Division of Economics and Business

Dr. Wade Thomas, Associate Dean

Accreditation

The business programs are accredited by AACSB International—the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

Mission Statement

Vision

The vision of the Division of Economics and Business is to achieve broad and increasing recognition of the excellence of its undergraduate business, accounting and economics programs among those offered by public and private four-year comprehensive colleges in New York State and the region.

Mission

The mission of the Division of Economics and Business is to enable undergraduate students to exercise their intellectual capacity, to acquire disciplinary knowledge and analytical skills, to value diversity in people and ideas, and to develop ethical decision making abilities. To achieve this goal, the learning environment is distinguished by small classes, highly accessible faculty, teamwork, and information technology-supported classrooms. This preparation will qualify graduates for positions in the fields of business, economics or accounting, and for graduate study. Serving primarily New York State, the Division’s programs also offer educational opportunities of an international scope.

The Division’s primary role is teaching and preparation of students. Faculty scholarship and professional development complement and enrich instruction. Instruction receives primary weight, followed by research and service in that order. The Division is committed to continuous evaluation and improvement in the areas of the curriculum, faculty development and scholarship, and service.

Key Goals

To provide challenging academic majors in Business Economics, Professional Accounting, and Economics for students interested in academic excellence as well as personal growth and development.
To promote a broad-based liberal arts education at the undergraduate level as paramount preparation for a career in business or government or subsequent graduate and professional studies.
To deliver programs of educational breadth that provide students with the flexibility, heightened perception, and understanding that will permit and encourage adaptation to changes in the global economy.
To offer programs reflecting a solid understanding of the economics discipline as a sound basis for understanding the business disciplines.
To engage students in a curriculum that values and promotes ethical behavior and instills in students an appreciation of social responsibility.
To augment instruction with an array of co-curricular opportunities and preparation for career opportunities.
To recruit and sustain highly qualified faculty in support of the Division’s mission.
To pursue service that benefits the programs and reputation of the Division, the College and the community.

Majors

Students should consult with their academic advisor, the office of the Division of Economics and Business, or the Academic Advisement Center about program requirements and course sequences before matriculating into or registering for courses in these programs.

Professional Accounting: This major is a 150-hour, undergraduate program registered with the New York State Education Department as satisfying the curriculum requirements for Certified Public Accounting licensure in New York.

Business Economics: The Business Economics major provides all the fundamental background in accounting, the business functional fields, and economics through the intermediate theory level. Management-specific knowledge and skills are emphasized.

Economics: This major emphasizes a firm understanding of economic theory, its historical development, and its application to the study of socio-political and economic problems.

Admission to Programs of the Division of Economics and Business

Acceptance into the major requires a minimum GPA of 2.0, except for first semester students. Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the major. Students may be dropped from the major if they do not maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA.

Transfer Courses

Transfer students and current students wishing to transfer courses into the Professional Accounting or Business Economics major must earn a grade of "C" or better for the course to count in the required coursework.

Concentrations

Majors from the Division of Economics and Business have the option of advancing their knowledge of a functional field of business beyond the business core curriculum. Professional Accounting and Business Economics majors are eligible for concentrations in Finance, International Business, and Marketing. Business Economics majors also are eligible for the non-CPA Accounting concentration. Economics majors are eligible for the Finance concentration. Coursework in a concentration is to be completed in the junior and senior year, and long after all prerequisite courses have been completed. Concentrations are elective, not a graduation requirement. Therefore, a concentration is awarded only upon satisfactory completion of required coursework and no substitutions or waivers will be made.

Accounting (not intended for professional licensure)

Finance

International Business

Marketing

Note: Students may earn only one concentration from this Division.

Minors

The minors offered by the Division of Economics and Business provide the opportunity for undergraduate majors outside of the Division of Economics and Business to gain a basic understanding of the business disciplines or the social science of economics.

Business

Economics

Note: Students may earn only one minor from this Division.

College policy prohibits students majoring in programs outside the Division of Economics and Business (DEB) from earning more than 30 semester hours from the DEB. Exception is made only for 1) Accounting, Business Economics, or Economics majors who exceeded the 30 semester-hour limit, but changed majors or were removed from the Accounting, Business Economics, or Economics major; 2) transfer students who upon matriculation to Oneonta have earned more than the 30 semester-hour limit in courses accepted as equivalent to courses offered by the DEB; and 3) transfer students whose combination of transfer courses accepted as equivalent to courses offered by the DEB and Oneonta courses mandated as requirements in a major outside the DEB cause 30 semester-hour limit to be exceeded.

Special Programs and Facilities

The 4-1 programs with Clarkson University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Union University (of Union College) provide the opportunity for Business Economics graduates from SUNY Oneonta to earn the M.B.A. degree in one year.

Acceptance into the cooperating university in not automatic. Principal eligibility factors are undergraduate cumulative grade point average and score on the Graduate Management Admission Test. The bachelor’s degree is awarded at the end of the fourth year and the master’s degree upon completion of the entire program.

Cooperative 3-1 programs are offered through the Visiting Student Program of The Fashion Institution of Technology (FIT) in New York City. Students receive a combination of liberal arts and business coursework from Oneonta, along with in-depth training at FIT in a specialized field of either Fashion Merchandising Management or Advertising and Marketing Communications. Students receive both a B.S. from SUNY Oneonta and an A.A.S. from FIT at the conclusion of the fourth year. Acceptance by FIT is not automatic. FIT requires a minimum GPA and reserves the right to select those candidates that, in its opinion, are the best qualified.

Other activities: internships, assistantships, Divisional advisement, orientation, summer programs, and career preparation.

Articulation Agreements and Transfer Courses: We have a general business articulation agreement governing transfer credit from other colleges and universities. Acceptance of transfer credit is subject to evaluation and approval by the Division. A grade of "C" or better must be earned in all courses that are presented for transfer in order to fulfill requirements for the Professional Accounting or Business Economics majors.