Curriculum for Business Administration Major

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Business Administration Curriculum

Employers look to hire graduates who have developed expertise in a specific area of business; have strong critical thinking, communication, and teamwork skills; and possess the ability to strategize and lead across the whole business enterprise or organization. We know this, because we spend a lot of time working with employers and internship sites to determine the exact skills, knowledge, and characteristics they are seeking in job candidates.

The Stiller School of Business incorporates this employer input with our academic and professional expertise to provide an integrated, up-to-date education that prepares you exceptionally well in your major field of study.

Learning Outcomes for Business Administration

First Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Second Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Third Year
Fall Semester
- BUS 310 International Business & Macroeconomics
- XXX General Elective Course
- SCI XXX Natural Science w/ Lab Course
- COR 301 Core Foundations: Connecting Place and Identity
- COR 302 Field Methods
Spring Semester
- XXX Minor Course
- XXX Minor Course
- XXX General Elective Course
- COR 303 Core Foundations: Connecting Past and Present
- COR 304 Digital Methods
Fourth Year
Fall Semester
- MGT 390 Advanced Business Internship
- MGT 460 Business Policy/Strategic Management
- MGT 425 Problem Analysis & Decision Making
- XXX Minor Course
- XXX Minor Course
Spring Semester
- CCC 410 College Capstone
- XXX Concentration Course
- XXX General Elective Course
- XXX General Elective Course

Students will learn the fundamental principles of financial transaction recording and how they impact financial statements; the relationship among the financial statements; and how to use accounting information in the managerial decision-making process. By applying these principles in real-world contexts, students will gain insight into how accounting information influences organization management in the decision making process.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

Students will discover and develop the entrepreneurial mindset that is critical to succeed in today's dynamic business environment so that they will be able to imagine, create, identify, assess, and act on business opportunities in a variety of contexts and organizations. Through real-world examples and hand-ons activities, students will embrace an entrepreneurial and strength-based mindsets that will facilitate their understanding of the major functions of business and the relationships between them, as well as the importance of self-inquiry and teamwork.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

In this introductory marketing course, students will learn the foundations of marketing including how to develop the marketing mix (product, price place, promotion) for goods, ideas or services. Students will apply what they have learned as they respond to current issues, case study questions and develop a marketing plan for a real organization. Students will learn how to function within successful teams as they engage with actual businesses to analyze and recommend market-driven solutions to real-world business challenges and opportunities.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

Why go to college? What does it mean to be educated? In this course you'll begin to answer these questions. We'll explore the academic expectations of higher education, college as a diverse community, and the significance of education around the world. By examining how these issues are negotiated and implemented at Champlain and elsewhere, you'll gain perspective on your own education and a deeper understanding of the ways that the college experience can be both liberating and transformative.

Prerequisites	Take Cor-102 concurrently.
Credits	3

Inquiry is about learning how to ask the right kinds of questions, and figuring out how to answer those questions through discussion and reflection. This course introduces you to the types of inquiry necessary to succeed at Champlain and beyond. You will explore the intersections of reading, writing, and thinking by focusing on a specific topic or theme. You will approach that focus through the interrogation of relevant texts and analysis that draws upon multiple analytical frameworks. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-one

Prerequisites	Take COR-101 concurrently.
Credits	3

Students use basic data analysis to find meaning in data through data cleaning, analysis and visualization. Students will learn Excel and other contemporary tools, spreadsheet manipulation, data cleaning and other data analytic techniques. Students will produce the kind of visual, written and verbal information that helps communicate results of data analysis to evaluate and optimize decision making.

Prerequisites	Complete 15 credits
Credits	3

An overview of the entire legal system, with an emphasis on contract rights. The essential elements of a contract, the breach of contracts and the remedies for breach are discussed. Business and consumer laws, including white-collar crime, landlord-tenant rights, real property interests and administrative law are presented.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

Teaches a statistical approach to decision making under uncertainty. Topics are descriptive statistics, probability distributions, inferential statistics, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, linear regression and correlation.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

What makes an argument good or bad? What counts as evidence in our post-truth world? How can you understand and assess the truth value of a claim when you're not an expert? In this course you'll learn rhetorical strategies about how to examine arguments and types of evidence in different disciplines and fields of study. To help learn these strategies, you will do close readings of texts from a variety of disciplines in the liberal arts and sciences, popular culture, and social media.

