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Thursday, February 23, 2012 | 8:17 AM CST

Handbook – Class of 2011 or Later

Table of contents

Business Honors curriculum

All business students enter Mays Business School in the BUAD (lower-level business) classification. Once students meet the requirements for entry into junior- and senior-level business courses (completion of 60 hours and the following eight classes- ACCT 229, ACCT 230, ECON 202, ECON 203, INFO 210, MATH 141, MATH 142, and MGMT 211) they will select Business Honors (BHNR) as their major. They may also declare a second business major at that time. The following categories are part of the Business Honors curriculum:

  1. Students must complete 30 hours of honors course work from the following categories:
    1. BUSN 125H and MGMT 466H (6 hours)
    2. Six (6) hours of non-business honors chosen from core curriculum requirements or non-business general electives, i.e. select from humanities, sciences, math, social sciences, international electives, etc
    3. Eighteen (18) hours of business honors course work chosen from the Common Body of Knowledge. You need to take all of these courses but will chose at least 6 of the 11 courses to take as honors:ACCT 229 - Introductory Accounting- Financial ACCT 230 - Introductory Accounting- Managerial BUSN 205 - Integrated Worklife Competencies INFO 210 - Fundamentals of Information Systems MGMT 211 - Legal & Social Environment of Business FINC 341 - Business Finance INFO 303 - Statistical methods INFO 364 - Operations management MGMT 363 - The Management Process MKTG 321 - Marketing MGMT 450 - International Business
  2. Required Courses
    1. BUSN 125H - Business Learning Community *
    2. MGMT 466H - Strategic Management **
    3. BUSN 484 - Internship
  3. Business Electives (Select 5 courses for a total of 15 credit hours): Any 300-or 400- level business course (ACCT, FINC, IBUS, INFO, MGMT, MKTG) except FINC 309/409, 341; INFO 303,309, 364; MGMT 309,363,466; MKTG 309/409, 321. At least one of these courses must be designated as writing intensive (W). Select in consultation with a department academic advisor.
  4. Double Major: Students can double major in Business Honors and one of the five other BBA business fields of study (accounting, finance, information and operations management, management, and marketing) by selecting all 15 hours of Business Electives and the 11 hours of general elective credits from one major. Triple majors are not allowed.

*- Students selected for Business Honors as second semester freshmen: BUSN100 (1 credit) and BUSN 101 (2 credits) will be substituted for BUSN 125. Students who did not complete BUSN101 MUST enroll in BUSN 125 in the fall semester of their sophomore year. Students who completed BUSN 101 but not BUSN100 will be required to enroll in BUSN 100 in the fall semester of their sophomore year. **- Note for Professional Program students: You will receive business honors credit for MGMT 680 which you take in place of MGMT 466. Click here to see the business honors courses currently being offered.

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BUSN 484 - internship

All Business Honors majors must complete an internship. This is a three-hour graded class, BUSN 484. Students can substitute other departmental internships for this requirement: ACCT 484*, FINC 484, INFO 484, MKTG 484, or MGMT 484. To be eligible for the BUSN 484 courses, a student must meet the following criteria:

For the internship to count for credit it needs be related to what the student is interested in doing after graduation. Internships revolving around a student’s second major or work experience for a possible graduate school option (law, medicine, etc) are acceptable options. The internship must be for a minimum of five weeks for at least 150 total hours. An Internship Briefing will be held each semester to discuss important information regarding your participation in an internship. Please plan to attend the briefing prior to the start of your internship. *- A note for students in the Professional Program of Accounting: Your internship through PPA will count as your Business Honors internship requirement but you must sign up for ACCT 484 in addition to ACCT 684 the semester you complete your internship. For more information, see the internship page.

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Professional development events

Students must attend a minimum of three professional development events each academic year. These events are to be chosen from the Executive Speaker Series breakfasts and lunches with executives, professional development trips (both in-state and out-of-state), the book discussion group, the Career Skills Series, and other events offered by Business Honors. To participate in Business Honors course selection in the fall, you need to have attended one event by the end of the fall semester. To participate in the spring you must have attended all three required events by the time open registration begins in May.

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GPR requirements and probation policy

If a student falls below the 3.5 cumulative GPR required to remain in Business Honors , a one-time, one-semester probation period will be automatically offered, if the GPR is at least a 3.25. Students with a cumulative GPR of 3.25 or lower will be dismissed from the program. Grades are officially checked following each fall and spring semester. First semester freshmen will be granted probation if they have at least a 3.0 GPR. After the first semester, the minimum requirement is 3.25. The following rules apply: If at the end of a semester, a student's cumulative GPR is:

If at the end of the semester of probation, a student's cumulative GPR is:

If at the end of the second semester of probation, a student's cumulative GPR is:

Note on Summer Sessions: Grades earned in the summer will not count toward the probationary period. GPRs will be calculated at the end of each spring and fall semester to determine probation/dismissals.

Probation policy for professional development events

If students fail to attend the three required events in an academic year, the following rules apply:

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Upper-level information

After a student has completed 60 hours and the 8 required classes for entrance to upper level the student should make an appointment with the Business Honors academic advisor to review degree progress and fill out upper level paperwork. If at that point a student desires to declare a second major in the business school the advisor will direct the student to the proper steps. This will vary my major. To apply for upper level a student should fill out this form which can be turned in during the appointment with the Business Honors academic advisor. Please note: Business Honors (BHNR) is not an option to apply for upper level on the Howdy Portal. Students should not apply for upper level online—the form submitted to the academic advisor will be the student’s upper level application. Once a student enters upper level their first major becomes BHNR while in good standing with the Business Honors program. Students should contact the Business Honors academic advisor for questions on declaring minors or any questions on Business Honors requirements. However, questions on upper level electives or second major requirements should be directed to that departmental advisor. See the UPO webpage for contact information.

