UNDERGRADUATE Profiles Publish Date 2/26/09

University of Akron

Getting In

PROGRAM BASICS

Undergraduate Programs in Business, The University of Akron

259 S. Broadway St.
Akron , Ohio 44325-4805

Public Institution

Web site

http://www.uakron.edu/colleges/cba/undergraduate/degrees.php

Program e-mail address:

ugcba@uakron.edu

Program telephone number:

(330) 972-7042

AACSB accredited:

Yes

Year in which the undergraduate business program was founded:

1922

Length of entire institution:

Four Year

Business program length:

Four Year

Degrees offered:

Degree/Program Name:
BS in Accounting
BS in Business Administration
BS in Management

PROGRAM COSTS

Annual Tuition (Resident):

$ 8,382

Annual Tuition (Non-Resident)

$ 15,781

Cost per academic credit (resident)

$ 349

Cost per academic credit (non-resident)

$ 658

Books:

$ 1,200

Room and board:

$ 9,048

ENROLLMENT

Full-time undergraduate business student enrollment:

2,380

Part-time undergraduate business student enrollment:

607

Distance undergraduate business student enrollment:

Total College enrollment for 2008-09:

25,942

ADMISSIONS

Minimum SAT score for entire college on 1600 scale:

650

Minimum ACT score for entire college:

Interviews for entire college:

By invitation only

Additional application requirements for entire college:

College Prep Curriculum: English - four units Mathematics - three units Natural Science - three units Social Science - three units Foreign Language - two units

Upcoming application deadlines for entire college:

Semester: Fall 2009
Deadline: 07-31-09
Semester: Spring 2010
Deadline: 12-18-09
Semester: Summer 2009
Deadline: 04-30-10

Freshmen admitted into business program:

Yes

Percentage of business students admitted as freshmen:

56 %

Are the freshman admits to the business program required to complete pre-business courses before beginning upper-lever courses in the junior year?

Yes

Freshmen admitted by:

Indicate interest on university application

Minimum requirements for business program:

Minimum SAT score: 1010
Minimum ACT score: 22
Minimum high school GPA : 3

Entrance exam requirement other than SAT/ACT for business program:

Interview to enter business program:

Not offered

Additional application requirements for freshman admits:

To be directly admittted to the College of Business Administration, a freshman must have at least a 3.0 high school GPA, a 22 ACT or 1010 SAT, and be in the top 50% of their graduating class.

Minimum college GPA for internal business program transfers:

2.5

Additional requirements for internal transfers:

Students must have completed at least 40 credits including College Algebra, Behavioral Science, Microeconomics, and Accounting I.

Total number of full-time applications for entire college:

13,901

International applicants, entire college, 2008-09:

2 %

Female applicants, entire college, 2008-09:

54 %

Selectivity--applicants admitted to undergraduate business program, 2008-09:

75 %

Yield -- applicants enrolled in undergraduate business program, 2008-09:

39 %

Relative Importance of Application Elements:

Secondary School Record:

Very Important

Class Rank:

Considered

Talent/Ability:

Considered

Interview:

Not Considered

Extracurricular Activities:

Considered

Volunteer Work:

Considered

Character/Personal Abilities:

Considered

Application Essay:

Considered

Work Experience:

Considered

SAT/ACT Scores:

Very Important

Recommendations:

Considered

High School GPA:

Very Important

Admissions program managed by:

The university admissions office

Total undergraduate business program applicants, 2008-09:

2,014

Applicants enrolled in undergrad business program 2008-2009:

44 %

Applicants admitted to undergraduate business program, 2008-09:

72 %

CLASS PROFILE

Class Profile:

Female: 42 %
International : 1 %

Entering students by age:

Mean: 19
Median: 18

Citizenship of Entering Students

U.S.: 98 %
Unknown: 2 %

Percentage of US citizens in entering class who are:

African American: 3.6 %
Asian American: 2.9 %
Hispanic or Latino American: 1.4 %
White (Non-Hispanic): 90 %
Chose not to report: 2.1 %

Entering students from the following region:

Mid-Atlantic: 4 %
Midwest : 96 %

SAT Scores for full-time entering business students on 1600 scale:

Mean: 1115
Median: 1110

SAT middle 50% range on 1600 scale:

From: 1,000
To: 1,140

ACT Scores for full-time entering business students:

Mean: 25
Median: 24

ACT middle 50% range:

From: 22
To: 26

Percent of Students Who Were In:

Top 10% of high school class

36 %

Top 25% of high school class:

77 %

HS GPA of 3.75 or higher

46 %

HS GPA of 3.5 to 3.74:

46 %

FINANCIAL AID

Financial aid handled by:

Central financial aid office at the university

Institutional scholarship money distributed to undergraduate business students in previous academic year:

$ 1,771,000

Institutional scholarship money to be distributed to undergraduate business students in current academic year:

$ 1,750,000

Scholarships awarded to students in the business program based on:

A combination of need and merit

Scholarship consideration process:

