Department Code of Conduct

Changes in Degree Requirements: Students must meet the degree requirements in effect at the time they matriculate (at the time they are formally accepted by the college for admission or readmission). The Department continuously revises its programs in response to changes in the business environment and the changing expectations of employers. Therefore, the degree requirements listed in the Undergraduate Studies catalog may not be current. Prospective students should check the Department’s web site for the most current program requirements, descriptions, and course offerings.

Time Limitation: Courses completed more than 10 years prior to matriculation cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements in any of the Department’s majors. Courses completed more than ten years prior to matriculation must be repeated. Under some circumstances, students may request the opportunity to earn course credit by exam rather than repeat the course; contact the Department for details. This policy applies to courses taken at The College at Brockport and courses taken at other institutions.

Advisement: Students majoring in the Department’s programs will be assigned a faculty advisor when this application is processed. The advisor’s name will then appear at the top of the student’s Degree Audit Report (DARS); DARS is available on the web. After an advisor has been assigned, students are required to meet with their advisor each semester and are expected to:

1. Bring a copy of their DARS report to the meeting.
2. Prior to the meeting, consult their DARS report and the College Undergraduate Studies Catalog for the purpose of determining which degree requirements the student has not yet met.
3. Prior to the meeting, prepare a proposed schedule of classes for the following semester. Advisors assist students by reviewing the courses that the student selects each semester and by answering questions about degree requirements, course sequencing, transfer coursework, electives, careers, and graduate school. However, advisors will not create the student’s schedule for them.
4. Prior to the meeting, consult with the on-line course schedule to confirm that the classes in your proposed schedule are still open and making adjustments as necessary.

It is the advisor’s prerogative to decline to meet with students who fail to meet these expectations, i.e. students who are unprepared. Unprepared students will be required to reschedule their meeting at a later date, which may result in courses filling before the student has the opportunity to register. This, in turn, may delay the student’s graduation.

Faculty advisors assist students in academic planning, but each student is ultimately responsible for knowing and meeting their degree requirements as specified in the College catalog and on their Degree Audit Report (DARS).

Registration: Each semester, the College will publish a schedule of the classes available in the following semester. The schedule of classes also contains information on registration dates and times. A student’s registration date and time will vary by class rank and last name.

Students must consult with their advisor and obtain an advisement PIN number prior to registration for the following semester. Students should contact their advisor at least two weeks in advance of their registration date for the purpose of understanding how to schedule advisement. Advisors’ office hours will be posted on their door or are available from the Department Secretary (395-2623). Some advisors work by appointment while others work on a drop-in basis. Voice and e-mail messages left for advisors should include the student’s name, phone number, e-mail address, and times when the advisor may contact the student. Please speak slowly and clearly when leaving voice mail messages.

Students who are unable to arrange advisement with their designated advisor, because of work or class schedule conflicts, should call 395-2623 and request an appointment with the Department’s general advisement staff. However, students are expected to work with their primary advisor if possible.

Students who do not contact their faculty advisor on a timely basis or who register for courses after their designated registration date will often find themselves closed out of required courses, causing the student’s graduation date to be delayed.

Closed Courses: The Department sets enrollment caps on each course offered. Registration into closed business courses is controlled by the Department and not by the instructor, i.e., an instructor cannot give you permission to add into a closed course.

Students seeking to add a closed course must complete a petition available in the Department office. In general, the Department gives priority to students who 1) need a course to graduate on time, 2) demonstrably cannot take an alternative, open course, and 3) made an attempt to register for the course during their designated registration period, i.e. the student did not register late. Students who fail to register during their designated registration period will not be added to closed sections or otherwise accommodated. As such, it is important that each student register at the designated time.

Required Course Grades: An overall average of 2.0 is required to complete any major or minor offered by the Department. In general, students majoring in the Department’s programs need to earn a grade of at least “C-“ in a course to count the course towards a degree requirement. However, accounting majors must earn at least a “C” in their accounting courses (ACC prefix on course number). Students pursuing a minor need only to pass a course (D- or above) to count the course towards the minor.

