Degree Requirements To receive a baccalaureate degree from the CBA, a student must satisfy both the requirements for acceptance into the college and fulfill the General Education Requirements, Pre-Business Requirements, CBA Core Requirements, and all Major Course Requirements.** In addition, a student must meet the following requirements:
- Complete a minimum of 128 semester credits with a minimum 2.00 grade-point average. No more than two credits of physical education courses may be applied toward CBA degree requirements.
- At least 50 percent of the credits for graduation must be outside the College of Business Administration (6 credits in Quantitative Business Analysis I and II may be counted in the requirement to meet the 50 percent of credits outside the CBA).
- After transfer into the College of Business Administration, students may take any courses for free elective credit, except those courses which would be duplicative or significantly overlap any pre-business or CBA course.
- Obtain at least a 2.00 grade-point average for courses in the major as well as for courses in business administration and economics.
- At least 50 percent of the business credit hours required for a business degree must be earned in the College of Business Administration, including a minimum 14 credits in the student's major program.
- Receive admission to the College of Business Administration and earn at least 15 credits within the college after admission is granted.
- Obtain the recommendation of the department faculty in the student's primary major and the college faculty upon application for graduation.
AACSB Accreditation Requirements (50 Percent Rule)
A minimum of 58 semester credits (or equivalent) out of 128 credits required for graduation must be earned in non-business courses outside the CBA. That is, these courses must not be Business Administration courses or courses determined to be equivalents of courses offered by the CBA. The requirement is a standard imposed to qualify for accreditation by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
The requirement is that 50% of a business major's credits must come from outside of the CBA, exclusive of Quantitative Business Analysis (QBA)/Statistics type courses. Thus, the 64 semester credits which represent 50% of 128 are reduced by the 6 credits of QBA I and QBA II required by our CBA.
Any course accepted for transfer credit in lieu of a course offered by the CBA must be treated as a business course and therefore, does not count toward the 58 credits "outside" the CBA.
The requirement for 58 credits is effective for students who enter The University of Akron as freshmen or transfer students effective Fall Semester, 1995. With the General Education requirements in effect for Fall 1994 (minimum of 42 credits), additional CBA pre-business requirements of 3-4 credits of calculus, 3-4 credits of behavioral science, 6 credits of economics, and 3 credits of Specialized Writing-Business for accounting majors, the required courses from outside the CBA must total a minimum of 58 credits. The CBA mathematics requirement of 6-8 credits exceeds the minimum General Education mathematics requirement of the University (3 credits). Also, the required CBA economics and behavioral science Pre-business course requirements automatically satisfy the General Education social science requirement (2 courses totaling 6 credits). Consult your DRF or a CBA advisor for further clarification.
While most CBA students will satisfy the behavioral science requirement with 3-4 credits from Psychology, Sociology or Anthropology and thereby generate a minimum of 48-49 credits outside the CBA, the student who schedules only required General Education and Pre-business courses will need additional General Education elective courses from outside the CBA to satisfy the 58 "outside" credits requirement. Students should also recognize that any course outside the CBA satisfied by waiver or testing out that does not involve equivalent credits from outside the CBA will need to meet the requirement of a minimum of 58 credits from non-CBA courses. Students who entered the CBA prior to Fall 1995, automatically met the standard for courses outside the CBA under the prior 40 Percent Rule.
*Note: Students who complete course work at the end of Summer I may request a letter of completion from the Commencement Office. A Degree Clearance Form, or whatever document is appropriate at the time, must first be submitted by the College of Business Office.
** Two courses from each of four departments (not including Core course requirements) serve as the major requirement for the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree program.
