George D. Santopietro, Ph.D., Associate Dean
COBE 305, (540) 831-5891
Chris Niles, MBA Director
COBE 345, (540) 831-6712
MBA Office, (540) 831-6905
Nasim Schwab, Advising Coordinator
COBE 245, (540) 831-5074
Mary Weeks, Assistant to the Dean
COBE 303, (540) 831-5382
Vision, Mission, and Values
Our vision is to provide such a transformative educational experience that we are widely recognized as a school of choice where students experience business … actively, globally, and entrepreneurially.
The mission of the College of Business and Economics (COBE) is to provide an active learning environment focused on developing responsible business professionals who can work collaboratively to compete in a dynamic global economy. We emphasize intellectual contributions that advance practice, pedagogy, and knowledge of our disciplines.
“Active learning environment” means that we use experiences such as applied projects, interactive learning events, professional enrichment programs, and activities as we publish articles that contribute to business practices.
“Responsible business professionals” means that we work to develop experiences to impact skills in logic, ethical awareness, knowledge of business disciplines, analytical reasoning, communication,
and cross cultural awareness.
“Collaborative endeavors” refer to experiences in research, consulting, courses, study abroad, and other initiatives that increase the effectiveness of individuals and teams within a diverse society.
“Compete in a dynamic global economy” suggests that we seek to create experiences that help people succeed within a changing global environment.
We value:
Collaboration
Collegiality
Cross cultural understanding
Clear communication
Analytical skills
Ethical interactions that respect the dignity of all peoples
Programs
The College of Business and Economics offers a wide range of programs that prepare graduates for careers in business or economics in both the private and public sectors of the economy. Business and economics programs have a liberal arts foundation and explore the theory and practice of modern business administration.
The college is comprised of four academic departments which offer a variety of combinations of undergraduate degrees and majors:
Accounting, Finance, and Business Law
Economics
Management
Marketing
The college also offers the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, an interdisciplinary program that involves course work in all four academic departments.
Accreditation
The graduate and undergraduate programs in business administration offered by the College of Business and Economics at Radford University are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB-International). The AACSB is the premier accrediting agency for business schools, worldwide.
Student Organizations
The College of Business and Economics sponsors a variety of student organizations which permit students to pursue extracurricular activities related to business, economics, or a specific functional area of business. The student organizations and their primary areas of interest are the Institute of Management Accounting (accounting), the American Marketing Association (marketing), Pi Sigma Epsilon (marketing), Alpha Mu Alpha (marketing), the Financial Management Association (finance), Beta Gamma Sigma (business), Society for Advancement of Management (business and management), Sigma Iota Epsilon (management), Phi Beta Lambda (business), Alpha Kappa Psi (business), Delta Sigma Pi (business), Economics Student Association (economics), and Omicron Delta Epsilon (economics). The Student Managed Investment Portfolio Organization has a selective membership process. These student organizations are open to any interested student with the exception of Beta Gamma Sigma, Sigma Iota Epsilon, and Omicron Delta Epsilon, which are honorary societies and have special membership criteria.
Laptop Requirement
All students in the College of Business and Economics (COBE) should have a laptop or other portable device. The computer should:
- meet Radford University requirements, as specified by the Division of Information Technology,
- be loaded with the most recent MS Office Suite of software applications, and
- be durable enough to last for at least two years.
Advising
http://www.radford.edu/cobe-advising
All students with 56 or fewer credit hours seeking a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) degree are advised by the Business Advising Center under the supervision of the college advising coordinator. Junior and senior B.B.A. majors who have met the pre-business requirements and all students seeking a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in economics are advised by faculty within their major.
Undergraduate Degree Requirements
Undergraduates in the College of Business and Economics may earn a B.B.A. degree in Accounting (ACTG), Economics (ECON), Finance (FINC), Management (MGNT), or Marketing (MKTG). Students majoring in economics may also elect to earn a B.S. degree. Upon admission to RU or upon selection of a major in business, B.B.A. majors are classified as pre-business. Upon completion of all required Pre-business Program courses with a minimum average GPA of 2.0, students are officially designated as business majors in their selected field of study and permitted to take 300- and 400-level business courses. Students must also complete all courses required for their major as well as other courses required by the university. Non-business majors are allowed to take upper division business courses if they have completed at least 56 credit hours and meet all other course prerequisites.
Pre-Business Program Courses
All students, regardless of their major, who intend to earn a B.B.A. degree are required to take each of the following courses:
Note(s):
*These courses may also be used to satisfy Core Curriculum requirements for the B.B.A degree in all business majors except the ECON major and the college recommends they be used in this way. Students can use only one course with their major prefix to fulfill core requirements; therefore, ECON majors cannot use both ECON 105 and ECON 106 to satisfy CORE requirements.
Business Core Courses
After completion of all pre-business courses, students pursuing a B.B.A. degree are required to take the following courses:
Bachelor of Business Administration Probation Policy
BBA students are required to maintain a Grade Point Average (GPA) no lower than 2.0 in their college major, as defined by the Catalog. If a student’s GPA falls below 2.0 in his or her college major, that student will have one semester plus the summer term to raise his or her GPA to the minimum level. Failure to achieve the minimum level GPA in one semester plus the summer term will result in removal from the College of Business and Economics (COBE).
Graduation Requirements
Students must have an overall grade point average GPA of at least 2.0 in all courses taken at Radford to graduate with the B.B.A. degree. In addition, students must have at least an overall 2.0 major GPA. For the purpose of computing the major GPA, the major is defined all prebusiness and business core courses and the 18 to 30 hours prescribed for the major by the department. In addition, at least 50 percent of the business courses required for the B.B.A. degree must be taken at Radford University. Business courses are defined as those having the prefix ACTG, BLAW, FINC, MGNT, or MKTG. Students earning a business minor must earn a GPA of at least 2.00 in the courses comprising the minor. Courses in a minor are defined under each category. At least 50 percent of the business courses required for a minor must be taken at Radford University.
Academic Minor