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Graduating with Business Honors

Students should check with their advisors at least every other semester to ensure proper course selection. A final check three semesters ahead of the intended graduation (i.e. middle of junior year) should be scheduled with the Business Honors staff to allow for actions that may be necessary to graduate with business honors. A student will graduate with Business Honors if the following criteria are met:

  1. All course requirements are met as explained in the sections above.
  2. Have a cumulative overall GPR of 3.5 or higher and a 3.25 honors GPR with no grade less than a “C” in an honors course.
  3. Complete an exit survey during final semester.

Exit survey

About six weeks before graduation, students are required to complete an exit survey and to schedule an exit interview with the director of the program. Transcript designation will not be authorized until this is completed.

Graduate recognition

  1. Graduates' official transcripts are marked with a Business Honors notation.
  2. Graduates are awarded a special certificate by Business Honors .
  3. Graduates are honored at an event held at the end of the fall, spring, and summer terms.

Please note: If a student chooses to double major both majors will be printed on one diploma. Minors are not designated on any Texas A&M diploma.

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Options for receiving Business Honors credit

In addition to completing business honors or university honors classes, there are several options for earning honors credit. The following information describes how a student can qualify for these opportunities and the process for enrolling in such courses.

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AP credit

Students who have exceeded the minimum required AP test scores, which vary according to the subject, may receive up to 6 hours of honors credit. For example, an AP score of 4 on the chemistry AP exam would count towards honors credit; however, a score of 5 is required to receive honors credit for biology. A complete list of the AP courses accepted for honors credit, along with the required scores, can be found in the appendix. The Business Honors academic advisor can assist you in determining your AP honors credit. Because only 6 hours of non-business honors coursework is required, this is the maximum amount that will go towards the Business Honors degree. However, if honors credit was earned for AP Statistics (a score of a 4 or 5) a student may use those 3 hours in addition to 5 non-business honors hours.

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Honors candidacy

Students completing nine credit hours of honors classroom courses at Texas A&M are designated “Honors Candidates.” Honors Candidates have certain privileges including the right to apply for Honors Contracting, Honors Independent Study, the University Undergraduate Research Fellows Program, and to enroll in graduate courses for honors credit.

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Other options for receiving honors credit

The University Honors Program offers other options for receiving honors credit like taking graduate courses for undergraduate honors credit, honors contracting, and independent study. To get more information on these options please refer to the University Honors webpage.

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Advising

Students in the program can see a member of Business Honors staff at any time. Freshman and sophomores should schedule an appointment with Risa Meyer, the academic advisor for Business Honors students. Contact the Business Honors Office at 979-845-7512 or rmeyer@mays.tamu.edu to make an appointment with Risa to discuss course selection and other academic issues. In addition, you can visit her during walk-in advising hours, Mondays and Thursdays, 9-10:30 AM. Upperclassmen should see an advisor in their department.

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Business Honors registration details

Each semester, students in Business Honors are able to pre-register for business honors courses for the following semester. To pre-register, go to the class selection page on the website and follow the directions. Two important notes. Please read carefully:

  1. It is NOT necessary to take an honors class every semester. After completing nine hours of honors coursework, a student is always ELIGIBLE to register during early honors registration. BUT, to register during early honors registration a student MUST be registering for an honors class for the following semester AND request an early registration time through the University Honors office. If not taking an honors class in the following semester, the student will need to not request an early registration time and register with the rest of their classification of students.
  2. Students who register for an honors class during early honors registration and then later drop that class without replacing it with a different honors class will be permanently blocked from early honors registration.

During Business Honors class selection, students select the business honors courses they want and will be placed in the class on the first day of open registration. During their registration time, they register for the remainder of their courses. The process may vary slightly from one semester to the next but, the following procedures are followed:

  1. Neither Business Honors nor University Honors can override any blocks, and it is the student's responsibility to check for blocks before registration. It is advisable to do a final check the morning of or the afternoon before your registration time. Check for blocks on myrecord.tamu.edu.
  2. The Business Honors Office will only contact students if they were not able to put them in a requested class or section. Unless students hear from the staff, they should assume that they were placed in the honors course requested.
  3. Business Honors has a "no forcing" policy and strictly enforces it.
  4. Student workers should not fill out a student worker registration form if they want to register during early honors registration.
  5. Early registration privileges are offered to students who are currently enrolled in an honors class or who have previously earned nine hours of honors credit and who are enrolling in one or more honors courses. If the student plans on registering for an honors course (in or out of the business school), the student MUST request an early registration time through University Honors.
  6. The online schedule of courses, which can be found at courses.tamu.edu, has crucial information about early honors registration.
  7. Students who are participating in a study abroad, internship or other activity that takes them away from College Station may participate in pre-registration for business honors classes. They must meet the established deadlines.

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Keeping in touch

E-mail will be the primary form of communication between the Business Honors staff and students in the program. Each student is responsible for all information sent out and thus it is extremely important that Business Honors has a correct neo e-mail address. The student Neo account is the address Business Honors correspondence is sent to. The Business Honors Website will keep students informed of upcoming meetings and deadlines.

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University Honors Program

In addition to graduating with Business Honors, a student may earn University Honors and/or Foundation Honors. Scholarships, the Undergraduate Research Fellows Program, and many other opportunities are available through the University Honors Program. Check their website at honors.tamu.edu or call (979) 845-1957 for more information.

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