Richard T. Doermer School of Business

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Undergraduate Student Success Center
Richard T. Doermer School of Business

 Neff Hall 366 ~ 260-481-6472 ~ ipfw.edu/busines

The mission of the Richard T. Doermer School of Business is to strive for excellence in business education and support regional economic development.

Excellence in student learning, teaching, intellectual contributions and service are all fundamental to the achievement of our mission and the preparation of students for successful careers in Northeast Indiana and beyond.  The following Core Values shall serve to guide the planning and actions of the faculty and staff of the Doermer School of Business:

• LEARNING: The intellectual growth of students and the fostering of a culture of life-long learning are of paramount importance.
• COLLEGIALITY:  The premise that the common goals and actions of those representing the School will be pursued for the collective good and in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders.
• RELEVANCE: The critical linkage between the knowledge shared and its operational significance in Northeast Indiana and beyond.
• SCHOLARSHIP: The pursuit and dissemination of knowledge as it pertains to the mission, vision and goals of the school with a focus on applied and pedagogical scholarship.
• STEWARDSHIP: The use of limited resources efficiently and effectively and in a timely fashion.
• TOLERANCE: The unconditional acceptance of diversity.
• INTEGRITY: The sense of wholeness, consistency, and consonance between one’s actions and espoused values.

The mission reflects a continuing commitment to the importance of learning in a changing environment, supported through the interdependence of teaching, intellectual contributions, and service.

Academic Programs

The academic programs in the school are listed below. Requirements for these programs appear in Program Descriptions  in this Bulletin.
 

The Bachelor of Science in Business (B.S.B.) program is accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), which provides a voluntary mechanism of quality control. AACSB is the most prestigious business accrediting body in the nation. Only about one-quarter of all business schools in the nation possess this distinction.

Your initial courses are selected from introductory-level general education, business, and economics subjects. When you have qualified for admission to the B.S.B. program, additional opportunities are provided for in-depth studies in a variety of advanced business, management, and analytical subjects. These advanced studies help you prepare for positions of increasing executive responsibility in the business community.

At the time you are admitted to the B.S.B. program, you must declare a specialization in one of five majors: accounting, business economics, finance, management, or marketing.

Admission

Students are admitted as pre-business students until they have completed the specific pre-business requirements needed for admission to the Bachelor’s degree program.

To be admitted to the B.S.B. program applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher and will have completed at least 45 credits that apply toward the degree, including the courses listed below. Within this course listing, successful applicants will have (1) a grade of C- or better in each course and (2) a GPA of 2.50 or better within these courses.

Courses Required for Admission to the B.S.B. Program

Three additional rules apply for admission to the B.S.B. program:

1. No more than 6 credits of these courses may be repeated, and no course may be repeated more than once.
2. Both the original and the repeat grades earned in the above courses will be used to compute the admission GPA. This includes courses that you have taken or repeated at IPFW and other IU campuses.
3. Students must earn a minimum of 300 points in the Passport to Success program, including at least two high impact events, before they can be admitted to any of the majors. Passport to Success is a program required of all business majors that emphasizes participation in activities outside the classroom. Details of the Passport to Success program may be found on the Doermer School of Business website.

Note:

Bachelor’s degree programs in business are offered at other Indiana University and Purdue University campuses. Since admission and graduation requirements vary among these campuses, you must meet the admission and graduation requirements of the campus from which you intend to graduate.

Enrollment in Business Courses Numbered 300 and Above

Unless you have met at least one of the following conditions, you are not permitted to enroll in a business course numbered 300 or above:

• You have been admitted to the B.S.B. program at IPFW.
• The course is a specified requirement for another bachelor’s degree program or minor in which you are enrolled and you have completed all course prerequisites.
• You have obtained written permission from the department through which the course is offered.

If you have enrolled and are not eligible, you will be withdrawn from the course.

