School of Business Administration

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Vision

Widener University School of Business Administration’s vision is to be a premier business school in the region recognized for challenging, trend-setting programs for educating future business leaders.

Mission

At the Widener University School of Business Administration:

• We prepare students for successful careers and leadership positions in business.
• We provide a challenging, educational environment that promotes lifelong professional and personal growth through experiential and service learning.
• Our commitment to ethics and to diversity of thought, experience, and background inspires our students, faculty, and staff to become proactive and socially responsible citizens.
• As teacher-scholars, we value scholarship and generate knowledge that is valuable to our profession and the business community.
• We embrace the interests of our stakeholders and engage them in our program and activities.

Admission Requirements

Admission to graduate programs in business may be granted following and evaluation of the application file.  Factors affecting the admission decision include previous academic performance, test scores (GMAT or GRE), recommendations and work history.  International students must earn a minimum TOEFL score of 95 or a minimum IELTS band score of 7.  Note:  The GMAT may be waived for:

• Applicants with five years or more of relevant work experience after graduation from a bachelor’s program; proof of work experience must be submitted.
• Applicants who hold a master’s degree from an accredited institution.
• Applicants with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3
• For the MSBPI program, applicants who have completed a certificate program in business process innovation, enterprise resource planning, or accounting information systems and earned a minimum GPA of 3.3
• For the MSTFP program, applicants who have completed a certificate program in Financial Planning or Taxation and earned a minimum 3.3 cumulative GPA, as well as applicants who have earned the CMA, CPA, CIA, CFA, CFP, CFM or CISA designation.

Challenge Examinations

A challenge examination may be taken for select graduate courses. If interested in challenging a course, please see the director of SBA graduate programs.  There is a fee for each examination, and the grade received is either Pass or No Pass.  Courses challenged do NOT satisfy residency requirements.  Students may not receive more than a total of 6 credits for challenged and transferred courses.  Students may not challenge courses in the last six credits of their degree program.

Transfer Credit

Graduate transfer credit must be approved by the dean of the School of Business Administration and may be permitted subject to the following restrictions:

• Requests for transfer credit must be made at the time of entry into the program
• No more than six credits in total will be accepted into the core or elective portion of the graduate degree program and not all core courses are eligible for transfer credit.
• Business courses must be taken at AACSB-accredited institutions.  Special consideration may be made for courses offered outside the purview of the transferring institution’s business school (e.g., economics is sometimes offered through the social science department.
• Taxation courses must be taken at AACSB or ABA accredited institutions.
• HCM-related courses must be taken at either CAHME or AACSB accredited institutions.
• Courses taken at institutions outside of the United States will be evaluated on a case by case basis
• Only courses for which the applicant has completed within 5 years of entrance and earned a minimum grade of ‘B’ may be considered for transfer.
• Courses considered for transfer credit for core requirements will be evaluated by the appropriate department and must be of equivalent level and content for the Widener core course.
• Courses considered for transfer credit for electives will be evaluated by the appropriate department and must of graduate level and in a field directly related to the business degree being pursued.
• Transfer credit is NOT given for foundation courses.  Foundation courses may be waived based on completion of equivalent graduate or undergraduate work with a minimum grade of ‘C’.
• Admitted students who want to take a course at another institution must obtain permission from the director of the graduate programs prior to taking the course.
• Transfer credit does not reduce the minimum hour residency requirement established for each program.
• For each program up to 6 credit hours may be taken in other Widener Graduate programs with the permission of the director of graduate programs.

Grading System

Grades are recorded as follows:

Each instructor has the option of using the + and – grade.  Students will be informed of the grading policy for each course at the beginning of the semester.

SBA Academic Policies and Standards

The following academic policies and standards apply to students in all the graduate programs in business:

• No more than 6.0 credits with grades of less than ‘B-’ may be earned in 600-level courses taken in the graduate program.
• No more than 3.0 credits with a grade of ‘F’ or ‘NP’, including grades of ‘I’ that become grades of ‘F’ may be received in courses taken in the graduate program.  Courses may be repeated, but a second failure will cause dismissal of the student.
• Students not meeting the requirements stated above will be dismissed from the program.  A dismissal letter is sent to the student from the dean and an “Academic Hold” notification is sent to the registrar.
• Students must complete the required course of instruction with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in 600-level courses in order to graduate.
• Students must complete all degree requirements within the time period stated for their program.
• Students not taking a course for a 24-month period are automatically classified as inactive.  Students who wish to return must petition the director of graduate programs.  Students who are permitted to return must follow the curriculum in place at the time of return.
• Students dismissed for academic reasons may not enroll in additional courses unless they are reinstated to the program.
• Students dismissed for academic reasons may petition for reinstatement no sooner than six months after the end of the semester in which they received the grade that caused the dismissal.
• Students, once reinstated, will be dismissed from the program without the possibility of reinstatement if they earn a grade below ‘B’ in any subsequent course.  Permanently dismissed students cannot apply to any other graduate program in the School of Business Administration.
• Conduct inconsistent with the ethical and professional standards of the discipline, whether it occurs before or after matriculation, is grounds for dismissal from the program.  Such conduct includes academic fraud.  A student dismissed for academic fraud may no longer enroll in graduate programs and may not apply for admission into another division of the university.  See “Standards for Academic Integrity.”

Certificate Programs

Certificate programs are ideal for individuals who want to develop specialized knowledge and skills in a particular field but who do not, at this time, want to pursue a full-length master’s degree in that field. A certificate can typically be earned by completing four 3-credit graduate courses in a specific area or discipline. The School of Business Administration offers certificate programs in the following specialized areas:

• Accounting Information Systems   
• Business Analytics
• Business Process Innovation  
• Enterprise Resource Planning  
• Financial Planning
• Health Care Management  
• Organizational Leadership  
• Taxation  

Courses taught in the certificate programs are equivalent to courses taught in the MBA, MSBPI, and MSTFP degree programs. Academic credit earned in a certificate program is fully transferable to the corresponding graduate degree program, so students can opt to pursue a master’s degree at a later date. Also, completion of the certificate program with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or above may waive the GMAT for admission to the MSBPI and MSTFP programs. Students in a certificate program must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (with no more than one grade below B-).

Certificate Program Admission

Persons who have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.7 are invited to apply for a certificate program. Applicants should:

• Complete the application online.
• Have official transcripts sent from previous colleges and universities attended.
• Submit two letters of recommendation.

All inquiries should be directed to the SBA graduate programs office: phone, 610-499-4305; fax, 610-499-4615; or email, sbagradv@widener.edu.

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