Three Strikes Policy: To satisfy the minimum grade requirement described in 6) above, students may take a course up to three times. Students who are unable to earn the required grade after three attempts will be blocked from further registration in the course and, as such, will not be able to complete their program of study (the student will need to pursue a major or minor outside of the Department).

General Education Requirements: In addition to their major coursework, students majoring in the Department’s programs must complete all College general education requirements; these are described in the College’s Undergraduate Studies catalog. A student’s required general education requirements will vary depending on the student’s matriculation (entrance) date and transfer status of the student. Each student’s general education requirements are specified in their Degree Audit Status Report (DARS); DARS is available on the web.

Transfer Course and Grade Policy: In general, a grade of "C-" or higher is required for transferred courses to be used to satisfy prerequisite, corequisite, business core, and specialty area course requirements. However, accounting majors need to earn a grade of “C” or higher in any accounting course (ACC prefix) that is to be transferred.

Requests for Transfer Credit: The College maintains a large database of transfer course equivalencies. Courses from other schools are often automatically transferred as equivalent to a specific The College at Brockport course. If a course has been transferred as equivalent to a The College at Brockport course, the equivalency will be shown on the student’s DARS report.

Other times, however, courses are transferred for general credit, but no specific course equivalency is indicated on DARS. If you believe that a course taken elsewhere is equivalent to a specific Brockport course, you will need to complete a course equivalency transfer request form (available in 119 Hartwell Hall) and provide documentation of equivalency (e.g. a detailed syllabus). Submit the form and the documentation to the secretary of the Department that offers the course. Your request will then be evaluated in accord with the Department specific process for evaluation transfer requests.

Except as noted below, students completing any of the Business Department’s programs may request transfer credit for (1) any prerequisite course, and (2) any 300-level course not restricted by residency requirements. The College and the Department must approve transferred courses as equivalent to required courses, and the number of courses transferred is subject to the residency requirements of the College and Department.

After matriculating at The College at Brockport (formal admission to the College), students must take all 400-level accounting, business, and economic courses at The College at Brockport. Freshman-level courses taken at two-year colleges generally cannot be transferred as equivalent to 300-level courses, and no two-year college coursework will be transferred as equivalent to any 400-level course. Students must complete BUS 475 Strategic Management at The College at Brockport.

Note: A separate set of policies applies to CIS106 (End User Computing) and ENL308 (Business Writing). These courses may be waived under certain circumstances. Information on specific conditions and the process for waiver of these courses is available in the Department office (119 Hartwell Hall).

Residency Requirement: At least half of the coursework required to complete any Department major or minor must be taken at The College at Brockport. Additionally, as noted in section 10 above, certain courses cannot be transferred. These courses must be taken at The College at Brockport.

Participation in Assessment Activities: The Department of Business and Economics administers various assessment instruments throughout the curricula of its programs. Assessment activities may take the form of exams, exercises, or surveys. Assessment data is used for quality control and program improvement. Many of the Department’s program improvement efforts are based on assessment results.

However, assessment results are valid only when students give their serious participation and best effort. As such, students are required, as a condition of enrollment in any of the Department’s courses, to participate in assessment activities and to give their best and honest effort in all assessment exercises administered by the Department. Assessment activities administered in a course are considered a course requirement. This course requirement is no less important than is attendance, homework, or other exams. Students that are absent when assessment exercises are conducted may be required to repeat the exercise as a condition of passing the course.

Internships: The Department encourages student participation in internships experiences that are relevant to the student’s degree and area of specialization. Increasingly, employers seek to hire individuals with relevant work experience. An internship is not required for graduation, but students without significant work experience (relevant to their major) are strongly encouraged to complete at least one internship experience. The Department of Business Administration and Economics limits the number of credit hours and internship experiences a student can complete to a maximum of 15 credit hours and 2 internship experiences. Information on internship programs and procedures can be obtained in 110 Hartwell Hall.

