Disciplines Within the Business Unit

School of Accountancy
Department of Computer Information Systems
Department of Finance and General Business
Department of Management
Department of Marketing 

The business unit is fully accredited by AACSB-International, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

Disciplines Outside the Business Unit

Department of Technology and Construction Management 

The Department's Technology Management program is accredited by the National Association of Industrial Technology (NAIT), and the Construction Management program is accredited by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE).

College of Business Administration Vision, Mission, and Value Statements

Vision

The College of Business Administration at Missouri State University seeks to be recognized as one of the leading Colleges of Business in the state of Missouri and in the United States. 

Mission

The College of Business Administration is committed to effectively developing educated persons in business disciplines with a broad understanding of public affairs, by providing students with knowledge, skills and values to succeed and adapt in a global economy, by encouraging faculty to engage in intellectual contributions and convey the results to the wider academic and business community, and by building effective partnerships with global institutions, industry, the public and our colleagues. 

Shared Values and Guiding Principles

• We value ethical behavior. We believe in consistently practicing honesty and professional ethics in all aspects of the work we do. We believe it is extremely important to promote ethical behavior in our students, faculty, administrators and staff.
• We value our students. We believe in providing a high quality educational environment that facilitates learning through students' interactions with faculty, staff and administrators. We believe it is important to instill a commitment to lifelong learning in our students.
• We value our faculty, staff and administrators. We believe in nurturing and supporting a collegial environment for faculty, staff and administrators that is supportive of our individual and collective educational efforts. While we recognize, support and applaud differing viewpoints, we strive to maintain a decision-making process that considers alternative views before decisions are made.
• We value our research endeavors. We believe our scholarship should be directed at discovery of new ideas and applying knowledge to support improvement in business.
• We value our community and our region. We believe in developing programs that support our community and region. As the largest college of business administration in the region and as a state-supported institution, we strive to provide organizations with serious, well-prepared students and to make available various support functions to help businesses to be more successful in their dynamic environments.
• We value continuous improvement. We believe in individual and collective efforts that support the College mission; we will strive for continuous improvement. By committing to continuous improvement over time, we will take areas that need attention and ultimately make them strengths, and take existing strengths and further increase the College's points of differential advantage.

Center for Business and Economic Development

The Center for Business and Economic Development was established in 1981 and is the outreach arm of the College of Business Administration, and as such, its activities are primarily aimed at helping public and private sector entities improve their management abilities, and help create and retain job opportunities for American workers. The efforts of the Center are primarily handled through the following programs: 

The Small Business Development Center provides general management and technical assistance to small enterprises in southwest and south central Missouri. It also has a state-wide mission in the area of international business and is a satellite office of the World Trade Center in St. Louis. Counseling is offered in strategic planning, market research, cash flow analysis, procurement, exporting, and a variety of other areas. Center offices are located on both the Springfield and West Plains campuses.

The Management Development Institute provides a broad base of noncredit programs and seminars in such areas as management, supervision, human resources, strategic planning, and many other business areas. Professional certification programs and special in-house training programs are also provided for both public and private sector organizations.

The Center for Industrial Productivity is dedicated to assisting business and industry in research, development of new manufacturing technologies, and training of professionals involved in manufacturing. The primary objective of the Center is to support area business and industry in their pursuit of manufacturing excellence in their management practices, application of new technologies, and efforts to remain competitive in the global market place.

Graduate Programs

A Master of Business Administration degree is administered by the College of Business Administration. Additional graduate programs are offered through the academic departments/school in the College of Business Administration. See the department sections of this catalog and the Graduate Catalog for details. 

Accelerated Master of Business Administration degree

Eligible undergraduate students majoring in the College of Business Administration may apply for preliminary acceptance into the Master of Business Administration degree program during the second semester of their junior year after admission requirements for the accelerated masters program have been satisfied. If approved, up to six hours of graduate level COBA courses taken in the senior year may be designated as "mixed credit" and counted toward both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs. See the Graduate Catalog or contact the MBA program director for further information and guidelines. 

