College of Business Administration

Dean - Taggert Brooks
Associate Dean, Interim - Gwen Achenreiner
College Academic Services Director - Nicole Vidden
1205 Wittich Hall; 608.785.8090

www.uwlax.edu/cba

The College of Business Administration’s (CBA) undergraduate programs provide business education opportunities for students from across the state, the country, and the world. The undergraduate program primarily serves residential full-time students in a traditional campus learning environment.


Departments/units                Majors and minors                 Admission to CBA Business Program

CBA core requirements        Internships                              CBA graduation requirements

Joint business program with WTC


Mission

Delivering academic excellence, career success and community engagement through sharing new knowledge and creating enriching, interactive experiences.

Vision

To be recognized for quality as the leading business school among regional and state comprehensive universities.

Values
  • Teaching: highly effective and innovative teaching employing relevant curriculum.
  • Scholarship: scholarship that advances discipline-based knowledge, best practices, and teaching pedagogy, each equally enriching student learning.
  • Faculty: quality faculty who are accessible, responsive, and dedicated to student learning.
  • Students: quality students who are actively engaged in their professional and personal development.
  • Learning: a highly interactive learning environment that fosters strong relationships and student success.
  • Global Engagement: global engagement and collaboration to increase international awareness and opportunities.
  • High Standards: high standards that reflect best practices and ethical behavior, stimulate intellectual growth, and promote continuous improvement.
  • Diversity: acceptance and respect for human and ideological differences.
  • Sustainability: promotion of sustainable practices in the use of economic, ecological, and social resources.
  • Service: service to the university, discipline, and community that promotes strong partnerships and advances professional and economic development.

Departments/units

  • Accountancy
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Information Systems
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Small Business Development Center
  • Center for Entrepreneurship, Sustainability and International Trade 

Degrees offered

  • Bachelor of Science

Majors and minors

The following majors and minors are available:

B.S. = Bachelor of Science          m = minor

Advising in the College of Business Administration

First and second year students will have a professional academic advisor. Students are typically assigned to faculty advisors for their final two years. Advisors help students develop programs, plan schedules, discuss major and career choices, and refer for assistance in the case of academic difficulties. Students are encouraged to meet with their advisor at least once a semester.

The responsibility for selecting courses and meeting graduation requirements rests with the student. Students should review course prerequisites by checking course descriptions in the appropriate listings of this catalog and consult with their advisor and/or seek assistance from the dean’s office. 

CBA Business Program policy

Students who desire to major in business must be admitted to the CBA Business Program in order to register for the professional, upper division (300/400 numbers) courses offered by the college. An application for admission to the CBA Business Program must be completed and approved by the CBA Dean's Office prior to the semester the student plans to enroll in upper division College of Business Administration course work.

Application forms for admission to the Business Program are obtained from the CBA website online, and may be submitted for either fall or spring semesters. Applications are due by mid-semester. Late applications may not be accepted. To avoid scheduling problems, pre-business students should work closely with their advisors in order to complete the pre-business program within their freshman and sophomore years at UWL. Students who undertake their freshman and sophomore years of study at another university should familiarize themselves with the college’s business requirements and the university’s general education program, and plan their program of study accordingly.

Admission to CBA Business Program requirements

  1. "C" grades or higher earned (or in progress) in:
    ACC 221Accounting Principles I3
    ACC 222Accounting Principles II3
    BLAW 205The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business3
    ECO 110Microeconomics and Public Policy3
    ECO 120Global Macroeconomics3
    ENG 110College Writing3
    or ENG 112 College Writing AP (Advanced Placement)
    MTH 160Mathematics for Business4-5
    or MTH 175 Applied Calculus
    or MTH 207 Calculus I
    STAT 145Elementary Statistics4
  2. 54 credits or higher earned (or in progress).

  3. Earn a 2.50 combined cumulative grade point at time of application. This includes courses taken at UW-La Crosse and elsewhere.

College of Business Administration (CBA) core requirements

All students enrolled in any program within the college must complete the 16 business core courses listed below and all requirements for the major (see department listings). Courses numbered at the 100 and 200 level as well as MGT/MKT 301 are considered pre-business courses. MGT 449 must be taken in the semester of graduation.

