College of Business and Economics

Introduction

Dr. Scott T. Young, Dean
Dr. Wing Fok, Associate Dean

Mission Statement of the College

We are a student-focused school of business and economics engaged in scholarly and professional activities that contribute to the well-being of society.

Objective of the College

The College of Business and Economics prepares men and women for positions of leadership and stewardship in the management and administration of complex organizations - from small companies to large multinational enterprises. Students develop managerial skills, analytic economic skills and interpersonal sensitivities, as well as quantitative and accounting skills. All students earning a degree in one of the programs of the college will develop significant understanding of management information systems and computing.

The curriculum is primarily upper-division based upon a broad liberal arts education. Individual skills are developed sufficiently to achieve entry-level employment in many fields, but the College seeks to motivate and orient the student toward a lifelong learning experience. The College seeks to instill sensitivity to environmental aspects of business enterprise, promotes a commitment to ethical behavior, and provide a strong emphasis on forward-looking, goal setting behavior in the business world while encouraging an active role in community leadership.

The College of Business and Economics is accredited by the AACSB International — The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Academic Programs Leading to Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees

Requirements for the master’s degrees offered in CBE are listed in the Graduate School section of the catalog.

Application Process

Students must confirm admission to Western Washington University before submitting an application to the College of Business and Economics (CBE). Students are encouraged to submit applications as soon as they meet the requirements to apply, which vary by major/concentration. Applications are submitted using an online form, located on the CBE website (cbe.wwu.edu/apply-cbe). Some major/concentration applications have quarterly deadlines, while others are processed on a continual basis. See information regarding CBE major/concentration-specific GPA requirements and application processes below. Information regarding application deadline dates is listed on the CBE application webpage.

Invited Distinguished Scholar students may apply to all CBE programs by following the instructions they receive in their invitation from CBE.

Application Requirements

Students who meet the requirements outlined below will be assured of admission to their program of choice if space is available.

Please note: No individual course grade lower than a C- will be accepted and credited toward degree requirements. Cumulative GPA requirements for College of Business and Economics degrees are listed below.

Requirements to apply for:

• Accounting, BA
• Economics/Accounting, BA

Students with 45 or more college-level credits, a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher for all college-level coursework, and a Western cumulative GPA (if any courses have been completed at Western) of 2.50 or higher may apply regardless of how many business courses have been completed. Students who have not completed the eight business foundation courses will be admitted as pre-majors. Students who have completed all eight foundation courses will be admitted as full majors.

Requirements to apply for:

• Business and Sustainability, BA
• Business and Sustainability — Energy Studies Concentration, BA

Students with a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher for all college-level coursework, and a Western cumulative GPA (if any courses have been completed at Western) of 2.50 or higher may apply regardless of how many business courses have been completed. Students who have not completed the eight business foundation courses will be admitted as pre-majors. Students who have completed all eight foundation courses will be admitted as full majors.

Requirements to apply for:

• Business Administration, BA

Concentrations within the degree:

• Finance
• International Business
• Management
• Management Information Systems
• Marketing
• Operations Management

Application deadlines apply only for students applying for provisional or full major status in either Management Information Systems or Operations Management. Students with 45 or more college-level credits, a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher for all college-level coursework, and a Western cumulative GPA (if any courses have been completed at Western) of 2.50 or higher may apply regardless of how many business courses have been completed. Students who have not completed the eight business foundation courses will be admitted as pre-majors.

Please note: For the BA in Business Administration, students have several choices of concentration, but are not guaranteed full major status in any specific concentration area in the case of capacity constraints. Some concentrations within the Business Administration BA require an additional application for full major status, while other concentrations automatically accept students as full majors if they have completed all eight foundation courses with the required GPAs. See the CBE application webpage and department webpages for each concentration’s full-major admissions requirements.

• General Business Administration (Poulsbo Campus only), BA

Application for the Poulsbo General Business Administration degree is available through Outreach and Continuing Education.

Requirements to apply for:

• Economics, BA
• Economics/Environmental Studies, BA
• Economics/Mathematics, BA
• Economics/Political Science, BA
• Politics/Philosophy/Economics, BA
• Economics/Social Studies, BA
• Financial Economics, BA

There are no deadlines for application. Students with a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher for all college-level coursework may apply as full majors. Students applying for an Economics degree will be contacted by the department to schedule an interview.

Requirements to apply for:

• Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, BS

There are no deadlines for application. Students with 45 or more college-level credits, a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher for all college-level coursework, a Western cumulative GPA (if any courses have been completed at Western) of 2.50 or higher and a cumulative MSCM foundation GPA of 2.80 or higher in foundation courses completed (including transfer courses) may apply as an MSCM pre-major and will be granted pre-major status if space is available. Students who have completed all 10 MSCM foundation courses with a cumulative foundation GPA of 3.00 will be admitted as a full major. MSCM applications include information instructing students to contact the department to schedule an interview.

Combined Majors

Interdepartmental majors are offered in economics/accounting, economics/environmental studies, economics/mathematics, economics/political science, economics/social studies, financial economics, politics/philosophy/economics, and business and sustainability. See department webpages for details.

Master’s Degrees

Master of Business Administration  

Professional Accounting, Non-Thesis, MPAcc   

Minors

CBE minors complement many majors at Western. The combination of a CBE minor with a major in speech, English, journalism, foreign languages or with other liberal arts majors may provide valuable additional skills and educational development. See departments for details on minors.

• Accounting Minor - See Accounting Department for details.
• Business Administration Minor - See Management Department for details.
• Business Analytics Minor - Minor is for CBE students only. See Decision Sciences Department for details.
• Economics Minor - See Economics Department for details.
• International Business Minor - See Management Department for details.

