Averett University Undergraduate Catalog

 

Master of Business Administration - Admissions Requirements

  • A baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
  • Transcripts from all regionally accredited institutions attended.
  • A cummulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) over the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate study toward a baccalaureate degree. Students who are below a 3.0 GPA may be considered for admission by the Graduate Admissions Committee. If accepted, the student must earn a grade no lower than a “B” in each of the first four courses (excluding IDS 301).
  • Three years of full-time work experience.
  • Three letters of recommendation from persons qualified to judge the applicant’s character, professional capabilities and capacity to complete study at the master’s level. (The person must not be a relative or friend. At least one letter must be from a current or previous supervisor.)
  • Submission of current résumé, including months and years of employment.
  • Students whose native languages are not English must have a minimum score of 250 (computer-based), 600 (paper-based) or 100 (Internet-based) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

  • Completion of the 41-credit core curriculum
  • Completion of IDS 301
  • Maintenance of a minimum 3.0 GPA throughout the graduate program
  • Payment of all tuition and fees, including the $100 graduation fee
  • Completion of degree requirements within six years from the start of the student’s program

Course Descriptions

Number Title Credits Description
BSA 504 Contemporary Issues of Human Resource Management 3 This course is a study of the contemporary issues facing managers. While the course will draw heavily on the field of human resource management, it is meant not just for HRM practitioners but also for managers and future managers in their dealings with their human resources. Although, presuming students have a fundamental awareness of the field, it will provide sufficient reading material for those who do not. It is designed as a readings course, interspersed with cases and experiential exercises designed to promote understanding. In addition to assigned readings, students are asked to regularly report on outside readings from the business press that support or amplify concepts and issues discussed in class. As a contemporary issues course, it is expected to evolve as the issues evolve.
BSA 518 Business Research Methods and Applications 4 This course prepares students to understand, perform and interpret business research within an organizational setting. The course will discuss the role of business research within a business enterprise, the various methodologies and processes used to analyze a research problem, and the application of scientific methods in business. Specifically, students will learn about research problem definition, data types, sampling, data collection, observation, survey and experimental research and the applications of research design and statistical techniques (to include hypothesis testing, correlation, regression analysis, chi-square and analysis of variance). Students will discuss how managers apply the scientific method to business decision-making and how managers utilize the findings of research performed by others. The course will culminate with a research project, which demonstrates the application of the scientific method to a real world, business-related issue.
BSA 522 Comprehensive Managerial Accounting 4 A course designed to integrate the general accounting principles of financial and managerial accounting techniques and uses of accounting from a management perspective with graduate level instruction. Focus is on using accounting information to help the student develop an understanding of how certain accounting data are used in the management planning and control processes. Emphasis will be given to the preparation and analysis of financial accounting managerial reports, costing methods, standards, and systems of planning and control. The course design uses case studies integration so students can focus on how managers can better manage because of what accountants do, and how managers can use the accounting information system more effectively.
BSA 523 Operations Management and Analysis 4 This course will study both the quantitative techniques of operations research and decision science as well as the concepts and techniques related to the design, planning, control and improvement of manufacturing and service operations. Analytical methods for solving management problems, construction of mathematical models and advanced quantitative decision techniques will be used for solving operational problems in manufacturing and service operations. The focus of this course will be on the application and interpretation of these analytical techniques and solutions. Prerequisite: BSA 518.
BSA 529 Marketing Strategies 3 A study of advanced marketing management, both domestically and internationally. Product, price, promotion, and distribution concepts and issues will be analyzed through case studies and practical exercises. The importance of quality and customer service will be stressed. The global, legal, social, technical, economic, and competitive environments of marketing will also be studied.
