Dr. Don Capener, Dean
Dr. Nancy Lankton, Associate Dean for Accreditation and Strategic Initiatives

Lewis College of Business Vision Statement, Mission Statement and Strategic Priorities

Vision Statement

Mission Statement

The Lewis College of Business empowers students with the skills and knowledge to become successful business professionals in West Virginia and beyond. The college provides a high-quality, innovative business education in a supportive environment that encompasses exemplary teaching, experiential learning, external engagement, and impactful scholarship.

Core Values

Strategic Priorities

High-Demand Curriculum

• Health Care Management
• Entrepreneurship
• Energy Management
• Business Analytics
• Supply Chain
• Sustainability Management and Technology
• ​Tourism and Hospitality

Desired Skill Sets

• Agility and Flexibility
• Creativity
• Analytics
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Leadership
• Ethics
• Social Responsibility

Experiential Learning, External Engagement and Economic Development

• Herd Solutions
• Projects with Companies
• Speaker Series
• Student Competitions
• Student Organizations
• Outreach Centers

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

• Design Thinking
• Intrapreneurship
• Start-up Culture
• Social Entrepreneurship
• Risk Management
• Incubator
• Accelerator
• Eco-system

Global Footprint and Connections

• International Partnerships
• Articulation Programs
• Student Exchanges
• Faculty Exchanges
• Cross-cultural Immersion
• Collaborative Projects
• International Internships
• Study Abroad

Departments

General Business, B.A.

General Business, Minor

Admission Requirements

Regular admission to the university constitutes admission to the Brad D. Smith Undergraduate School of Business for entering freshmen and students transferring from other institutions of higher education; there is no separate admissions procedure. Students in other colleges within Marshall University must be eligible to attend Marshall University at the time of transfer into the Lewis College of Business.

Transfer of Credits from Another Institution

When students transfer courses from another institution to Marshall University, the Office of Admissions produces a Transfer Equivalency Worksheet. Advisors in the Academic Advising Center work closely with transfer students to determine how courses taken at other institutions will count toward their B.B.A. or B.A. requirements. Please see the requirements for Transfer Credit for Enrolled Students in the Marshall University Undergraduate Catalog for other details.

Students need to be especially aware of the distinction between upper and lower division credit. The Transfer Equivalency Worksheet may list a Marshall equivalent class as being a 300- or 400-level course; however, the presence of an asterisk (*) just to the left of the course title indicates the student received upper division credit for the course taken at another institution. No asterisk indicates lower division credit. A plus sign to the left of the course title indicates a developmental course. Developmental course hours do not count toward graduation requirements.

All 300- and 400-level business courses required for a B.B.A. or B.A. must be completed at the upper division level. For example: if a student completed Principles of Management at another institution and the course number was taken at the freshman or sophomore level, the Transfer Equivalency Worksheet will list the Marshall equivalent as MGT 320 Principles of Management, which is Principles of Management at Marshall. However, the course completed was a lower division course and the student did not complete the requirement for upper level credit. Therefore, the student would need to retake the course at Marshall for upper division credit or validate the course. For a few courses, the Brad D. Smith Undergraduate School of Business offers a method of validating courses that transfer in as lower division, but require upper division credit. Students who receive lower division credit in the following courses can validate those courses by choosing one of the following options:

• FIN 323 Principles of Finance - Students can
  1. take FIN 343 Intermediate Financial Manage or FIN 370 Principles of Investment and receive a grade of C or better;
  2. pass a validation exam given by the Department of Finance, Economics and International Business; or
  3. pass FIN 323 Principles of Finance at Marshall for upper division credit.
• MGT 320 Principles of Management - Students can
  1. take MGT 422 Organizational Behavior and receive a grade of C or better;
  2. pass a validation exam given by the Department of Management and Health Care Administration; or
  3. pass MGT 320 Principles of Management at Marshall for upper division credit.
• MKT 340 MKT Concepts and Applications - Students can
  1. take MKT 371 International Marketing and receive a grade of C or better;
  2. pass a validation exam given by the Department of Marketing, MIS and Entrepreneurship; or
  3. pass MKT 340 MKT Concepts and Applications at Marshall for upper division credit.

To pass a validation exam, a student must score at least 70% on the exam.

A student who chooses to retake the equivalent course at Marshall can only apply the credit hours from one of the courses towards graduation. Students who have any questions regarding upper or lower division credit or validating a course should see an advisor in the College of Business.

Transfer students should also understand the meaning of the term unclassified (UNC) on the Transfer Equivalency Worksheet. Unclassified is a term that reflects the fact that Marshall does not offer a course that is an equivalent of the course taken at the transfer institution. Unclassified does not mean the transfer course will not count toward a degree program at Marshall University. Students may apply unclassified credit toward B.B.A. or B.A. requirements if the course content meets the essential elements needed. In unclassified course credit cases, the academic advisor may ask the student to submit a catalog course description or a syllabus for appropriate approval. Not all unclassified courses may be applied toward a B.B.A. or B.A. degree requirement.