Prerequisites	Take COR-104 concurrently.
Credits	3

This course introduces you to interdisciplinary inquiry using applied, project-based, and/or experiential methods. Regardless of the specific course focus, you'll have opportunities for making and doing interdisciplinary knowledge creation through a variety of approaches and activities. You will collaborate with other students, iterate on ideas, and work to develop a project. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-one

Prerequisites	Take Cor-103 concurrently.
Credits	3

This course explores the critical intersection of environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic viability, offering students an overview of sustainable business practices. Students will examine both the challenges and opportunities of adopting sustainability in various business contexts and learn to develop innovative solutions that address global sustainability issues, enhance corporate social responsibility, and drive business success in the long term. Through theoretical and hands-on exploration with sustainability-minded companies, students are equipped with the tools and mindset necessary to become informed leaders who are ready to influence positive change and sustainability in business environments.

Prerequisites	Take 30 credits.
Credits	3

This course covers the basic microeconomic theories within a business context as they apply to markets, analysis of cost, producer and consumer behaviors, industrial organization, strategic thinking, and pricing strategies. These economic concepts will be continually applied to current events, policy issues, and business situations.

Prerequisites	Take 30 credits
Credits	3

Students will learn the basic principles and functions of management with an emphasis on employee motivation and group dynamics. Management theory and practices, as well as fundamental functions of planning organization, leading and controlling are examined through a lens of the human dimension of work.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

Science holds an elevated place in society. The knowledge and meaning that science makes are seen as having a particular and special value. This course explores knowledge and meaning making in order to allow a thoughtful analysis of, and then engagement with, science as a way of knowing, and then engages with the methods and theories of the sciences themselves, to understand the analytical, creative, and generative possibilities of science.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

While each section of COR 202 addresses a different problem, issue, or topic, they all focus on interdisciplinary research. You will collect, analyze, and assess information from different disciplines in order to recognize patterns, contextualize arguments and synthesize ideas while collaborating on a project. Emphasis will be placed on helping you translate and apply what you learn about interdisciplinary research to other professional contexts. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-two

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

This is a first course in corporate finance. The course is designed to introduce students to the concepts and techniques necessary to analyze and implement optimal investment decisions. The course covers the effect of time and uncertainty on decision making. Topics include discounting techniques and applications, stock and bond valuation, diversification and portfolio choice, and capital budgeting.

Prerequisites	Take ACC-135
Credits	3

Introduces the skills of project management to define a project's scope, specifications and assumptions, and develop a work breakdown structure using various methodologies. Students gain an understanding of the value of time lines and Gantt charts and utilize a leading project management software application.

Prerequisites	Must complete 30 credits before taking this course.
Credits	3

This course provides students with an in-depth exposure to the management of human resources (HR) with an emphasis on recruiting and hiring. We discuss the complex operating environment of HR; federal and state EEO laws; HR planning and job descriptions; traditional and innovative recruiting methods; selection predictors and best practices for hiring; and strategic assessment of applicants. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to participate actively in the total recruiting and hiring process in their workplaces.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

Culture impacts everything we do, experience, and learn, but what is culture? Where does it come from, how does it form, and why does it have such a wide and deep impact on people's lives? This course explores culture as a system of meaning and meaning-making in order to allow for a more thoughtful analysis of, and then engagement with, cultural texts and media using different methodological approaches.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

In this course, you will go in depth about a theoretical perspective that asks you to interrogate systems of power and power relationships. You will learn about the history of that perspective, including how it too was shaped by multiple contexts and compares with other viewpoints. You will use that perspective to analyze a specific topic, collection of texts, or cultural phenomena. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-two

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

To understand today's global economy students will analyze country-specific socio-cultural, economic, political, and legal forces, as well as currency exchange rate mechanisms, tax systems, and other broad financial controls. Students will apply theories and strategies of international business and related macroeconomic principles to real-world issues and cases by conducting country risk assessments and developing foreign market entry strategies. Students will be challenged to identify their own sense of cultural identity through comparisons with differing country-level and individual cultural perspectives and recognize the implications for conducting business in varied cultural contexts.