ACC 221Accounting Principles I3
ACC 222Accounting Principles II3
BLAW 205The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business3
ECO 110Microeconomics and Public Policy3
ECO 120Global Macroeconomics3
ECO 230Data Analysis for Business Applications3
ENG 110College Writing3
or ENG 112 College Writing AP (Advanced Placement)
FIN 355Principles of Financial Management3
IS 220Information Systems for Business Management3
MGT/MKT 301Business Communication3
MGT 308Organizational Behavior3
MGT 393Production and Operations Management3
MKT 309Principles of Marketing3
MTH 160Mathematics for Business4-5
or MTH 175 Applied Calculus
or MTH 207 Calculus I
STAT 145Elementary Statistics (or equivalent)4
Capstone - taken in the semester of graduation
MGT 449CBA Capstone: Applied Business Strategy3
Total Credits50-51

Business core course sequencing

A guide for sequencing business core requirements is as follows:

First yearCredits
ECO 11013
ECO 12013
ENG 110 or 11213
MTH 160, 175, or 20714-5
STAT 145 (or equivalent)14
 17-18
Sophomore yearCredits
ACC 22123
ACC 2223
BLAW 2053
ECO 2303
IS 2203
MGT 301 or MKT 3013
Admission to the CBA Business Program is required prior to enrollment in the junior/senior level business courses. 
 18
Junior yearCredits
FIN 3553
MGT 3083
MGT 3933
MKT 3093
Students will also complete their major requirements during their junior and senior years. 
 12
Senior yearCredits
MGT 44933
 3
Total Credits: 50-51
1

These courses also will fulfill Gen Ed requirements.

2

Accountancy majors may complete in first year.

3

Taken final semester; requires completion of all other core requirements.

Second major in College of Business Administration

Business students may complete a second business major by completing all courses required for the second major as described in the catalog. With the exception of economics, students may not use the same courses to fulfill both majors.

Business students seeking a second major or minor in liberal studies and science areas may do so by completing all requirements of the major or minor they elect, as stated in the catalog. Double counting courses in both majors, as appropriate, is allowed.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available to students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities and have achieved scholastic excellence in the College of Business Administration program. Information may be obtained from the UW-La Crosse Foundation office in the Cleary Alumni and Friends Center.

Internships

Students may elect to take up to 15 College of Business Administration internship credits upon receiving approval of the department chair and dean. Internship credits may be applied toward fulfilling major requirements.

To be eligible for a College of Business Administration internship, a student must have a cumulative grade point of 2.50 or above and have completed the following:

ACC 221Accounting Principles I3
ACC 222Accounting Principles II3
BLAW 205The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business3
ECO 110Microeconomics and Public Policy3
ECO 120Global Macroeconomics3
ECO 230Data Analysis for Business Applications3
FIN 355Principles of Financial Management3
IS 220Information Systems for Business Management3
MGT 308Organizational Behavior3
MKT 309Principles of Marketing3

Graduation/degree requirements

Students seeking to graduate from the College of Business Administration must:

  1. Fulfill the university’s general education requirements.
  2. Achieve a minimum 2.00 grade point average in the business core and the business major.
  3. Fulfill all other university general requirements.
  4. Complete at least 50% of the business course requirements (core and major) in residence at UWL.

All CBA students are expected to confirm their degree completion by checking their advisement report in WINGS after they register for their final semester. For all CBA students who have applied to graduate, the dean’s office will automatically complete a graduation check before the start of their final semester and notify them by email of any problems. If a student has specific questions or concerns about graduation requirements, they can contact the CBA dean's office.

Joint business program with WTC

Articulation agreements between Western Technical College (WTC) and UWL facilitate the transfer of credit between the two institutions. The following College of Business Administration programs are affected:

  • Students who enroll in WTC's Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science in Liberal Arts (ASLA) Program and complete certain classes may transfer to UW-La Crosse with partial work already completed towards a Bachelor of Science with a major residing in UWL's College of Business Administration.
  • Students who enroll in WTC's Accounting, Business Management, Finance, or Marking Program and complete certain classes may transfer to UW-La Crosse with partial work already completed towards a Bachelor of Science with a major residing in UWL's College of Business Administration.
  • Students who enroll in WTC's IT-Network System Administration or IT-Web & Software Developer Program and complete certain classes may transfer to UW-La Crosse with partial work already completed towards a Bachelor of Science with a major in Information Systems at UWL.

Contact the UWL Admissions Office for more specific information. Students who earned an associate degree from another UW System institution are exempt from UWL's general education requirements, although students must still meet all other UWL degree, college, and major requirements.