2009-2010 Catalog
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ACCOUNTING, FINANCE, AND ECONOMICS
Graduate Degree Programs
Graduate degree programs offered in the College of Business Administration (COBA) are the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science (MS) in Information Systems, Master of Science in Human Resource Management, and Master of Science in Management and Leadership. The MBA, MS Information Systems, and MS Management and Leadership are available in Stephenville, Waco, Southwest Metroplex (Fort Worth), and Online. The MS in Human Resource Management is available in a 100% Online format. For more information about business graduate programs, see the COBA website at www.tarleton.edu/coba/.
Program Administration
Policies for graduate programs in the College of Business Administration (COBA) are developed by the COBA Dean, the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies, and the Graduate Council. The Dean of the College of Business Administration is responsible for maintaining consistent policies and standards governing graduate programs in business. Direct authority for administering the programs rests with the following administrators:
MBA program – Head of the Department of Accounting, Finance, and Economics
MS Information Systems – Head of the Department of Computer Information Systems
MS Human Resource Management and MS Management and Leadership – Head of the Department of Management, Marketing, and Administrative Systems.
All questions of policies, appeals, and petitions regarding the operation of graduate programs in business should be directed to the Dean of the College of Business Administration and submitted through the appropriate COBA department head.
Admission Requirements
To be granted full admission, the applicant must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited US institution or the equivalent from a foreign institution with a grade point average of at least 3.0 on the last 60 hours of credit completed. The applicant must also have submitted GRE or GMAT scores and have satisfied applicable program prerequisites. The applicant will be notified of program prerequisites (leveling requirements), if any, soon after he/she is admitted to the College of Graduate Studies.
An applicant who is not qualified for full admission may be granted conditional admission. Conditional admission will not be granted to an applicant whose GPA is less than 2.5 on the last 60 hours of credit completed. A student who is conditionally admitted must satisfy all conditions before receiving full admission.
Transfer Credit
Upon recommendation of the academic advisor and department head and with approval of the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies, a student may transfer up to 12 hours of graduate work completed at another regionally credited institution. Because students take the comprehensive examination from Tarleton professors, they should complete core courses at Tarleton.
Course work in which no formal grade is given (for example, CR, P, S, U, etc.) is not accepted for transfer credit. Credit for course work submitted for transfer from any college or university must be shown in semester credit hours or equated to semester credit hours. No academic work completed by correspondence may be applied to graduate degree programs.
GPA Requirements
Graduate students are expected to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 at all times. Should a student earn a grade below C in a graduate course or fall below an overall GPA of 3.0, that student may be placed in a conditional enrollment status and may be advised to repeat a course, reduce course load, or take other corrective action to remove the deficiency. For more information, see the section on Graduate Student Performance in the general information provided by the College of Graduate Studies.
Research Requirement
Each graduate program offered in the College of Business Administration is a 36-hour non-thesis program. Research is required as a part of graduate course work, but a separate thesis is not a degree requirement. The MS in Information Systems does include a thesis option.
Master of Business Administration
Tarleton’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) program is offered in Stephenville, Waco (in conjunction with McLennan Community College University Center), Southwest Metroplex (Fort Worth Hickman Building), and Online.
The MBA program is designed to develop the student’s leadership, decision making, and critical thinking abilities. Students are given opportunities to make decisions based on critical evaluation of real-life situations. Graduate faculty members strive to prepare MBA students for current career opportunities and for competing effectively in the global arena of business.
Program Administration
The MBA program is administered by the head of the Department of Accounting, Finance, and Economics, who implements the policies of the University, Graduate Council, and College of Business Administration and works under the Dean’s direction.
Leveling Requirements
After an MBA applicant is admitted to the College of Graduate Studies, his/her transcript, application, essay, and test scores will be evaluated by the COBA Graduate Advising Committee. This Committee evaluates the student’s educational background and work experience to determine what leveling requirements or program prerequisites may be needed. Leveling requirements will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may be satisfied by taking graduate or undergraduate courses or departmental subject area examinations or through other appropriate means. A student whose undergraduate degree was not in business and who does not have relevant professional experience should expect to be required to take some undergraduate courses (that cannot count toward the 36 hours required for the degree) to be prepared for successful graduate study in business.
Degree Program
The MBA degree program requires completion of a minimum of 36 hours of graduate-level course work and a minimum 3.0 GPA with no grade below a C. Required courses for the degree are:
| Course Number | Course Title | Semester Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACC 503 | Accounting for Management | 3 |
| CIS 511 | Managing Information Systems | 3 |
| FIN 507 | Financial Management | 3 |
| G B 588 | Seminar in Business Strategy | 3 |
| G B 598** | Business Research Methods | 3 |
| MGMT 511 or MGMT 568 |
Managing Operations and Services or Organizational Development and Change |
3 |
| MKTG 508 | Marketing Management | 3 |
| Electives | 15 |
* Students who are required to complete graduate leveling requirements (FIN 500 and/or MGMT 500) may count one or both courses as electives in the MBA program.
** Students are advised to complete this course within the first 12 hours of the program.
A student may complete a concentration in Accounting, Agribusiness, Computer Information Systems, Finance/Economics, Management & Leadership, Human Resource Management, a combination of Management and Human Resource Management, or Marketing by receiving graduate credit for at least 12 hours of electives in that area. Some of the concentrations may not be available at all locations or online.
After completing 18 hours of graduate credit in the MBA program, the student should contact his/her academic advisor and request that an official degree plan be prepared. The student may petition for changes in this degree plan at a later date, but these changes must be approved by the graduate advisor and the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.
Comprehensive Examination
To be eligible to sit for the MBA comprehensive examination, the student must be fully admitted to the College of Graduate Studies and the MBA program and must be in good standing with the University and the College of Graduate Studies.
The MBA comprehensive examination requirement is met by earning an evaluation of satisfactory or passing on a written comprehensive case analysis. The exam is evaluated on a “blind” review basis by a standing committee of graduate faculty from the College of Business Administration who grade the students’ examinations on a pass/fail basis. Comprehensive exams are scheduled once each semester.
A student who receives a grade of unsatisfactory on the examination may retake the examination at its normally scheduled date the following semester. Students needing to retake the examination must contact their Graduate Advisor. Students who fail the exam a second time must meet with their advisor, who will identify additional course work to be completed before taking the exam a third time. Any student failing the comprehensive examination three times will be dropped from the MBA program.
Policies and procedures for the MBA comprehensive examination are under review and subject to change as deemed necessary.
The MBA Online
Beginning in Fall 2004, the Tarleton MBA program became available online. All core and foundation courses (see Degree Program information, above) are available online, as are many electives. Core and foundation courses are offered in a rotation that allows a student to complete all the courses within a period of two years or less. Electives are offered online in the areas of Management, Human Resource Management, Computer Information Systems, and Finance/Economics. If an online student wishes to complete a concentration, the concentrations most likely to be available online are Management, Human Resource Management, and Computer Information Systems.
Requirements for the MBA comprehensive examination apply to online students. An additional fee applies to most courses offered in the online MBA program.