Prerequisites	Take 30 credits and ECN-255
Credits	3

Where we are shapes how we understand ourselves and each other. In this course, we will dig into the relationship between place and identity. We will learn how to think spatially, recognizing how one's identity is situated within and constructed through movement through different spaces--be they natural and built environments, rural and urban, or actual and virtual. COR 301 will help us understand the complex meanings of identity in a world defined by movement and change.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

Field methods are a collection of practices used in the sciences, arts, and humanities to understand phenomena in situ or as it is happening in a specific time and place. In this course, we will apply one or more field methods to research a topic, theme, or question that varies by section. We will learn practices associated with research in the field including but not limited to participant observation, data collection, and experimentation in order to navigate an uncontrolled environment. We will also examine the power dynamics between the researcher, informant, and subject matter to help us understand how, if not practiced ethically, field methods can create or reinforce biases rather than helping us learn with and make sense of the world around us. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-three

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

By learning from the past, we can make sense of the present and prepare for the future. In this course, we will learn how the 21st century has been and continues to be shaped by past social practices, ethical frameworks, power relations, and discourses. COR 303 is a course about how we know what we know about the past, and the ways different narratives about the past shape the present. Making connections between past and present will help us better understand how to live and make decisions in a globalized world defined by constant change.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

Digital methods are widely used forms of inquiry that employ technological tools to interrogate research questions important to the humanities and sciences (including the social sciences). Some examples include digital archiving, data mining, and story mapping. In this course, we will use one or more digital methods or tools to research a topic, theme or question that varies by section, with the express purpose of critiquing and reflecting on its application. This includes an examination of the values, flaws, and impacts of the methods or tools we are using, paying particular attention to their ethical implications and power dynamics. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-three

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

An individually supervised experience in a selected profit or nonprofit organization. Provides opportunity for career exploration, and to observe and develop technical, interpersonal and conceptual skills. Specific experiences are developed for each workplace in conjunction with a site supervisor. In addition to working a minimum of 8 to 10 hours per week students will discuss and evaluate their experiences. Note: Internships must be secured prior to the start of the course.

Prerequisites	Must have completed at least 18 credits of business requirements or have permission of the program director.
Credits	3

Students will apply business policies using a cross-functional perspective to strategically manage organizations by stepping out of a functional mindset to see the organization as a whole with different parts of a business managed in strategic harmony. The student will apply the concepts and theories of strategic management in skill-building exercises, case studies, and a semester project.

Prerequisites	Complete 90 credits. Take MGT-425
Credits	3

Provides students with a broadly applicable framework for identifying, analyzing and resolving problems in a business context. Topics include: techniques to recognize and diagnose problems; creative thinking tools for developing fresh ideas; decision tools to guide optimal solutions; and strategies to implement solutions through action plans. Emphasizes the use of creative problem solving and divergent / convergent thinking processes throughout all phases of problem analysis. Upon completion, students should have acquired the tools to confront complex problems in many workplace and societal contexts.

Prerequisites	Must complete 75 credits before taking this course.
Credits	3

The college capstone is an opportunity for students to pursue a self-directed experience in their professional program that intentionally integrates their liberal learning in the Core curriculum with their program learning. In addition to the substantive professional-based hands-on project in this class, the capstone will include a professional ethics component and a self-evaluation/self-reflection component.

Prerequisites	Must complete COR-310, COR-320, and two sections of COR-330 All Game majors (EGPR.BS, GDES.BS, GART.BS must also complete EGD-320 with a minimum grade of C.
Credits	5

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