Undergraduate Frequently Asked Questions

Before registering for classes, students are encouraged to meet with an advisor to discuss possible classes and career planning. Most freshman should include an English course and a math course in their first semester schedule. In addition, the university provides students with course of study MAPs (major academic plans). These helps students plan their schedules and visualize what classes could be taken in a semester and their courses within a major.

Total credit load is dependent on the student’s time availability, work scheduling, family obligations, athletics, and circumstantial obligations. Additionally, the relative difficulty of the courses that you choose can influence the total credits you may want to register for.

For more information, please see the MAPs/suggested schedules and the math and english placement information.

Schedule adjustments can be made during the first ten days of the semester, with the exception of early/late 8 week courses. Courses can be added or dropped without record appearing on a transcript. After this deadline, students may withdraw from courses, which will appear on the transcript. Please note there is a later deadline for withdrawing from classes.

In order to add or drop a course, follow these steps:

1)    Log into your BengalWeb.

2)    When you are logged in, click on the “Academic Tools” tab.

3)    On the right side of the page, under “Registration Tools”, select “Add or Drop Classes”.

4)    Select the semester in which you are looking to register, and click Submit.

5)    From here, you may click Class Search. You may begin looking for the course in which you intend to enroll. When you find your intended class, click View Class Sections.

6)    To enroll in the course click in the box on the left of the class name and click Register.

7)    This should register you for the course. If for any reason you cannot register, consult the course catalog to ensure you meet the requirements for the course. If you do and still cannot register, please contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies at the information below.

1)    Log into your BengalWeb.

2)    When you are logged in, click on the “Academic Tools” tab.

3)    On the right side, under “Registration Tools”, select “My Concise Schedule”.

4) On the bottom of that page, select “Buy Pocatello Books” or “Buy Idaho Falls Books.”

5) This takes you to the bookstore’s website, and it shows you the books required for your courses and those suggested by the bookstore.

6) If you intend to purchase the book from a different source, be sure to use the ISBN number to search for it on other websites to ensure you get the correct edition.

Instructors also will post the required course material in the course syllabus, which is usually dispersed on the first day of class.

The Associate of Science in Business is a 2-year degree that students can earn on their way to earning the Bachelor of Business Administration or as a stand alone degree. The requirements for the Associate of Science in Business are nearly identical to the requirements for the first two years of the BBA, so all students are encouraged to get the Associate of Science in Business degree.

If a student has to take a break from school, an Associate of Science in Business looks far better on a resume than no degree. Furthermore, if a student needs to transfer schools, it is much easier to transfer an Associate’s degree than it is to transfer credits on a course- by- course basis.

Students pursuing the Associate of Science in Business degree must complete the University General Education Requirements (8 of the 9 General Education Objectives, a minimum of 36 credits), some of which are satisfied by courses that are already a part of the College's requirements.

The following business courses must be completed:

• BA 1110: The World of Business, 3 credits
• ACCT 2201: Principles of Accounting I, 3 credits
• ACCT 2202: Principles of Accounting II, 3 credits
• ECON 2201: Principles of Macroeconomics, 3 credits
• ECON 2202: Principles of Microeconomics, 3 credits
• INFO 1101: Digital Information Literacy, 3 credits OR FIN 1115: Personal Finance, 3 credits
• MGT 2216: Business Statistics, 3 credits
• 6 credits of business electives (can be upper level business electives)*

A student must earn a total of 60 credits.

*If you plan to obtain a BBA,, we recommend the 6 credits in business electives be courses from the BBA curriculum.

All degree-seeking students must fulfill departmental, General Education, and general graduation requirements for their particular fields of study. These requirements are listed in the course catalog-- a student must take the courses outlined in the course catalog for their particular program. Deviations from the catalog must be handled by petition and may not be approved.

A student’s catalog year is typically the year they start at ISU, but it may change when declaring, changing, or adding a major. A student can typically choose to use any catalog year that they were enrolled during, as long as it does not precede their graduation year by more than eight years.

A student’s catalog year is listed in Degree Works, which is accessed through BengalWeb.

The course catalog is no longer printed. The current course catalog can be found at this link:

http://coursecat.isu.edu/undergraduate/

An override is needed when a student is trying to register for a course and the system will not allow the student to register. This happens from time to time for a variety of reasons.

A course override can be given when a student has met the appropriate prerequisites for the course.

Prerequisites are in place to ensure that students have learned the appropriate content in order to be successful in future courses. Many courses rely on information learned in previous coursework.

To request a course override, please fill out the information on the linked document below and submit it to the Student Services Office in BA 510. Overrides will not be granted unless you have met the prerequisites. If you have not met the prerequisites but feel you have a compelling case for an override, it is suggested that you contact the faculty member that teaches the course in order to get approval for an override.

Please note that we cannot give overrides for courses outside of the College of Business.

Request for a Course Override

Students are allowed to register for up to 18 credits per semester. If a student wishes to register for more than 18 credits in a semester, the student must request a credit limit increase.

The College of Business strongly encourages students to examine their course load, work schedule, extracurricular activities, and other time commitments before setting their schedule.  You will be notified via email whether or not the credit limit override was granted.

Please fill out the information below and send it via email to cobadvis@isu.edu with your request. You will be notified via email whether or not it was approved.

A major is a student’s primary program of study at a university. The College of Business has eight majors:

• Accounting
• Business Informatics
• Economics
• Finance
• General Business
• Healthcare Administration (HCA)
• Management
• Marketing

A major in each of these areas (except HCA) earns the student a Bachelor of Business Administration. Students studying HCA will earn a Bachelor of Science with a minor in business administration.