B.S.B. REQUIREMENTS

To earn the B.S.B., you must complete a minimum of 120 credits as specified below and obtain an overall cumulative GPA of at least 2.30.  You must satisfy the requirements of IPFW (see Regulations ) and the Richard T. Doermer School of Business, including completion of the Passport to Success program, and earn a grade of C- or better in each BUS and ECON course. Developmental courses do not apply to degree requirements.

Your final consecutive 30 credits must be taken at IPFW after you have been formally admitted to the B.S.B. program. Business majors may not count BUS, ECON or OLS courses towards their general education requirements (unless noted).

Special Academic Regulations for Students in Undergraduate Business Programs Following are the general policies and procedures for students enrolled in business undergraduate programs. In addition to the policies of IPFW (seeRegulations ), these are intended to maintain the historically high academic standards of undergraduate business programs at IPFW.

The Student’s Responsibility You are responsible for satisfying the graduation requirements specified for your selected program. Thus, it is essential that you develop a thorough understanding of the required courses, academic policies, and procedures governing your academic career. All requests for exceptions to specific requirements must be made in writing and may be granted only by written approval from the appropriate chair or dean.

Academic Renewal Option The school participates in the Academic Renewal Option for eligible students returning to IPFW after an absence of five or more years.(see Regulations )

Time Limit. To ensure that you will be professionally competitive with other members of your graduating class, you may complete the degree requirements specified in the Bulletin in effect at the time you were formally admitted to the degree program only if

• Progress toward your degree objective has been continuous. If you have not registered for degree-applicable courses as an IPFW business major for a period of one calendar year, you will be considered as not progressing toward your original degree objective. Subsequently, if you qualify for re-entry to an undergraduate business program at IPFW, you must satisfy the admission and degree requirements specified in the IPFW Bulletin that includes your year of re-entry.
   
• No more than five years have elapsed since your admission to the business degree program. If more than five years have elapsed, your cumulative academic record will be reviewed by the appropriate business or economics department, and you will be required to meet the degree criteria specified in the current IPFW Bulletin. This may result in your having to repeat those courses in which the original content is determined to be outdated.
   
• The necessary courses or degree programs are available. If the courses that were required at the time of your formal admission to the business degree program are no longer available, you must complete the current replacements for those courses. Should these newer courses require prerequisites you have not taken, you must also enroll for these prerequisites in the appropriate sequence.

Overlapping Courses You may not count toward graduation any courses or sequences considered to have overlapping content. A list of overlapping courses appears in Colleges  of this Bulletin under the College of Arts and Sciences.

Academic Probation You are on academic probation upon completion of a semester or summer session in which you fail to earn a semester GPA of 2.0. or anytime your cumulative GPA falls below a 2.0.

Repeat Limits To remain eligible for the B.S.B. program, a student may not retake any of the 300 or 400-level BUS or ECON courses more than twice.  An appeal may be made by the student to the Undergraduate Policy Committee (UPC) in the case of extenuating circumstances.

Transfer Credit Generally, courses in basic business and economics subjects (freshman and sophomore level courses) will be accepted as equivalent if they are being transferred from regionally accredited institutions. Courses in advanced business and economics (300-400 level) will only be considered equivalent if they are from another business school accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), were taken within the past five years, and were taken as a junior or senior class standing.

At least 50 percent of required business and economics courses must be completed at IPFW in order for a B.S.B. degree to be awarded.

Credit by Examination Under very limited circumstances and subject to the following policies, you may be permitted to earn credit by means of a special examination:

• In all cases, your eligibility for a credit examination; the type of examination; testing procedures, date, time, and location; and evaluation of your performance are the decision of the appropriate IPFW business or economics department. The decision of the department is final.
• Credits earned by examination cannot exceed 10 percent of your total degree requirements.
• You may attempt an authorized credit examination only once.
• Only those examination scores that equate to a C- grade or better will be considered. Only the grade S will be reported for credit earned by examination.

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