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Northern Illinois University

NIU Office of Public Affairs


News Release

Contact: Joe King, NIU Office of Public Affairs
(815) 753-4299

April 14, 2004

New program allows students to earn
NIU business degree in Rockford

Rockford, Ill. — College students from the stateline area will soon be able to earn a business degree without leaving town, thanks to $476,000 in funding earmarked by Gov. Rod Blagojevich through his Opportunity Returns plan for the Northern Stateline region.

 

Northern Illinois University has announced that, beginning next fall, it plans to offer a bachelor’s of science degree with a major in business administration at NIU-Rockford, 8500 E. State St. Students accepted into the program will be able to complete a degree in as few as two years, with all required classes offered in Rockford.

 

The program addresses one of the most pressing needs identified in a recent study of higher education needs commissioned by the Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce and the Council of 100. That study found the community sorely in need of a local, affordable business program.

 

“We are delighted that we are able to step forward and fill the need identified by local leaders for high quality, convenient and affordable business education,” said NIU President John G. Peters. “For years we have pursued funding that would allow us to offer more coursework in Rockford. Governor Blagojevich recognized the very real need that exists and provided the money that made this program a reality.”

 

The program to be offered will allow students to earn a bachelor’s of science degree with a major in business administration. The coursework in Rockford will be identical to that available to students pursuing the same degree at the university’s main campus in DeKalb. The cost will be comparable, though final fees are still being calculated.

 

“The courses taught in Rockford will be of the same high quality, and will often taught by the same faculty as the courses at our main campus,” said David Graf, dean of the NIU College of Business, which is ranked among the upper one-third of business schools in the nation by U.S. News and World Report magazine.

 

As such, students entering the program will have to meet the same criteria as those accepted into the program on the main campus. To enroll, students must be a junior in standing, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.75 and have earned at least a C or better in a set of specific business classes. (Details of required coursework are available online at www.cob.niu.edu/bsba.)

 

Students enrolled in the program will study a broad-based business curriculum that will include classes in management, accounting, marketing and operations management. Rather than preparing students for a career in any particular specialty, such as accounting or finance, it will give them a set of skills that can be applied in many different areas.

 

“It is similar to an undergraduate version of an MBA,” said NIU College of Business Associate Dean William Tallon. “Students graduating from this program will have a solid understanding of all aspects of the modern business world; they will graduate as generalists prepared to step into just about any facet of an organization, which is the type of graduate that many businesses today say they are looking for.  It opens up a world of opportunities.”

 

The hope is that many graduates of the program will find those opportunities in the greater Rockford area.

 

“We are hearing from the Rockford business community that there is a need for people with a solid business education, and we hope this program helps cultivate some home-grown talent to fill that need,” Graf said.

 

To help increase the odds of that happening, Graf and Tallon hope to cultivate ways for Rockford area companies to get involved with the program.

 

“It would seem a natural progression to develop internship programs with local businesses and to hold recruitment fairs for Rockford area companies. While we have some very impressive alumni working in Rockford, we feel that overall NIU graduates are underrepresented here, and we hope this will help change that,” Graf said.

 

Students interested in the bachelor’s of science degree with a major in business administration at NIU-Rockford can find more information on the Web at www.cob.niu.edu/bsba.

 

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B.S. BA Program Requirements

 

Students will complete 60 semester hours in approved upper-division business and business-related courses offered by NIU's College of Business in a two year time frame (15 hours each fall and spring semester).

The following requirements must be completed prior to enrolling in the NIU business administration degree completion program:

·         Be in junior standing

·         Have a minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA (NIU + Transfer)

·         Complete the following 10 courses:

*      
ACCY 206      Introductory Financial accounting
ACCY 207      Introductory Cost Management
ECON 260      Principles of Microeconomics
ECON 261      Principles of Macroeconomics
ENGL 104       Rhetoric and Composition II (or ENGL 105)
MATH 211      Calculus for Business and Social Sciences or MATH 229

*                               Calculus I
MGMT 217     Legal Environment of Business
PSYC 102       Introduction to Psychology
UBUS 223       Business Statistics

*       One of the following: ANTH 120, GEOG 202, GEOG 204, HIST 171, PHIL 170, PHIL 231, POLS 260, SOCI 170, or WOMS 235

 

B.S. BA Program Coursework

 

Among the classes required to complete the B.S. BA program are:

ACCY 306      Financial Accounting Information for Business Decisions

ACCY 307      Managerial Accounting Information for Decisions and Control

FINA               Introduction to Financial Markets and Investments

MGMT 335     Organizational Behavior

MGMT 346     Business Communication

MGMT 355     Human Resource Management

MGMT 468     Strategic Management

MKTG 325      Buyer Behavior

MKTG 350      Principles of Selling

OMIS 351       Information Systems in Organizations

OMIS 450       Service Operations

UBUS 310       Business Core: Lecture

UBUS 311       Business Core: Applications Seminar

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