BSA 532 Organizational Behavior 3 This course is a study of organizational behavior and its application to the understanding and development of an effective workforce. The course examines individual behavior, group behavior, and finally the organization system. Further, each workshop focuses special attention on the skills that managers demonstrate in developing positive relationships with—and motivating others — in the organization and in attaining personal success. The course is concerned with both organizational and management theories as well as practice. The workshops are geared to provide students with an opportunity to experience behaviors reminiscent of actual situations faced on the job. These situational experiences are related to a series of readings and class discussions that summarize the relevant theory and provide practical skills and information.
BSA 535 Legal Aspects 3 A review of the legal and ethical issues directly affecting practicing managers in the organizational structures, regulatory environments, and societal expectations encountered today. Beginning with a review of the American legal system, and a framework for ethical decision making, the course focuses on the major areas of management where management decision making and commercial activities are proscribed by the expectations and regulations of society.
BSA 538 Contemporary Issues in Leadership 3 A critical review of current thinking with regard to the application of leadership and followership principles. Current theories will be discussed with a focus on their relevance within an organizational setting. Students will conduct relevant research that applies to their own workplace. The distinction between the concepts of leadership and management will be explored with an emphasis on leadership values, skills, and knowledge needed for success within everyday work settings. During the course, student study teams will arrange for guest speakers who hold leadership roles within the community.
BSA 542 Advanced Managerial Economics 4 Managerial economics is the study of the synthesis of economic theory, decision sciences, and various fields of business administration studies. Managerial economics examines how these disciplines interact as the domestic or international firm’s attempts to reach optimal managerial decisions. This course examines how these disciplines interact. This includes integration of economic theory and methodology with analytical tools for application to decision making about the efficient allocation of scarce resources in public and private institutions. This course offers a rigorous treatment of economic theory and analysis with a focus on the techniques that make it useful for the decision-making process. Examples, cases discussions, questions, problems, and articles are used to illustrate the application of theory to a variety of real-world decision situations. Due to the increasing importance of international trade in the United States, illustrations and cases related to international concerns are covered in this course. Graphical tools, mathematics and statistics, short case problems, and a microcomputer approach are introduced to assist the student in gaining greater insight regarding economic relationships when actually employing economic theories in the decision-making process. Prerequisite: BSA 518.
BSA 545 International Business 3 An introduction to the opportunities and constraints posed by the expanding business environment. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following: An overview of the global economy, a discussion of trading blocs, a review of legalities/trade regulations and cooperative working arrangements, financing and currency exchange, the significance of cultural/regional/political influences, and international trade theories and guiding principles.
BSA 554 Comprehensive Financial Management 4 The major focus of the course is how to determine the optimum cost of capital, the theoretical solution for maximizing stockholder wealth. Key topics include interest rate structures in the economy, bond valuations, several ways of determining required rates of return for common stockholders, and preferred stock required rates of return. This course includes a major study team project to determine the optimum cost of capital for a major corporation, with team presentations during the last class period. Additional subject areas include lease versus buy decisions, and more advanced financial topics such as hybrids, options, convertible bonds/stocks, and mergers and acquisitions. Social/ethical aspects of financial decisions are discussed. Prerequisites: BSA 518 and 522.
BSA 555 Strategic Management 3 An in-depth analysis and evaluation of the organization‘s corporate and business strategies. As the capstone course in the MBA program, it requires the integration and synthesis of knowledge acquired in the program via application of acquired functional skills to strategic decision making. The emphasis is to engender within the Averett University MBA graduate a futurist perspective on comprehensive strategic decision making. Prerequisite: Completion of all core courses. Exceptions may be granted by the Regional Director and Instructor.
IDS 301 Principles of Adult Learning (EL) 1 This seminar is the foundation for adults enrolled in the Graduate and Professional Studies Program (GPS) at Averett University. It must be taken prior to enrollment in any undergraduate or graduate degree program. It is designed to help new and returning students make the transition to the academic setting at the university level. This seminar stresses critical reading, active discussion, and reflective writing. Readings are drawn from the fields of education, philosophy, literature, psychology, and the social and natural sciences.