Unique scholarship application

Other scholarship considerations:

N/A

Students receiving institutional scholarships for 2008-09 academic year:

30 %

Undergraduate business students with full-tuition scholarships 2008-09:

2 %

Percentage of institutional scholarship money distributed to business students based on merit, 2008-09 year:

35 %

Percentage of institutional scholarship money distributed to business students based on need, 2008-09:

65 %

School offers guaranteed loans:

Financial aid web site

http://www.uakron.edu/finaid/

Academics & Lifestyle

PROGRAM BASICS

Business students who graduate within four years:

18 %

Business students who graduate within 6 years:

13 %

Freshman retention rate:

70 %

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Credit hours required for graduation:

Degree: BSA
Hours: 128
Degree: BSBA
Hours: 128
Degree: BSM
Hours: 128

Other degree requirements:

To earn the business degree, undergraduate students must have an overall GPA of at least 2.3, a business GPA of at least 2.0 and a GPA of at least 2.0 in the major

ACADEMICS

Average class size in required business courses:

Average class size in business electives:

Average class size in non-business electives required for admission to business program:

Class size:

Classes with fewer than 20 students: 16 %
Classes with 21 to 50 students: 72 %
Classes with more than 50 students: 12 %

Required business courses that reached maximum enrollment by the first day of class, previous academic year:

51 %

CURRICULUM

Number of elective courses available in business program:

Electives added current year:

Enterprise Risk - Derivatives
Management of Data Networks

Year of the last major change to the business program's core curriculum:

2005

Leading areas of study:

Accounting

Finance

International Business

Management Information Systems

Marketing

Professional Selling - Our sales program is ranked as one of the six best sales programs in the country, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, according to Sales and Marketing Management Magazine.

Special programs for business students:

Institutes for Direct Marketing, Entrepreneurship Studies, Global Business and Professional selling; internships with major companies; study abroad programs, international exchange programs

Business program offers work study or co-op opportunities:

Yes

CBA students can participate in both work study and co-op programs. Work study students work with departments on campus and volunteer agencies off campus. Co-op programs are offered with many different companies in N.E. Ohio including large, multinational corporations, small businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations.

Business program offers study abroad opportunities:

Yes

Study abroad program description:

The CBA sponsors study abroad programs to sites around the world including England, Ghana, Greece, India and South Korea. These programs are for either a semester or academic year and offer direct UA credit. Students may qualifiy for financial aid.

Volunteer work and community service opportunities:

Yes

Volunteer opportunities description:

Students in the tax program provide tax assistance to low-income individuals. Other students participate in volunteer work/community service through courses such as Management Projects, Buyer Behavior and Integrated Marketing Communications, and through student organizations.

Business clubs and extracurricular activities:

Accounting Association Beta Alpha Psi Delta
Sigma Pi Financial Management Assoc Business
Honors Group International Business Student
Assoc Institute of Management Accountants
Nat'l Assoc of Black Accountants Pi Sigma Epsilon
Society for Human Resource Mgmt Students in Free
Enterprise Society for Information Technology &
eBus Supply Chain Student Assoc Toastmasters

FACULTY

Faculty:

Full-time faculty : 62
Adjuncts and visiting faculty: 37
Permanent/tenured professors: 41
Percentage of permanent/tenured professors who are women: 17
Percentage of permanent/tenured professors who are underrepresented minorities: 5
Percentage of permanent/tenured professors who are also members of company boards of directors or of advisors: 7
Percentage of permanent/tenured professors who are business owners: 6

Prominent faculty:

Raj Aggarwal Dean/Professor of International Business and Finance
Aigbe Akhigbe Frederick Moyer Chair/Professor of Finance
Roger Mayer Professor of Management

STUDENT LIFE

Largest on-campus organizations for business students:

Students in Free Enterprise
Supply Chain Student Association
Beta Alpha Psi
Pi Sigma Epsilon
Delta Sigma Pi

Freshmen are required to live on campus:

Business students are grouped in learning communities:

Yes

TECHNOLOGY

Wireless network available:

Yes

Technological improvements made in the last three years:

Construction of the Suarez Marketing Research Labs, which includes a cognitive research lab, marketing intelligence lab, and experential research lab; a Finance lab with computer access to Internet financial databases, news sources and trading data; and 3 direct marketing labs and an informercial studio. Enhancement of one of our computer labs with distance learning capabilities.

Trading laboratory available:

Yes

Alumni Affairs & Careers

ALUMNI

Total number of undergraduate business program graduates since inception:

22,424

Total living alumni:

21,637

Single donation in excess of $10 million in 2007-08?

