Program Basics

• • The University of Alabama
  • Manderson Graduate School of Business
  • Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration
  • Box 870223
  • Tuscaloosa, Alabama
  • 35487-0223
  • United States
  • Program Web site: http://www.cba.ua.edu
  • Program e-mail address: businessatbama@cba.ua.edu
  • Program phone number: 8008282622
  • Status: Public (state-operated)
• • AACSB accredited: Yes
• • Year in which the undergraduate business program was founded: 1919
• • Institution: Four Year
• • Business Program: Four Year

SCHOOL BASICS

• Enrollment:

  • Total undergraduate: 31,747
  • Full-time undergraduate business: 6,605
  • Part-time undergraduate business: 379
  • Distance undergraduate business: 446
• • College or university freshman retention rate: 83 %

• Percentage of students who graduate from the business program:

  • Within four years of admission to the university: 87 %
  • Within six years of admission to the university: 96 %

• Undergraduate Business Degrees Offered:

  • B. S. in Commerce and Business Administration

PROGRAM COSTS

• • Annual Tuition (Resident): $8,600.00
• • Annual Tuition (Non-Resident): $21,900.00
• • Annual Required Fees: $730.00
• • Tuition Per Academic Credit (Resident): $665.00
• • Tuition Per Academic Credit (Non-Resident): $3,860.00
• • Annual Room and Board: $5,400.00
• • Annual Cost of Books: $1,200.00

CLASS PROFILE

• Students in newest entering class that are:

  • Female: 39 %
  • International: 3 %

• Mean and median age of full-time business students in the newest entering class:

  • Mean: 19
  • Median: 20

• Percentage of newest entering class:

  • Top 10% of high school class: 23 %
  • Top 25% of high school class: 44 %
  • GPA of 3.75 or higher: 29 %
  • GPA of 3.5 to 3.74: 39 %

• SAT scores (1600 scale) for the newest entering class of full-time undergraduate business students:

  • Mean: 1110

• Middle 50% range of SAT scores (1600 scale):

  • From: 1090
  • To: 1120

• ACT scores for the newest entering class of full-time undergraduate business students:

  • Mean: 24

• Middle 50% range of ACT scores:

  • From: 21
  • To: 28

• Citizenship breakdown for newest entering class:

  • US: 95 %
  • Other Non-US Citizens: 3 %
  • Unknown Citizenship: 2 %

• U.S. citizens in newest entering class:

  • African American: 10 %
  • Asian American: 1 %
  • Hispanic or Latino American: 2 %
  • Native American: 1 %
  • White (Non-Hispanic): 85 %
  • Other: 1 %

• Regional breakdown of U.S. citizens in newest entering class:

  • Northeast: 3 %
  • Mid-Atlantic: 2 %
  • South: 81 %
  • Southwest: 8 %
  • Midwest: 5 %
  • West: 1 %

ADMISSIONS - Getting Into the Institution

• Standardized tests required of all applicants:

  • ACT or SAT
  • writing component required of each test
• • Minimum SAT score on 1600 scale (if applicable) required for admission: 940
  • Minimum ACT Score (if applicable) required for admission: 20
  • Minimum High School GPA (if applicable) required for admission: 3.00, 2.00
  • Interviews are: By invitation only

• Application deadlines:

  • Fall 2012 07-01-2012
  • Spring 2013 10-01-2012
  • Summer 2013 04-01-2013
• • Additional application requirements: TOEFL is required of all non-English speaking students as well as international students. Transfer students must have a cumulative grade point average of a 2.00 from all schools.
• • Total undergraduate applicants, all programs: 22,000
• • Percentage of applicants admitted: 71 %
• • Percentage of admitted applicants who enrolled: 61 %
• • International applicants: 8 %
• • Female applicants: 39 %

• Relative Importance of Application Elements

  • Secondary school record: Very Important
  • Class rank: Important
  • Talent/ability: Considered
  • Interview: Not Considered
  • Extracurricular activities: Not Considered
  • Volunteer work: Not Considered
  • Character/personal abilities: Considered
  • Application essay: Important
  • Work experience: Not Considered
  • SAT/ACT scores: Very Important
  • Recommendations: Considered
  • High school GPA: Very Important

ADMISSIONS - Getting Into the Business Program

• • Undergrad business program admissions are managed by: The business program office
  • Total undergraduate business applicants: 3,100
  • Percentage of applicants admitted: 85 %
  • Percentage of admitted applicants who enrolled: 96 %