3+2 Program

The 3+2 Program offered by the Lewis College of Business allows students to start their master’s degree while still completing their bachelor’s degree.  The 3+2 Program is available to students enrolled in an undergraduate program in the LCOB.  The following graduate programs are available through the 3+2 Program: Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Accountancy, Master of Science in Health Care Administration, or Master of Science in Human Resource Management. Students enrolled in the program save time and money. Talk to your advisor to see if this program would be beneficial for your academic plans.

Students that meet the requirements that follow may enroll in up to nine hours of graduate coursework while still seniors. Students can double-count up to nine hours of graduate level courses from their graduate degree toward their bachelor’s degree requirements. Up to six credit hours of graduate work may count as a major required elective (for example, a graduate MGT class can count as a MGT elective for a Management major) or towards a minor (as approved by the dean’s office) or three to nine credit hours may count as free electives. Once all undergraduate requirements are met, students will apply to graduate with their bachelor’s degree and apply to be fully admitted to a graduate program.

Admission Requirements for Master of Business Administration

Students may apply to the 3+2 Program after all eligibility requirements are met. This typically occurs during the second semester of the junior year. Students must meet the following:

1. Senior status or be able to attain senior status after completion of the semester in which the student is currently enrolled;
2. Have completed all undergraduate foundation courses with a grade of “B” or better in each course by the end of the semester in which the student will be enrolled in the 3+2 Program;

   Course List

   Code	Title	Credit Hours
   ACC 215	Intro Financial Accounting(CT)	3
   ECN 250	Principles Microeconomics	3
   MGT 218	Business Quantitative Methods	3
   FIN 323	Principles of Finance	3

3. Be reasonably likely to complete all undergraduate degree requirements within two semesters after being admitted to the 3+2 Program;
4. Have an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better at the time of application.

Admission Requirements for Master of Science in Accountancy

Students may apply to the 3+2 Program after all eligibility requirements are met. This typically occurs during the second semester of the junior year. Students must meet the following:

1. Senior status or be able to attain senior status after completion of the semester in which the student is currently enrolled;
2. Have completed all ACC foundation courses with a grade of “C” or better in each course by the end of the semester in which the student will be enrolled in the 3+2 program or with approval of the department chair:

   Course List

   Code	Title	Credit Hours
   ACC 311	Intermediate Accounting I	3
   ACC 312	Intermediate Accounting II	3
   ACC 318	Cost Accounting I	3
   ACC 341	Acc Information Systems	3
   ACC 348	Federal Taxation	3
   ACC 429	Auditing I	3

3. Be reasonably likely to complete all undergraduate degree requirements within two semesters after being admitted to the 3+2 Program;
4. Have an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better at the time of application.

Admission Requirements for Master of Science in Health Care Administration

Students may apply to the 3+2 Program after all eligibility requirements are met. This typically occurs during the second semester of the junior year. Students must meet the following:

1. Senior status or be able to attain senior status after completion of the semester in which the student is currently enrolled;
2. Be reasonably likely to complete all undergraduate degree requirements within two semesters after being admitted to the 3+2 Program;
3. Have an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better at the time of application.

Admission Requirements for Master of Science in Human Resource Management

Students may apply to the 3+2 Program after all eligibility requirements are met. This typically occurs during the second semester of the junior year. Students must meet the following:

1. Senior status or be able to attain senior status after completion of the semester in which the student is currently enrolled;
2. Be reasonably likely to complete all undergraduate degree requirements within two semesters after being admitted to the 3+2 Program;
3. Have an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better at the time of application.

Academic Policies

Transient Courses

Currently enrolled students planning to take a course within the major requirements (or upper level requirements for a minor in the COB), or MGT 460, at another institution must do so at an institution that is accredited by AACSB or another institution approved by the College of Business dean's office. Students must complete the Transient Course Approval Request and get all required approvals. 

Students taking courses at another school must have an official transcript sent from the other school to Marshall. Students taking courses at another school in their last semester must have the transfer work posted to their Marshall transcript by the end of their last semester or the student’s graduation may be delayed to the next graduation term.

Probation and Academic Dismissal

The Brad D. Smith Undergraduate School of Business adheres strictly to the University Academic Probation and Suspension Policy found in the “Academic Information” section of this catalog. Students should be aware of the policy. This policy affects all undergraduate students in the LCOB regardless of their catalog year.

Students on academic probation or returning from suspension are required to meet with the Director of Student Services to register for courses and create an Academic Engagement Plan. The student may be required to participate in the college’s retention program.