For courses to be designated as Mixed Credit, the graduate advisor, undergraduate department head, and Graduate College dean must approve by signing the Permission for Mixed Credit form. This form must be provided to the Office of the Registrar in Carrington Hall 320 no later than the end of the Change of Schedule Period for the semester. 

Business Advisement Center

The Business Advisement Center at Missouri State University provides academic advisement to students majoring in all six departments within the College of Business Advisement. A staff of professional advisors provides a full range of services including information sessions for prospective students, freshman orientation, degree program admission, and graduation checks. For an appointment or more information contact the Business Advisement Center, 106 Glass Hall, (417) 836-5386, or email BusinessAdvisement@missouristate.edu. 

Admission and Program Requirements

Applicable to all majors within the business units of the College of Business Administration. Majors in the Department of Technology and Construction Management are excluded from these requirements.

Admission Requirements

(Not applicable to majors in the Department of Technology and Construction Management)

All students who plan to apply for admission to the College of Business Administration should declare a major in one of the five departments within the business unit of the College upon admission to the University and seek enrollment advice through the Business Advisement Center. 

Students in good standing are eligible to be considered for admission to a specific degree program in the College of Business Administration upon the completion of at least 54 hours including at least ten of the following preparation courses. Up to two of the twelve courses listed may be completed during the semester of admission; however, students should make every effort to complete all of the preparation courses prior to admission.  

Students majoring in Computer Information Systems are required to meet additional admission requirements. See the Department of Computer Information Systems section of catalog for details. 

Courses required for admission:

1. Accounting, ACC 201 and 211, or ACC 206 (4-6 hours)
2. Computers for Learning, CIS 101* or CSC 101*(0-2 hours)
3. Public Speaking, COM 115 (3 hours)
4. Economics, ECO 155 and ECO 165 (6 hours)
5. Writing I, ENG 110 (3 hours)
6. Business Communications, MGT 286 (3 hours)
7. Mathematics, MTH 135 or Higher** (3-5 hours)
8. Psychology, PSY 121 (3 hours)
9. Business Statistics, QBA 237 (3 hours)
10. Legal Environment of Business, RIL 231 (3 hours)

*May be waived by proficiency exam

**Excluding MTH 130(previous number-MTH 145) 

Admission decisions will be determined by applicants' combined (Missouri State plus transfer) grade point averages. The intent of the College of Business Administration is to limit admissions to a total of 2,000 majors at the combined junior and senior levels. However, all applicants whose combined grade point average is 2.50 or higher will be admitted. Factors in addition to grade point average may be considered in unusual cases, but exceptions to the prevailing minimum grade point average will be limited to five percent of the 2,000 majors at the combined junior and senior levels. 

Special Procedural Information

Students must gain admission to the College by that semester in which they have earned a total of 60 semester hours of college credit (including transfer credit). Students who do not gain admission as expected are subject to being dropped as business majors and will not be permitted to register for the following semester without special permission. Students should contact the College of Business Administration Advisement Center regarding the granting of special permission to register. Business (and undeclared) majors cannot be enrolled in upper-division business courses until their degree program has been finalized. Business (and undeclared) majors who have enrolled in upper-division business courses without having met all admission requirements (or without having met all of the specific course prerequisites) will be dropped from those courses. 

Program Requirements

(Not applicable to majors in the Department of Technology and Construction Management)

In addition to the general education and general baccalaureate degree requirements, all Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Science in Education degree candidates in the College of Business Administration must meet the following requirements for graduation.

A.      Grade Point Average

All business majors must have a 2.50 or higher grade point average at the time of graduation for all upper-division College of Business Administration courses attempted at Missouri State University. 