• Admission requirement for admission to the undergraduate business program

  • Minimum SAT: 940
  • Minimum ACT: 20
  • Minimum high school GPA: 3.00, 2.00
• • Entrance exam other than the SAT/ACT required for admission to the undergraduate business program?: No
• • Admissions interviews for the undergraduate business program are: By invitation only

• Freshman admission:

  • Does the business program admit freshmen?: Yes
  • Percentage of business program admits in most recent entering class who were freshman: 25 %
  • Are freshman business admits required to complete or obtain minimum GPAs in pre-business courses before taking upper-level courses? Yes
  • Process for freshmen admission?: Indicate interest on university application

• Internal transfers:

  • Method for handling internal transfers: Declare business major
  • Minimum college GPA for internal transfers to the business program: 2.00
  • Additional application requirements, including course/grade requirements: Students must have completed UA Core Curriculum requirements as well as business core requirements.

CAMPUS LIFE

• Five largest on-campus organizations for business students:

  • Beta Gamma Sigma
  • Alpha Kappa Psi
  • Delta Sigma Pi
  • American Marketing Association - Alabama Chapter
  • Society for Operations Management Students (SOMS)
• • Are freshmen required to live on campus?: Yes
  • Are business students grouped together in 'learning communities' in housing and other facilities?: Yes

ACADEMICS

• Average class size:

  • Required business classes: 75
  • Business electives: 25
  • Non-business electives: 50

• Percentage of business classes:

  • With 20 or fewer students: 2 %
  • With 21 to 50 students: 80 %
  • With more than 50 students: 18 %

• Course enrollment:

  • Percentage of required business courses reaching maximum enrollment by the first day of class: 5 %
  • Percentage of required business courses with waiting lists: 8 %

CURRICULUM

• Electives:

  • Available business electives: 60
  • New electives: Collective Negotiations
• • Last curriculum overhaul: 2007
  • Total business faculty: 102
  • Percentage of the total faculty that is tenured or tenure track: 55 %

• Most prominent faculty:

  • Dr. Edward Schnee
  • Dr. Walter Enders
  • Dr. Robert Brooks

• Business program's leading areas of study:

  • • Accounting
    • Finance
    • Marketing
    • General Management
    • Operations Management
• • Special programs: Students may specialize in Actuarial Science, Banking and Financial Services, Business Intelligence, Consumer Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Global Business, Health Care Management, Human Resource Strategy, Insurance, International Economics, International Finance, Investment Management, Personal Wealth Management, Production Management, Professional Sales, Public Policy & Law, Quantitative Economics, Quantitative Finance, Real Estate, and Supply Chain Management.
• • Work study: Work-Study, Internships, and Co-Operative Education Programs are available with many of the Fortune 500 companies throughout the country.
• • Study abroad programs: Joint programs are available with specific universities in Asia, Europe, Japan, and South America.
• • Volunteer opportunities: The University offers serving learning programs and student organizations which offer volunteerism components for students.

• Extra-curricular activities:

  • Alabama Management Society
  • Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)
  • Alabama Finance Association
  • Student in Operations Management (SOMS)
  • Beta Alpha Psi
  • Health Care Management Society
  • Phi Sigma Epsilon (Sales Organization)
  • National Association for Black Accountants

FINANCIAL AID

• • Who manages financial aid for the business program?: Central financial aid office at the university
  • Financial aid web site: http://financialaid.ua.edu/

• Scholarships

  • Scholarship money distributed to business students last year: $1,300,000.00
  • Expected scholarship distribution to business students this year: $1,300,000.00
  • Scholarships are awarded to business students based on: a combination of need and merit
  • Other criteria for scholarship consideration: Several Scholarships have specific awarding criteria which must be adhered. The Memorandums of Agreement are followed vary closely for reporting purposes.
  • Students receiving institutional scholarships in the current academic year: 33 %
  • Students receiving full-tuition institutional scholarships in the current academic year: 5 %
  • Institutional scholarship money distributed to undergraduate business students based on need: 20 %
  • Institutional scholarship money distributed to undergraduate business students based on merit: 80 %

• Loans

  • Does the school offer a guaranteed loan to all business students, regardless of nationality?: No
• • Mean outstanding debt, most recent graduating class: $12,000.00

CAREER SERVICES

• Employment Information

  • Percentage of most recent business graduates who supplied information regarding employment: 60 %
  • Percentage seeking full-time professional employment in business: 77 %
  • Percentage not seeking full-time professional employment in business: 23 %

• Accepted first job offer:

  • By graduation : 33 %
  • After graduation, but within 3 months: 44 %
  • More than 3 months after graduation: 1 %
  • No job acceptance reported: 26 %
• • Companies recruiting business students on campus: 130
  • Companies posting job offers for business students on school job boards: 100

• Most recent graduates accepted jobs in the following functional areas:

  • Consulting: 5 %
  • Finance/Accounting: 25 %
  • General Management: 12 %
  • Human Resources: 2 %
  • Management Information Systems: 11 %
  • Marketing/Sales: 11 %
  • Operations/Production: 12 %
  • Logistics/Transportation: 5 %
  • Other: 17 %

• Job offers accepted by most recent graduates in North America:

  • US: 100 %

• Percentage of 2009-10 academic year graduates who accepted jobs in regions of US:

  • Northeast: 2 %
  • Mid-Atlantic: 1 %
  • Midwest: 1 %
  • South: 90 %
  • Southwest: 5 %
  • West: 1 %

INTERNSHIPS

• • Companies recruiting business students for internships on campus: 168
  • Companies posting internship offers for business students on school job boards: 115

• Internship pay

  • Internships that are paid: 50 %
  • Mean compensation, per week, for paid internships only: $100.00
  • Median compensation, per week, for paid internships only: $110.00
  • Average internship length, in weeks: 10

B-SCHOOL ALUMNI

• • Total number of undergraduate business program graduates since inception: 48,920
  • Total living alumni of the undergraduate business program: 43,256
  • Percentage of living alumni who contributed to the business program or university in the last academic year: 30 %

• Alumni gifts

  • Mean Gift: $1,900.00
  • Median Gift: $100.00
  • Did the business program receive a gift of $10 million or more in the last academic year? No

• Prominent alums of the undergrad business program

  • Mr. Gary Fayard, CFO Coca-Cola Company
  • Mrs. Marilyn Hewson Lockhee-Martin Electronic Systems
  • Kathryn Hornsby Managing Director, CiTi

• • -The team effort put on by Alabama to not only teach you the skills you need, to provide the hands on learning that is required, but also to put you into the same room with the world's top business professionals to carry on casual and rewarding conversations.
    
    -UA's accounting department could offer a better variety of teachers with different teaching styles to help aid those who get stuck in that one class with the "only here for research" professor who I will not specifically name.
    
    -The alumni network is out of this world. That and our career services office make UA a better choice than many would think in terms of employment opportunities.
    
    -I think that the business program can be made stronger by expanding. Specifically, the addition of another business library as well as another building or two. These extra buildings would allow for facilities to be assigned to house most specific majors. As a result, there would not be as many crowds and it would be more organized with an easier time receiving individual attention.
    
    -Our major hosts a different company every week that try to recruit from our MIS program and present their company's strengths and opportunities. Our faculty is at the heart of what is happening in the business world and whom to talk to at companies that want to recruit our graduates. We have ties to Procter & Gamble, Accenture, WalMart, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, The Home Depot, Lowes, Hewlett Packard, VMWare, Engine Yard and others.
    
    -They could start bringing in more companies that aren't based mostly in the South and start expanding our influence in more regions such as the West.
    
    -My advisor always emphasizes us to go to each and every career fair so we can expose the Operations Management program to new companies and therefore give us more opportunities. Our teachers always bring in companies for our organizations so we can network with them personally and learn about what jobs they have to offer.
    
    -Some classes should be made more discussion based because that sometimes helps us learn material better than we would with power points.
    
    -It was easy for me to get my internship because of the faculty's involvement in the entire process. From resume reviews to making personal contacts to help me get an interview, they were very helpful.
    
    -The school should provide more classes in the upper division for functional field classes. There should be a specific class for students who are taking certain classes just for a functional field credit.
    
    -The business college separates Lower and Upper division courses allowing students to fully experience introductory classes to business before applying for Upper division and deciding their major. Then it breaks the business college into different schools based on major to provide a more concentrated group of students that receive personal attention, such as The School of Accountancy.
    
    -They could work on persuading more companies to send recruiters to our business school's events.
    
    -Professors in all of my businesses classes no matter what the field, i.e. management, marketing, finance, accounting etc., all teach by tying current events into the textbook material for the class. This gave me a glimpse of how classroom concepts apply to real life situations.
    
    -I feel that diversity is something that could always enlighten our business program more. Our college has a great melting pot of extremely diverse cultures and beliefs, which is one thing that gives our program so much strength. The greater the diversity, the greater program.
    
    -I believe that our business program offers a lot of different opportunities to different business majors and we strive to have the best students and the best professors who are always available outside of class for extra help. It is a large community that feels small and close because everyone helps each other out.