Advising

All students are assigned an academic advisor. The academic advisors for the LCOB are located in the Lewis College of Business Academic Advising Center in CH 334. Students are required to attend mandatory advising during each semester of their freshman year and one time as juniors. As a freshman, the student will receive an advisor hold on their account each semester and will be unable to register until they meet with their advisor. When a student reaches 60-70 earned credit hours, the student will be required to meet with their advisor to complete a Junior/Senior Evaluation. A Junior/Senior Evaluation hold will be placed on the student’s account until he or she meets with the advisor and completes the Junior/Senior Evaluation. The hold will prevent a student from registering.

Although advising is not mandatory every semester, students are highly encouraged to meet with their advisor each semester to ensure that they are staying on track to graduate.

Prerequisites

A prerequisite is a course or student classification which must be successfully completed prior to taking a course for which you may want to enroll. An example is that you must complete ECN 250 Principles Microeconomics before you can take ECN 253 Principles Macroeconomics. The prerequisite must be completed (with a grade of D or better) before the first day of class. Accounting majors are required to complete prerequisite accounting courses with a minimum grade of C or better. The LCOB strictly enforces prerequisites. Be careful and plan ahead. Students will not be allowed to register for a course if they have not completed, or are not presently completing, the prerequisite course.

Students have the responsibility of checking prerequisites prior to enrollment. Students may be administratively withdrawn from courses if the prerequisites have not been fulfilled. Enrollment for MGT 460 Strategic Management requires senior standing and completion of multiple core business courses. Students will not be allowed to take MGT 460 Strategic Management and FIN 323 Principles of Finance in the same semester.

Internships

The purpose of the internship is to provide a means by which students can receive academic credit for educational experiences received in a work environment that cannot be provided by the College of Business. Students approved for internship credit will actually register for a university course and are required to pay tuition for the credits they receive. All proposals for an internship must clearly identify the educational benefits that will accrue to the student before the internship will be approved.

A student may earn up to a maximum of 12 credit hours of internship credit. A maximum of 6 credit hours can be earned in one semester. A maximum of 6 credit hours may count toward the 120 credit hours required to graduate. Every 200 hours worked equals three credit hours. Internship credit may be earned during regular semesters or summer sessions. Students must register for internship credit during the semester in which they are working the internship. A grade of Credit/No Credit will be assigned by the department chair upon completion of internship requirements. Students may be required to submit a journal or report of their experience. Internship credit counts as free electives.

Please see your academic advisor for information on how to get an internship approved for course credit.

Independent Study

The Brad D. Smith Undergraduate School of Business offers the option of Independent Study to selected students who wish to pursue topics that are business-related but not covered in depth in formal Brad D. Smith Undergraduate School of Business courses. Each student can obtain a maximum of eight (8) hours of Independent Study credit within the LCOB, and can earn no more than four (4) hours of such credit in any one semester.

In order to register for Independent Study in a given semester (provided the above hour limits have not been reached), the following conditions must be met:

1. LCOB students with senior standing who have 2.5 or higher in overall, Marshall, and major GPAs or with permission from the department chair.
2. LCOB students with junior standing who have 3.0 or higher in overall, Marshall, and major GPAs or with permission from the department chair.
3. An instructor within the student’s major division must agree to be his/her Project Supervisor. The faculty member’s agreement to serve in this capacity will be contingent upon his/her assessment of the feasibility and quality of the student’s proposed project.
4. Written approval for the project and written approval for Independent Study registration must then be obtained from the student’s department chair. Department chair’s approval will be contingent upon his/her assessment of the feasibility and quality of the student’s proposed project, in consultation with the student’s proposed project supervisor.

MIS 200 Business Computer Applications Waiver

Students who complete Microsoft Certifications may apply to have MIS 200 waived. To apply, the student will need to meet with his/her academic advisor and provide documentation of their completed Microsoft Certifications.  In order to have MIS 200 waived, the student must have completed a minimum of a Microsoft Certification in Microsoft Excel and one additional Microsoft Certification. Students are not awarded credit hours for MIS 200 through this process (the course requirement is waived). Waiving MIS 200 is only applicable for majors in the College of Business. Other majors will need to consult with their academic advisor to see if their program offers a similar option.