Prominent alumni:

Name: Mary Taylor
Title: Ohio Auditor of State
Name: Anthony Alexander
Title: President and CEO, FirstEnergy
Name: Don Misheff
Title: Managing Partner, Ernst & Young, LLP

CAREER SERVICES

Percent of 2008 graduates who provided employment information:

45 %

Seeking full-time employment in business: 90 %
Not Seeking full-time employment in business: 10 %

Number of companies recruiting undergraduate students on campus in previous academic year:

Companies that posted full-time job offers/positions on school job boards, previous academic year:

594

Other activities and services provided for business majors:

Two University Career fairs each year; both individual appointments and walk-in sessions with advisers; job search workshops; resume/cover letter writing workshops and review services; mock interviews (in-person and online); etiquette luncheon, career resource library; electronic job database; co-op/internship orientation sessions;Technology Forum; pod casts in iTunes.

Job offer results, 2008 graduates:

Received first job offer by graduation: 88 %
Did not report having received a job offer: 12 %

Top hiring firms:

Deloitte Touche Tomatsu
Ernst & Young
PricewaterhouseCoopers
KPMG LLP
PepsiCo Inc.

FirstEnergy Corp.
Apple growth Partners
RSM McGladrey
Sherwin-Williams
Brockman, Coats, Gedelian & Co.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
Grant Thornton LLP
National Interstate
Plante & Moran
The J.M. Smucker Co.
Saltz, Shamis & Goldfarb

Graduate compensation:

Mean base salary: $ 34,248
Median base salary: $ 43,000

Grads accepted jobs in following functional areas:

Finance/Accounting: 54 %
Human Resources: 6 %
Management Information Systems: 4 %
Marketing/Sales: 28 %
Operations/Production: 5 %
Other: 3 %

Grads accepted jobs in following industries:

Accounting: 21 %
Consumer Products/Retail: 5 %
Consulting Services: 9 %
Financial Services: 21 %
Pharma/Biotech/Health: 5 %
Manufacturing: 13 %
Technology/Science: 4 %
Transportation: 13 %
Utilities: 9 %

Percentage of job acceptances, US and Canada:

US: 100 %

Grads accepted jobs in the following US regions:

Midwest: 100 %

Number of companies recruiting interns on-campus, 2007-08 academic year:

Internship postings on job boards, previous academic year:

385

Top internship recruiters, 2007-08:

Ernst & Young
Walt Disney Co.

The Timken Company
FirstEnergy Corp.
The University of Akron
Luk USA
American Greetings
Apple Growth Partners
Babcock and Wilcox
CBIZ
WRL Advertising
Summit County Auditors
SS&G Finanancial Services

Percentage of internships that were paid, previous academic year

84 %

Mean internship compensation per week:

$ 260

Median internship compensation per week:

$ 250

Average internship, in weeks:

Graduate Comments

It is much less expensive than other schools, and offers an outstanding business school.

Many of our professors speak multiple languages, which is a big help to international students. Our professors make time to meet with students if they need help in the class, and most classes have TAs available for further help.

(The school has the) ability to get business leaders on campus to share their valuable knowledge. There have been many chances to learn from the top leaders in the business world.

We have a large number of professors with real-life experience and a number of them have credible documented research. Most classes are small and it is easy to access them for help.

I think that our program is unique because of all of the one-on-one time you can get with all of the professors. Each of them will go out of their way to make sure you are learning and ready to succeed outside of the classroom setting!

The professors generally all have ties to the Akron area and help to create realistic case studies of the business environment around us.

For those in the marketing program, they have access to the Taylor Institute for Direct Marketing which offers more availability to technology and creative programs.

The willingness of the professors to help you. Interaction between department heads and students is excellent. I know most all the professors in my department as well as the dean of the college of business.

The student body is very diverse both because of the international students and because of the diverse backgrounds of domestic students. Almost everyone works a part-time job if not full-time, so almost every graduate is starting out with minimum three years of notable work experience.

Professors are very skilled in the areas in which they teach and frequently give examples and relate topics to real-life situations.

Comprehensive learning that has topics from different area and viewpoints overlapped to ensure that the important topics are truly learned. These become the foundation for your junior and senior years� course work.

Professors are either outstanding or poor. They are either capable of proper discussion with students, or rely solely on PowerPoint presentations provided by the publishing companies for lectures. The professor makes all the difference for a class, and we students know that. I wish the program would be more responsive to us than how good the professor's credentials may be.

The dedication to students and challenging curriculum is what makes Akron's Business Department Unique from other universities. The course load is tough and teachers provide useful information from their experience in the business world. Most of my professors have been a business professional and have come back to teach, which provides application to everything I learn.

Several aspects of the program are still quite weak. One in particular is the focus on quantitative business analysis. There are currently no professors in this field who are clearly qualified to be professors. They are mere number crunchers with more power than they should be granted. I have never heard anyone be happy about this section of the business program, nor have I seen any indications of changes in the near future.

The finance professors are outstanding. Their ability to take their material and apply it to situations in the real world gives a great perspective of how we will be using the tools they teach upon graduation.

There are certain faculty members who make my degree program great, there are others who make me feel as if I've done nothing but waste my money. There are some professors without PhDs, and I don't feel like they have the knowledge to teach my courses.