BBA Curriculum

Business Administration Curriculum Information

North Georgia College & State University

In order to receive a B.B.A. degree from North Georgia College & State University, each student must meet specific coursework requirements. These requirements are divided into four categories: the Core Curriculum (including a Wellness/PE requirement), the Common Professional Component, the major specific courses, and electives. The Core Curriculum is developed to meet the requirements established by The University System of Georgia and includes Areas A-F and Wellness/PE. The Common Professional Component consists of courses beyond the Core Curriculum that are required for all students completing a B.B.A. degree. The major - Accounting, Finance, Management, or Marketing - determines which seven courses make up the 21 semester hours of major specific courses. Elective hours (excluding Wellness and activity PE courses) are included to complete the required hours for graduation.

Additional information about the B.B.A. program is available in the current Undergraduate Bulletin. In addition, each NGCSU student who declares a major of Accounting, Finance, Management, or Marketing is assigned a faculty advisor through the Mike Cottrell School of Business.

Curriculum Updates

In order to continually improve the quality of the educational offerings and to develop better qualified graduates, curriculum requirements change from time to time. Consequently, students need to meet with their assigned academic advisor on a regular basis and take personal responsibility for understanding the educational requirements for the degree. Updates to the curriculum will be posted on this site.

Updates that will take effect Fall 2006

Includes New Marketing Major Requirements
and
Introduction of a Business Leadership Concentration

Updates adopted since the publication of the 2004-2006 Undergraduate Bulletin

Includes New Finance Major Courses
and
New Prerequisites for Marketing Courses

Current List of Course Prerequisites (pdf file)

Permission to Override Form (pdf file)

Updates to the 2002-2004 Undergraduate Bulletin

NOTE: Some of these changes DO apply to students admitted under this Bulletin.

Business Minor

To complete a minor in Business Administration, candidates must earn a grad of C or better in each of the following courses:

	ACCT 2101	Principles of Financial Accounting
	ECON 2106	Principles of Microeconomics
	FINC 3440	Principles of Finance
	MGMT 3661	Fundamentals of Management
	MKTG 3700	Principles of Marketing
3 additional hours of 3000-4000 level business courses approved by the Department Head and minor advisor.

B.B.A. Curriculum Overviews

A description of the upper division courses required for each major may be viewed by clicking the appropriate link below (pdf files). In addition to the course descriptions, these summaries provide information about specific course prerequisites and identify the courses where a grade of C or better is required. The total number of D's in the other courses listed may not exceed one.

Accounting	Finance	Management	Marketing
Undeclared Business (for students who know they want to work on a B.B.A. degree but have not yet selected a major)

All of the courses required for the B.B.A. degree are offered on the main campus in Dahlonega during the day. Even though all of the required courses are offered in Dahlonega at least once a year, some courses are not offered every semester. Therefore, students should pay close attention to the prerequisites for advanced courses. Anticipated course offerings are generally posted on Banner a year in advance.

In addition, NGCSU offers all junior and senior level courses required for the B.B.A. in the evening on the Gainesville State College campus. All courses included in the Common Professional Component are offered on the Gainesville campus at least once a year; but some major specific courses are only taught in Gainesville once every other year. NGCSU's Banner system uses section designations of GN, GNA, or GNB for sections taught on the Gainesville State College campus. Since the Gainesville Program is designed for part-time students, students should meet with the Gainesville Coordinator to ensure that prerequisites can be completed prior to attempting advanced courses. [NOTE: Students must be admitted to NGCSU to register for NGCSU courses taught in Gainesville.]

Long-term Plan for Course Offerings (pdf file)

Master Syllabi for Courses taught in Business Administration

Scheduling Grid showing class times (for use in planning a schedule)

Course Sequencing (Degree Maps)

Students enrolled in majors leading to a B.B.A. degree should sequence courses so that prerequisites are met and courses are planned for semesters when they are expected to be taught. It is possible to complete the B.B.A. degree in four years of full-time study on the main campus in Dahlonega. The following suggested sequence of courses provides some guidance.

