affect a measurable consumer response. Topics include direct marketing planning, mailing lists and databases, media selection, techniques for creating and producing direct response campaigns, internet and digital marketing, mobile marketing and managing the interactive marketing operation. Client projects are also a key aspect of the course. Prerequisite: BUS 350.

BUS 456 Marketing Research (4 hours)
This course is designed to explore topics such as major qualitative and quantitative methods, research planning and design, questionnaire construction, sampling, data collection methods, data analysis and preparation and presentation of research findings. Prerequisites: BUS 275 and BUS 350.

BUS 460 Marketing Strategy (4 hours)
This course provides an experiential approach to marketing strategy using case analysis, review of key marketing concepts and working with actual clients on developing marketing plans for their businesses.  Working with Career Development and other resources, student groups are matched with various for-profit and not-for-profit firms that request marketing plans.  Prerequisites:  BUS 275 and BUS 350.

BUS 462 Recruitment and Selection (4 hours)
This course will cover the information and skills needed to develop and implement an effective employee selection program.  Topics include selection measures such as predictors (for example, background information, interviews, and employment tests), criteria (for example, work sample data and personnel data), validity and reliability of selection measures.  Legal and ethical issues are discussed throughout.  Prerequisite:  BUS362.

BUS 469 Strategic Management (4 hours)
Strategic management in domestic and international organizations. This course is the capstone integration course for the business program. Students learn strategic management tools and will learn to exercise integrative management skills in a competitive operating environment. This course must be taken in residence in order to fulfill the requirements for a degree in this major. Prerequisites: BUS 260, BUS 310, BUS 350, ACC 231.

BUS 490 Advanced Special Topics in Business Administration (1-4 hours)
Advanced courses of selected topics will be offered periodically as determined by the needs of the curriculum. These offerings are generally suited for junior or senior students. Prerequisites can vary based on the topic selected. See individual course listings for each semester for the specific topic and any prerequisites.

BUS 495 Internship in Business Administration (1-12 hours)
An internship designed to provide a formalized experiential learning opportunity to qualified students. The internship generally requires the student to have an application (which satisfies all internship requirements developed by the academic program that oversees the internship) and to obtain a faculty supervisor in the relevant field of study. All internships are graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis. Prerequisites are determined by the academic program overseeing the internship course.

Specifically, a Business internship is designed to provide a formalized experiential learning opportunity to qualified students. The internship requires the student to obtain a faculty supervisor in the relevant field of study, submit a learning agreement which includes 3-4 learning objectives, work 30 hours for every hour of academic credit, keep a reflective journal of the internship experience, have regularly scheduled meetings with the faculty supervisor, submit a professional resume, write a research paper dealing with some aspect of the internship (length of paper dependent on number of academic credits attempted), and deliver a presentation of the student’s internship experience at the end of the semester. Graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis. Prerequisites:  See Internship Requirements block below.

Internship Requirements

Hours worked per credit hour: 30
Learning objectives: Required
Reflective journal: Required (guiding questions to be provided)
Resume: Required
Presentation: Required*

Academic Writing

  • 5 pages for 1-4 credits
  • 10 pages for 5-8 credits
  • 15 pages for 9-12 credits
  • NOTE: Work Product in lieu of Academic Writing requirement is not acceptable.

Approvals

  • Career Development
  • Internship’s Faculty Supervisor
  • Student’s Academic Advisor

*Summer and Fall internships will be presented on the afternoon of the last Friday of the Fall Semester. Spring internships will be presented as a part of LASS, date given in each Spring academic calendar on the website.)