Degree Requirements

Graduation Requirements

The following general requirements must be met by all students seeking bachelor’s degrees through the Brad D. Smith Undergraduate School of Business:

1. Satisfaction of all university requirements for graduation.
2. Completion of all curricular requirements specified for the major and degree.
3. Completion of the following residency requirements:
   1. Earn at least 36 semester hours at Marshall.
   2. Earn at least 12 hours of senior level coursework in the Lewis College of Business at Marshall.
   3. Earn at least 15 hours in the major field at Marshall.
   4. Earn at Marshall 16 or more of the last 32 hours credited toward the degree.
4. Earn at least a 2.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) in each of the following three categories:
   1. All coursework attempted at Marshall and elsewhere.
   2. All Marshall coursework.
   3. All coursework attempted and included in the major(s) at Marshall.
5. Successful validation of transfer work as required.
6. Removal of all incompletes.
7. At most, 18 semester hours of coursework (consisting only of general education requirements and/or free electives) taken under the Credit/No Credit option may be applied toward graduation requirements. College of Business and other courses in your major may not be taken on a Credit/No Credit basis.
8. All candidates for graduation should file an Application for Graduation form in the semester PRIOR to the semester in which all requirements for the degree are to be met. This will enable the student to make all necessary schedule adjustments to correct potential graduation deficiencies in the final semester.

To ensure graduation at the end of the term of application, all records should be documented with needed transcripts, substitution forms, grade changes, and lower division validations.

Additional College of Business Course Requirements for Undergraduate Degrees

(Requirements vary for some programs. See major-specific requirements for details.)

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
Additional College Requirements
ENG 204	Writing for the Workplace	3
Communication Studies Elective (select one)		3
CMM 302	Professional Presentations
CMM 308	Persuasive Communication
CMM 315	Group Communication
CMM 319	Superior-Subordinate Comm
CMM 322	Intercultural Communication
International Business Elective (select one)		3
ECN 421	Global Macroeconomic Analysis
ECN 408	Comparative Econ Systems
ECN 420	International Trade
ECN 460	Economic of Dev Countries
FIN 440	International Fin Management
MGT 445	International Management
MKT 371	International Marketing
Core Business Requirements
All business majors are required to take several core business courses. They are as follows:
CMM 207	Bus & Prof Communication 1	3
ENG 204	Writing for the Workplace	3
ACC 215	Intro Financial Accounting(CT)	3
ACC 216	Intro Managerial Accounting	3
ECN 250	Principles Microeconomics	3
ECN 253	Principles Macroeconomics	3
FIN 323	Principles of Finance	3
LE 207	Legal Environ of Business	3
MGT 218	Business Quantitative Methods	3
MGT 320	Principles of Management	3
MGT 460	Strategic Management	3
MIS 200	Bus Computer Applications	3
MIS 290	Prin Management Info Systems	3
MKT 340	MKT Concepts and Applications	3

¹

Course also meets university core curriculum requirement.

ADDITIONAL UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS:

Writing Intensive:

Students must select 6 hours of courses designated as Writing Intensive. LCOB students are able to double-count ENG 204 (Writing in the Workplace) as one of their Writing Intensive courses. The business capstone course, MGT 460 (Strategic Management) will also double-count as a Writing Intensive course. MGT 460 and ENG 204 must be taken at Marshall in order to meet the Writing Intensive Requirement. If one or both courses are taken at another school, additional courses will be required at Marshall for the student to fulfill the Writing Intensive requirement.

Multicultural/International

This requirement will be met when the student completes the International LCOB Elective (see “Additional College Requirements” section above).

Free Electives

Students must complete at least 120 hours to graduate with a B.B.A. The number of free elective hours you will need to complete depends on your major, the number of hours you take to fulfill your math and composition requirements, and if you double-count any general education requirements.

Free electives are any course that is 100-level or above that are not already required for the program of study. Please note that developmental courses (098, 099, etc.) do not count toward completion of free electives or the 120-hour graduation requirement. If you earn a “C” or better in a course and repeat it, that is considered a Repeat Passing Grade. If you earn a “D” in a course that is not eligible as a D/F Repeat under  the D/F Repeat Policy, the repeat is also considered a Repeat Passing Grade. Repeat Passing Grade hours cannot count toward the 120 hours needed for graduation and must be manually subtracted from the overall hours completed toward graduation. Please see the “Academic Information” section of the catalog for more information on D/F Repeats.

Double-Counting

Any course that meets more than one graduation requirement (excluding free electives) can be double counted, if applicable. For example, CL 210 double-counts as Critical Thinking (CT) and Humanities. When completed at Marshall, PSY 201 double-counts as a Social Science and a Critical Thinking (CT) course. Because you must have a minimum of 120 credit hours to receive a degree, double-counting will increase the number of free electives you will need. Therefore, if you take a class that meets two graduation requirements, you will then take additional free elective hours in place of the second course requirement.  Please see the specific requirements for your major for any restrictions on double-counting.

MAJOR COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The courses required for each major are listed in the following sections. Students are required to have a 2.0 GPA in their major, in addition to their Overall GPA and Marshall GPA. If you have any questions about how GPAs are calculated, please consult with your advisor.