"Degree Maps" Suggested Sequencing for Full-time Students
Using the "Old" Core Curriculum for students admitted prior to Fall 2007	Using the "New" Core Curriculum for students admitted Fall 2007 or later
Accounting Finance Management Marketing	Accounting Finance Management Marketing

Faculty advisors are available to help students who change majors, take less than a full-time load, or get off-sequence.

B.B.A. Plans of Study

The Plan of Study is a form that specifies the collection of courses taken to complete a degree. This form serves multiple purposes: as a planning document, as a method of documenting academic progress, and as an official communication between the student and the institution. Each student is required to file an official Plan of Study prior to completion of 90 semester hours. The completed official Plan of Study will include the signature of the student, the advisor, the department head, and the Registrar. Since the Plan of Study specifies which courses need to be completed in order to meet the requirements for the degree, students should consult with their advisor, the long-range planned schedules (posted in Banner), and the course prerequisites to sequence courses in order to avoid problems near their planned graduation date.

Copies of the Plan of Study forms are available by clicking the link below (pdf file). Effective Fall 2007 there are new Core Curriculum requirements for all students entering North Georgia. A complete Plan of Study consists of a front and a back. Select the appropriate link for each below. The left side of each page includes the requirements; the right side indicates the choices that satisfy the requirement and any prerequisites that must be met.

For students admitted prior to Fall 2007, the forms below include the same information that was contained on the old Plan of Study sheets in a different format. If an older form (for students graduation Spring 2007 or later) is already in the student's file, a new form does not need to be completed.

Front (Core)	Back (Advanced)
Admitted Summer 2007 or earlier Admitted Fall 2007 or later (Note: Students who have been away from NGCSU for more than 18 months are are readmitted Fall 2007 or later use the Fall 2007 front)	Accounting Major Finance Major Management Major Marketing Major Undecided Business

Course Prerequisites

In general advanced courses build on information from lower level courses. In some cases, a general level of experience is expected for advanced courses. For this reason, most 3000 and 4000 level business courses require students to successfully complete (grade of C or better) the accounting and economics courses in Area F prior to attempting the more advanced courses.

In other cases, mastery of information from specific courses is needed to understand more advanced topics. These courses are listed as additional prerequisites. For 3000 and 4000 level courses business administration courses (ACCT, BUSA, ECON, FINC, MGMT, and MKTG designations), students must earn a grade of C or better in the stated prerequisites.

When a student pre-registers for courses for an upcoming semester, Banner checks to make sure that prerequisites are either satisfied or in the process of being satisfied. Therefore, if a student is currently enrolled in a course that is required as a prerequisite for a course the student plans to take next, Banner will allow the student to register. Once grades are posted, the prerequisites will be reviewed again. Students who did not successfully complete the required prerequisites successfully will not be allowed to remain in the more advanced course(s) that require that prerequisite.

Course Prerequisites (pdf file)

Permission to Override Form (pdf file)

Grade Requirements

The university establishes the minimum allowable grade point average for satisfactory progress toward a degree as well as requirements for the number of D's that a student can include in the Plan of Study. These are published in the Undergraduate Bulletin.

In addition to the grade requirements set by the university, there are additional requirements for students earning a B.B.A. As indicated above, students must earn a C or better in Area F accounting and economics courses and in courses that serve as prerequisites to 3000 and 4000 level courses taught in Business Administration. Also, students must earn a C or better in BUSA 4995. Students may not earn more than one D in other Common Professional Component courses, and their grade point average in the combined Common Professional Component and major specific courses must be at least a 2.0.

Residency

Each student who earns a North Georgia College & State University B.B.A. degree must complete at least 30 semester hours at NGCSU. More than half of the required upper level business courses must be completed at NGCSU with at least 12 of these semester hours in the area that is specific to the major.

Graduation

Although we like calling you as one of our students, we would rather call you one of our graduates. Sometimes it may feel like you are in one of those complicated maze puzzles with no clear path from the start to the finish. To help navigate this maze, students should be familiar with the University Bulletin, regularly consult with their advisor, and check their NGCSU e-mail for announcements.

Checklist of some of the major stops on the way to graduation