Elnor Kinsella, PhD
Academic Chair, School of Business
Hello Students,
As we head into the busy holiday months, I wanted to update you on program changes that I hope you will find to be exciting improvements. As you already know, JIU regularly improves its curriculum to consistently meet your professional needs. But, first I would like to clarify the conditions for portfolios and capstones for the BABC and MABC programs.
In order to prepare to complete your final assessment portfolio requirement before you graduate, you need to be saving all of your completed assignments from all coursework in your own personal workspace. You will be selecting from your collection of completed assignments those that best fulfill the requirements of your portfolio. Students who do not save their assignments from each course as they progress through their degree programs will not have access to former courses to retrieve them when they need them to complete the final capstone portfolio.
When program changes occur, you are informed so that you may elect to improve your selection of courses to earn your degree, but you are never required to retake any of your previously completed coursework. You may remain under the plan that was in place when you were admitted. However, if a course is not available anymore, or if you find that you wish to substitute a new course for any of your remaining program requirements, your Academic Services Counselors (ASC) is happy to work with me to help you upgrade your choices, where possible.
For BABC Students:
All students admitted to JIU after January 1, 2004 should locate their own self-directed BC 490 Capstone Portfolio course placed in their “My Courses” section. In this self-directed course, you will find instructions to help you complete your portfolio, which must be submitted and passed before you may graduate. As I mentioned above, you should be saving all of your class assignments in your own personal workspace in order to complete your portfolio. Once you complete it, please contact me to arrange evaluation. You will be issued a pass/fail grade and, upon passing your portfolio, you are cleared to proceed to graduation.
If you entered the BABC program after May 8, 2005, you are additionally required to complete the BC 491 Capstone Project course. This is an 8-week, for-credit course that your ASC will help you schedule. It is strongly recommended that you take BC 403 Leadership and Professional Development in the term before you take your BC 491 Capstone Project course. The content of BC 403 will flow directly into BC 491 and will help you complete your capstone project.
BC 372 Intercultural Communication has been revised. You will find the new, updated content beneficial for conducting business in today’s global economy.
BC 402 Managing the Sales Force, first offered in November 2006, is a new course providing crucial skills and abilities for those of you who will participate in any facet of managing a sales team. It is also strongly recommended for all who intend to build a business, since it demonstrates the need for a highly organized sales team.
BC 400 Integrating Sales and Marketing with Service is a brand new course that provides an overview of how key departments are best integrated for business success. You will find this course highly useful if you work in any of these departments or intend to manage at a higher level.
For MABC students:
Recently, the MABC Program Committee decided that ethics education was so critical to today’s business leaders that they recommended that JIU designate an exciting new course, ETH 501 Making Ethical Management Decisions, to replace the elective option. (This course is described below.) If you have already taken your elective, you may disregard this message. If you have yet to take your elective, it is strongly recommended that you choose ETH 501. If you want to take ETH 501 and you have already taken an elective, you may discuss with your ASC the possibility of substituting ETH 501 for another core course in which you already demonstrate adequately obtained skills and strengths.
Your ASC will be strongly recommending that you include BC 500 and BC 681 in your degree plan as your final two courses. The content of BC 500 will flow directly into BC 681 and will directly impact your capstone project (see the abbreviated course descriptions below). You should refrain from attempting to take both courses together so that you can benefit most from each. If you took BC 500 some time ago, you will still be able to complete your BC 681 capstone course successfully.
The BC 681 Capstone Experience course is to be the final course all students take before graduation. BC 681 has been revised and is now an 8-week course whose faculty member advises all students on their projects. No capstone project begun after September 2006 may extend past the 8-week deadline for the course, unless the student qualifies for an Incomplete, which carries with it a $100 fee. Students will be preparing their capstone project proposals while completing BC 500. This is why these two courses should be your final two.
ETH 501 Making Ethical Management Decisions, available beginning December 2006, is centered on an online simulation game that allows you to assume several roles in a company and make ethical decisions in coordination with your classmates, who are playing other roles. The decisions you make propagate through the organization to teach you how ethics affects the entire system. This course will be very exciting and challenging.
BC 606 Managing the Customer Experience (to be offered in early 2007) covers how today’s leaders must understand the interdependence of sales, service and marketing departments and create a cooperative relationship among the three in order to deliver on the “service promise.” This course focuses on the dynamics of working with people and the complexities of coordinating expectations with deliverables.
All Students:
I hope you will find that improvements in your curriculum are easy to understand and are applicable to your professional development.
Enjoy the holidays!
Dr. Elnor Kinsella, PhD
Academic Chair, School of Business
ekinsella@international.edu