A minor is an optional, secondary program of study, typically around six classes. Students can minor in a field inside or outside the College of Business. Minors can serve a variety of purposes, from augmenting your degree by specializing it more toward a particular industry or simply by adding variety by allowing you to study an additional subject area that you are interested in.

The College of Business has five minors:

• Business Administration (33 credits, not available to business majors)
• Business (18 credits, not available to business majors)
• Economics
• Informatics
• Marketing (not available to business majors)

An area of emphasis is a specialization within a major. Students may select an area of emphasis to be combined with their major, but it is not required. Listed below are a brief description of the emphasis and which majors can be applied to the emphasis.

• Human Resource Management: provides students with a deeper understanding of issues faced by administrators, management personnel, and other positions to manage employees.  This emphasis can be applied to Management majors only.
• Entrepreneurship and Small Business: take courses that relate to managing and owning a small business. This emphasis can be applied to Finance, Management, and Marketing majors.
• Operations and Production Management: gives students a series of courses to develop management skills within a production setting, such as industrial production, production budgeting, and managing projects within an organization. This emphasis can be applied to the following majors: Accounting, Finance, General Business, Informatics, Management, and Marketing.

Can I major in more than one area?

Yes! Students can major in multiple fields. To major in two fields within the College of Business, please schedule an appointment with your advisor so that they can help you develop a plan of study for both fields. Some courses will overlap, particularly if you are majoring in management, marketing, or finance.

The flexible BBA is available to students majoring in finance, management, or marketing. It allows students to craft a major that suits their career goals by allowing them to take upper level electives from other disciplines. It also makes it much easier to double major.

That’s okay! Many students are unsure of what to major in when starting school, and many change their major multiple times. If  you are interested in business, the good news is that you have a couple of years before you need to decide -- each business major takes the same set of core classes, which allows you to explore multiple areas before making a choice.

Students should also use the General Education courses required by ISU to explore new interest areas.

In addition, there is a one-credit elective course called COUN 1150: Career and Life Planning that helps students determine their interest areas and what careers and majors might best suit their skills and interests.

(Requirements vary by catalog year.)

Each student at ISU must take a mathematics course to fulfill Objective 3 of the General Education requirements. Placement into mathematics courses can be found here.

The College of Business has specific mathematics requirements, one of which (MGT 2216: Business Statistics) fulfills ISU’s requirement for General Education Objective 3.

The math requirements for the College of Business are incredibly important, as they are prerequisites to many of the required courses.

• MATH 1108: Intermediate Algebra is the prerequisite for ACCT 2201: Principles of Accounting I and MGT 2216: Business Statistics.
• MATH 1143: College Algebra is required for Informatics and Economics students.
• Please note that ISU’s MATH 1153: Introduction to Statistics course does not satisfy the COB requirement for business statistics (MGT 2216). ACCT 2201, ACCT 2202, MGT 2216, ECON 2201, and ECON 2202 must be completed prior to a student enrolling in FIN 3315.

Math placement is based off ACT, SAT, Compass, or ALEKS test scores. If you have not previously taken any of these tests, you should contact the testing center at ISU at 208-282-4907 to schedule a time to take the placement exam.

There is no formal admission process to the College of Business, though students are strongly encouraged to meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies (their COB advisor) and/or their faculty mentor each year to ensure the student is making accurate progress. Many upper level courses have multiple prerequisites, so it is important for students to ensure they are taking the appropriate courses in the appropriate order.

Many courses teach new content that relies on a student understanding content learned in a previous course. If a student takes a course that they have not met the prerequisites for, they may be unsuccessful. Meeting the prerequisites ensure that a student will have the appropriate level of knowledge before advancing in their program.

The prerequisites for FIN 3315, which is a core requirement for the College of Business, are ACCT 2201 and 2202, ECON 2201 and 2202, and MGT 2216. In turn, FIN 3315 is one of the prerequisites to the capstone course, MGT 4460.

The prerequisites for MGT 3329 is MGT 2217. INFO 3301 is a pre- or corequisite. In turn, MGT 3329 is one of the prerequisites to the capstone course, MGT 4460.

Students typically take MGT 4460, the capstone course, in their final semester. The prerequisites are INFO 3301 (formerly CIS 3301), FIN 3315, MGT 3312, MGT 3329 and MKTG 2225. Students must also be at senior standing.

1. Incoming transfer students typically have credits that will fulfill Idaho State University and College of Business graduation requirements. The Registrar’s Office will evaluate the transcript upon admission and make substitutions for transferable courses . Other courses, will be counted as elective credit. If a student believes a course will fulfill an ISU requirement, they should consult with their advisor.
2. Additionally,  students can take courses at other universities during their studies at ISU. This can be helpful for students who are seeking to graduate early, accommodate busy schedules, and take summer courses not offered by ISU.  It is the student's responsibility to find a suitable course, not the responsibility of the advisors.

1. Please consult with the Idaho State University Transfer Articulation page.  The page lists hundreds of universities, and reflects what courses are guaranteed to transfer. These courses are accepted by the university and typically reflect on student DegreeWorks pages when the transcript from the other institution is received.
2. If the course is not listed in the transfer articulation agreement, your will need to petition the appropriate department to accept it.  The decision made on the petition is final, and it cannot be changed by the advisors.
3. The student is responsible for finding a suitable course that will fulfill an ISU course requirement, and they must obtain a syllabus. We strongly recommend students get ISU approval before enrolling in a course at another university.