Retention Standards

In order to remain in good standing in CBE for all programs excluding Economics, pre-majors and full majors must maintain a minimum Western cumulative GPA of 2.50.

Should a student fall below the 2.50 Western cumulative GPA retention standard, the student will receive a warning and have one quarter in which to repair the academic record. If the student’s academic record remains below the 2.50 Western cumulative GPA retention standard, the student will be dropped from the college.

For Economics degrees, excluding combined degrees (Accounting/Economics and Financial Economics), students with a Western cumulative GPA average below 2.0 will be dismissed from the economics or economics combined major until the deficiency is repaired.

All majors in the College of Business and Economics (CBE) must maintain good academic standing with the University. A student with a Western Washington University cumulative GPA average below 2.0 will be dismissed from the college immediately and not permitted to take additional courses in the College of Business and Economics until the deficiency is repaired. A transfer student with no Western GPA (no graded Western courses) at the time of CBE application must maintain good standing with the University moving forward.

Please note: No individual course grade lower than a C- will be accepted and credited toward degree requirements.

Academic Status

When a student in CBE programs with pre-major status available is enrolled in their last foundation course(s), the student will be considered a provisional major.  A provisional major is allowed to register for major-restricted courses the following quarter, pending formal acceptance into the major program. A student who does not successfully complete their last foundation course(s) or does not meet all requirements for full major status (a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher for all college-level coursework and a Western cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher) will be reverted to pre-major status and cannot enroll in major-restricted courses until they have successfully completed their foundation courses. A student is eligible for provisional major status in CBE only once.

Note: Provisional major status is not applicable for students who major in the Department of Economics.  Economics students are designated as full majors immediately.

Academic Status Glossary

Pre-major: A student who has applied and been accepted to CBE but has not completed the foundation courses required for their major/concentration. (Note: Economics does not require foundation courses. Economics students are designated as full majors immediately.)

Provisional Major: A student who is enrolled in their last foundation course(s). (Note: Economics does not have provisional major status.)

Full Major: A student who has completed all foundation courses required for their major/concentration. (Note: Economics does not require foundation courses. Economics students are designated as full majors immediately.)

Department Chairs

Directors

Requirements for Bachelor’s Degree

Besides the general requirement for graduation from the University, explained elsewhere in this catalog, CBE has the following specific requirements:

• At least 50 percent of the business credit hours required for the CBE majors and minors must be taken at Western Washington University
• Electives may be selected as needed to ensure the required 180 quarter hours total credit is met, however majors in accounting and business administration must complete a minimum of 90 credits in areas other than accounting and business administration. All CBE courses are considered in the areas of accounting and business administration except DSCI 205, DSCI 207, MATH 157, and all economics courses.
• Communication. All students must consult their advisor regarding writing proficiency and communications requirements; all CBE majors are required to take one Communication Focus (CF) course. Students seeking a BA in Economics must complete a CF or CF-E designated course. Communication Focus courses are designated with a CF in the timetable; Communication Focus-Economics are designated with a CF-E in the timetable. Communication Focus (CF) designated courses include a professional quality presentation supported by appropriate technology component. Presentations may be made individually or in teams. In the latter case, each student must deliver a portion of the team presentation such that individual assessment is possible. Communication Focus-Economics (CF-E) designated courses are only offered by the Economics Department and include an oral presentation component.

Students are reminded that up to 32 hours of upper-division credit are elective. This provides significant opportunity to include courses in the arts, sciences and humanities. Early discussion with a CBE faculty advisor is strongly encouraged. Students desiring to take two concentrations, two majors, or two degrees must talk with an advisor in CBE for information related to the requirements and restrictions.

Petitioning Procedure. Any student who seeks a variation from the strict application of the rules, regulations or requirements of the College, should consult the advisor listed below based on their major status for guidance on the CBE process for petitioning the Dean:

• Pre-majors should consult the CBE Pre-Major Advisor
• Majors should consult their major department

Special Programs

Center for Economic and Financial Education. The Center for Economic and Financial Education, coordinated by the economics department, is involved in providing economic knowledge, data and teaching aids to the grade schools and high schools throughout the state. Affiliated with the Washington State Council on Economic Education, this center assists in raising the standards of economic literacy of the state.

Center for Economic and Business Research. This center undertakes research activities related to developing a better understanding of the economic and business climate of the Pacific Northwest. The center is developing and maintaining an economic database for the area, has developed a regional model that will assist in forecasting certain economic variables for the region, and responds to specific research requests from local public and private entities.

Center for Innovation in Education. This center, through faculty, student and industry partner involvement, is committed to enhancing and serving as an incubator for new methods of teaching and learning in fields of business, economics, and related disciplines in the College of Business and Economics.

Center for International Business. The Center for International Business provides opportunities for faculty and students to deepen their understanding of international business management techniques and issues through a variety of activities including lectures and seminars, research projects, course curricula development and field studies.

Center for Operations Research and Management Science. The Center provides a platform for research-oriented outreach activities including the following: publishing a working paper series, conducting international symposiums and seminar series, creating new research opportunities for senior undergraduate and graduate students to get involved in faculty-guided applied research projects.

Departments, Courses and Programs

Courses listed in this catalog constitute a record of the total academic program of the University. For an exact scheduling of courses at Western, students should consult the annual online Timetable of Classes, and Outreach and Continuing Education  bulletins.

The College of Business and Economics also offers the Business Administration Minor  administered by the departments of Decision Sciences, Finance & Marketing, and Management.

Programs

• Business Administration Minor