Academic Dishonesty (Cheating): The definitions of academic dishonesty are provided in a College Publication titled Your Right To Know. Students in the Department’s programs are bound by the definitions and policies described in Your Right To Know. The Department reserves the right to expel, from its programs and courses, any student found to be engaged in blatant and premeditated acts of academic dishonesty. This policy is strictly enforced. Your first offense will be your only offense; there are no warnings.

All work and assignments completed in the Department’s courses should be assumed to be individual assignments unless you have received explicit permission from the instructor to work with one or more partners.

The Your Right To Know is handbook is produced for distribution every fall. It contains important information every student should know about campus safety, codes of student conduct, and more. You can stop by the office of the Division of Student Affairs on the sixth floor of the Allen Administration Building to pick up a copy.

Course Prerequisites: Some of the Department's courses have prerequisite courses. The College catalog details the prerequisites for all established courses; for new courses not listed in the catalog, talk to the instructor. The prerequisites for a course must be completed prior to registration for said course. Students who are found to be deficient in the prerequisites for a course may be dropped from the course.

In particular, the courses BUS325 (Finance) and BUS475 (Strategy) have a sizeable number of prerequisites. Students who fail to complete prerequisites for these courses in a planned and timely basis are likely to find that they will not be able to graduate as planned.

Course Prerequisites: Some of the Department's courses have prerequisite courses. The College catalog details the prerequisites for all established courses; for new courses not listed in the catalog, talk to the instructor. The prerequisites for a course must be completed prior to registration for said course. Students who are found to be deficient in the prerequisites for a course may be dropped from the course.

In particular, the courses BUS325 (Finance) and BUS475 (Strategy) have a sizeable number of prerequisites. Students who fail to complete prerequisites for these courses in a planned and timely basis are likely to find that they will not be able to graduate as planned.

Timely completion of program entrance requirement: Students admitted to the College are not automatically admitted to the Department’s programs. Students must first meet program entrance requirements, which include prescribed prerequisite coursework. Prerequisite courses vary by degree program. There are prerequisite requirements for all Department majors and some minors.

• Full-time students entering as freshmen are expected to complete prerequisite coursework by the end of their sophomore year.
• Full-time students transferring with an associates degree in business are expected to complete prerequisite coursework in their first semester at Brockport.
• Part-time students are expected to complete prerequisite courses before beginning 300-level business courses.

Timely completion of program prerequisites is the student’s responsibility. Failure to complete program entrance requirements on a timely basis may delay the student’s graduation.

Separation From the College: If a student should choose to leave the College prior to graduation, a leave of absence should be filed with the Registrar’s office. If the leave of absence expires and the student returns at a later date to complete their degree, the student will need to reapply to the College. Further, the student will need to complete the (potentially new) degree requirements in effect at time of readmission. This includes any changes in the major and in the general education requirements of the College. Students, therefore, are strongly advised not to separate from the college prior to completing their degrees.

Department Communications: The Department uses an e-mail list-server to communicate important announcements, changes in class times and course offerings, new policies, information about Department events, etc.

• Students are responsible for reading communications from the Department and responding accordingly.
• Department communiqués will be directed to the e-mail account provided to you by The College at Brockport. If a student uses a different e-mail account, it is their responsibility to redirect messages from their Brockport account to their preferred e-mail address. Call the technology help desk at 395-5151 for assistance in this regard.
• The Department’s e-mail list-serve is for official Department communiqués only, and all communiqués will originate from the Department office. Under no circumstance is any student allowed to broadcast messages using this list-serve. Doing so will result in your expulsion from the Department’s programs and courses.

Cell phones and Pagers: Cell phones and pagers ringing during class are highly disruptive. In general, cell phones and pages should be off during class periods. In the rare event that an emergency situation requires a student to monitor a cell phone or pager, the student should inform the instructor at the beginning of the class period and sit near an exit where they may leave the room quietly.