Academic Information

Table of Contents

Academic Guidelines

Students are advised to read the Regulations and Requirements section of the catalog for general guidelines regarding academic policies and graduation requirements. Of additional note for business majors are the following:

Transfer of Credit

Students transferring into the Bauer College's Undergraduate Program who receive elective rather than specific course-designated credit from the University of Houston Transfer Credit Department for courses taken at other schools may submit transfer course equivalency petitions, along with appropriate documentation, to the Office of Undergraduate Business Programs for departmental evaluation.

Once a student has been admitted to the University of Houston Bauer College of Business, all subsequent business courses must be completed in the University of Houston Bauer College of Business. Students requesting exceptions from this policy must obtain written permission in advance from the Office of Undergraduate Business Programs. No such approval will be given for students who are within 30 hours of graduation as stated in university policy.

Degree Progress and Filing a Degree Plan

Pre-business majors are expected to complete university core and pre-business courses during their freshman and sophomore years. Junior standing, or at least 45 hours for students in a mixed program, and completion of all specific course prerequisites and corequisites are required before students may take 3000-level business courses. A mixed program is a one-semester transition in which pre-business students who are not yet juniors but have completed at least 45 hours may take upper level business courses to have a full course load, as long as they meet specific course prerequisites/corequisites and qualify to file a degree plan at the end of that semester. Students who qualify for a mixed program should meet with their pre-business academic advisor in order to be placed into a mixed program registration group prior to the next registration cycle.

In order to declare a business major and file a major degree plan (and for business majors to file a business minor), students must:

  1. be a pre-business major with a 2.5 cumulative grade point average at the University of Houston,
  2. have completed 6 hours of Communication, the U.S. History and American Government requirements, 6 hours of Natural Sciences, and PSYC 1300 or SOC 1300 (core courses for the Humanities, the Visual/Performing Arts, and the Writing in the Disciplines requirements may be completed after students file a degree plan),  
  3. complete all pre-business courses (MATH 1313 and 1314, ECON 2304 and 2305, ACCT 2331 and 2332, and MIS 3300) with a minimum grade of C in each of these courses taken at the University of Houston,

Students are expected to file a degree plan through the Office of Undergraduate Business Programs, 262 Melcher Hall, as soon as the student has completed 60 credit hours.

Special Problems (Independent Study) Courses

Special problems (independent study) courses are available to juniors and seniors with the approval of the department chair and the Office of Undergraduate Business Programs. To take a special problems course, the student must first obtain a general petition from the Office of Undergraduate Business Programs, 262 Melcher Hall, complete the form, and have it signed by the faculty member who will be supervising the course and the department chair. The petition must include a description of the course and indicate whether the course will be for one, two, or three semester hours of credit. The signed petition form must be returned to the Office of Undergraduate Business Programs at least two weeks prior to the enrollment (registration) or add/drop period of the semester in which the course will be taken in order to assign a section number, which is required for enrollment (registration). Students who do not officially enroll (register) for special problems courses will not receive credit for them.

No more than six semester hours of special problems courses may count toward the business administration degree plan; only three of these hours may be in the student's area of concentration. The other three semester hours of special problems course work may count as elective credit. It is the student's responsibility to seek a faculty member to help design the special problems course and supervise it.

Prerequisites and Corequisites

Prerequisites and corequisites as specified under the business course listings are strictly enforced by the Bauer College of Business. A current listing of prerequisites and corequisites is available in the Office of Undergraduate Business Programs, 262 Melcher Hall. International students, postbaccalaureate students, and returning students should check with the Office of Undergraduate Business Programs before classes begin to insure that completed prerequisites have been automated. Students who have taken prerequisites at other schools should make sure those courses are transferred and evaluated by the Transfer Credit Department, and if necessary, evaluated by petition by Departments, before classes begin.

In addition to specific course prerequisites and corequisites, junior standing (or a minimum of 45 hours in a mixed program), and a minimum 2.00 grade point average at the University of Houston are required to take upper-level business courses. Exceptions to junior standing (or approval for a mixed program) include ENTR 3310 and 3312, and MIS 3300. Students who drop a corequisite course are subject to be dropped from the courses that require that course as a corequisite.

Residency Requirements

The last 30 semester hours of a bachelor’s degree must be completed in residence. Eighteen semester hours of advanced MIS course work in residence are required for the MIS major. A residency requirement of 15 semester hours of advanced accounting course work is required for the accounting major. In the remaining business majors, 12 semester hours of advanced course work in residence are required.

GPA in Major and Other Special Graduation Requirements

Students must earn a 2.0 minimum cumulative grade point average in courses attempted in the major at the university to graduate. All courses with the same rubric as the major are used in the calculation of that grade point average for the major, with the following exceptions: ACCT 2331 and 2332 are not used to calculate the grade point average for the accounting major; MIS 3300 (formerly DISC 3300 and DISC 2373) is not used to calculate the grade point average for the management information systems (MIS) major; and ENTR 3312 is not used to calculate the grade point average for the entrepreneurship major.

Students filing for a bachelor of business administration degree (B.B.A.) must also meet the following requirements:

  1. Completion of a confidential employment survey.
  2. Completion of the confidential AACSB/EBI Undergraduate Assessment Study when administered.
  3. Completion of a business competency assessment.

 

Suspension

In addition to general university policies regarding suspension, the Bauer College of Business has the following policies:

  • For a first suspension, a student must sit out the next full semester, either the fall or the spring (summer does not count as a full semester).
  • For a second suspension, a student must sit out one full year (12 months).
  • For a third suspension, a student will not be readmitted to UH.
  • The Bauer College of Business does not readmit business students for summer sessions.
  • Freshman and sophomore business students are not automatically readmitted. Readmission for freshman and sophomore students is very selective because pre-business majors must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA at UH to file a degree plan by their junior year.
  • Junior and senior business students are permanently suspended form the Bauer College and are ineligible to be considered for readmission to the Bauer College of Business.

 

Business Students with Double Majors or Minors in Business

Business students with a double major in business can count hours taken in the second major or in the minor toward the advanced business electives required for the first major or toward advanced business elective requirements.

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Catalog Publish Date: August 22, 2012
This Page Last Updated: June 22, 2011