B.       COBA Core Requirements

1. ACC 201 and ACC 211, or ACC 206 (4-6 hours)
2. CIS 201 (2 hours)
3. ECO 155* and ECO 165 (6 hours)
4. FGB 380 (3 hours)
5. MGT 286, MGT 340, and MGT 487 (9 hours)
6. MKT 350 (3 hours)
7. PSY 121* (3 hours)
8. QBA 237 (3 hours)
9. RIL 231 and RIL 332 (4 hours)
10. ACC 341 (Accounting majors) or CIS 461(Computer Information Systems majors) or CIS 429 (all other majors) (3 hours)
11. MGT 364 or MKT 450 (Marketing majors) or MGT 364 (all other majors) (3 hours)

*May also be used toward general education requirements. 

C.       Globalization Requirements

All business majors are required to complete six hours of Globalization Requirements. The College of Business Administration strongly encourages students to complete six hours from one foreign language to complete the Globalization Requirement.

1. Foreign Language Courses: ARB, CHI, FRN, GRK, GRM, HBW, ITL, JPN, LTN, PTG, RUS, SPN
2. Foreign Culture Courses: ANT 100, 226, 320, 330, 335; ECO 346, 565; ENG 341, 361; GRY 100, 308, 320, 321, 323; HST 200, 340, 350, 355, 381, 556, 559, 561;LLT 215, 225, 321, 325, 326; MCL 303; MUS 239*; PLS 205, 232, 339, 343, 345, 348, 544, 545; REL 210*, 330, 350; SOC 150. *May also be used toward general education requirements.
3. Approved International Study Courses
4. Business Courses: only one of the following may count toward the globalization requirement - ACC 506, FGB 582, MGT 447, MKT 464, MKT 474, RIL 539

D.      Recommendation for Course Work Outside COBA
It is recommended that all business majors complete at least 50% of the hours required for graduation outside the College of Business Administration. For purposes of this recommendation, the following courses may be counted as hours outside of COBA: CIS 101, QBA 237 and 337, and all courses offered in the Department of Technology and Construction Management.

E.       Other Requirements

A minimum of 12 credit hours not counted as requirements on any other major or minor, and exclusive of "problems" and "readings" courses, is required for the completion of any additional major in business. A minimum of 9 credit hours not counted as requirements on any major or other minor, and exclusive of "problems" and "readings" courses, is required for the completion of any minor in business. 

Transfer Credit Validation Requirements

Students who plan to begin work at a community college or another four-year institution and later transfer to Missouri State should take only those lower-division courses in business numbered 1 through 299. Upper-division courses taught in the junior and senior years at Missouri State are numbered 300 or higher and should not be completed at a two-year college for transfer credit in the business core or major program area of specialization at Missouri State. If similar courses are taken at the lower-division level at a community college or a four-year institution, validation through additional course work or testing will be required. Validation by exam must be completed within the semester of admission. Validation by additional course work must be requested in the Business Advisement Center the semester of transfer and must be completed within one year. Courses taken at any level must be approved by the appropriate department as equivalent to an upper-division course in the College of Business Administration. 

Residence Requirement for Transfer Students

At least 50 percent of the College of Business Administration credit hours required for a business degree must be earned from the Missouri State University Springfield campus. 

Sequencing of Courses

The College of Business Administration has established an appropriate sequencing of courses in addition to specified course prerequisites. Additional information about course prerequisites and sequencing of classes is available in the COBA Advisement Center, Glass Hall, room 106. The sequencing of courses and course prerequisites are enforced by computerized prerequisite checks. 

High School Preparation

Students entering the College of Business Administration are expected to have computer keyboarding skills and an understanding of the accounting cycle. These skills may be acquired by taking keyboarding/typewriting and accounting. Students who enter the College of Business Administration with an understanding of computer concepts, knowledge of common software used, and BASIC programming skills may waive CIS 101 by a proficiency examination. 

Enrollment by Non-Business Students

Students seeking degrees outside the College of Business Administration, including majors in the Department of Technology and Construction Management, cannot exceed 31 hours of business courses (25% of the 125 hours required for graduation) unless all admission requirements to the College of Business Administration have been met. All exceptions must have the written approval of the Dean of the College of Business Administration. Students found to be in violation of this policy will be dropped from all courses exceeding the maximum number of business course hours.