Transferring Courses to Western

Transferring courses from a Washington community college

Western has compiled a listing of Washington community college courses which are equivalent to Western courses. The complete listing for all Washington community colleges is provided on the Office of Admissions website at https://www.admin.wwu.edu/pls/wwis/wwsktcat.TE_Catalog. This list includes information not only for business courses, but for other courses as well.  This list also includes the names of the specific Associates transfer degrees that are accepted by Western. Students with transfer degrees are generally considered to have met their General Undergraduate Requirements (GURs).

Transferring courses from a 4-year Washington state university

Western has compiled a listing of courses from Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, University of Washington, and Washington State University which are equivalent to Western courses. The complete listing for these 4-year Washington state universities is provided on the Office of Admissions website at http://admissions.wwu.edu/transfer/univ/. This list includes information not only for business courses, but for other courses as well. Courses not listed may be evaluated, at the request of the student, on an individual basis. To have a course evaluated, the student should contact the Jacie DeLaruelle (Administrative Assistant, Department of Management ) in Parks Hall 351 and provide as much information as possible on the course (e.g., course description, syllabus, text) and specify which Western Management or business course that the student believes is an equivalent course.

Transferring business courses from a college or university outside Washington state

An overall evaluation of course equivalents is done by the Office of Admissions once a student commences studies at Western. In addition, a specific evaluation of the seven business foundation courses is done by the College of Business and Economics (Parks Hall 419) at the time a student applies for admission to the College of Business and Economics. Other Management and business courses may be evaluated, at the request of the student, on an individual basis. To have a course evaluated, the student should contact the administrative assistant for the department.

Evaluation of non-Management courses will be referred to the appropriate department in the College of Business and Economics.

Transferring non-business courses from a college or university outside Washington state

An overall evaluation of course equivalents is done by transfer credit evaluators in the Office of Admissions at or about the time that the student starts classes at Western. These evaluators determine which specific courses count as replacements for General Undergraduate Requirements (GURs) at Western. The College of Business and Economics does not evaluate the transferability of non-business courses.

Running Start

Running Start credits earned through Running Start are community college credits and are accepted by Western as such. A listing of Washington community college courses which are equivalent to Western courses for all Washington community colleges is provided on the Office of Admissions website at http://admissions.wwu.edu/transfer/cc/.

Maximum Number of Credits Transferable from a Community College

The maximum number of transferable credits is 90 from a community college. 

What courses to take at the community college 

Ideally, you should have a transfer degree AND have completed the equivalent of the seven business foundation courses before arriving at Western. The equivalents for these seven courses for Washington community colleges are listed on the following website: http://admissions.wwu.edu/transfer/business/, and for Washington 4-year universities are listed at http://admissions.wwu.edu/transfer/business/. We have binding contracts with the Washington schools for these courses. Transfer credits from other colleges and universities are evaluated on a course-by-course basis.

Curriculum

The development of the curricula in the Department of Management has been guided by the standards of AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and those of the Academy of Management. These standards stress a broad education preparing students for managerial roles in business and leadership roles in society.

Curricular paths in the department are structured:

• To develop competence in analysis, decision making and evaluation in both public and private organizations.

• To develop and enrich interpersonal skills.

• To develop the competence to manage within the social, economic and international environment of organizations.

• To provide access to the technical skills necessary in each of the major functional areas of organizations with specific emphasis on the core elements of people and production.

• To enhance educational opportunity through the theoretical and applied research and business consulting activities of its faculty and students.

• To encourage intellectual inquiry into the lessons and skills of the past and present so as to be able to affect the future.

• To develop and promote ethical behavior and social responsibility in future managers.

Students normally devote most of the freshman and sophomore years of study to completion of the General University Requirements and foundation courses in the major. Several foundation courses also satisfy General University Requirements. Careful planning may save time for additional elective course work. Electives which emphasize oral and written communication skills are particularly recommended. The junior and senior years are primarily devoted to core degree requirements and elective course work.

GENERAL DEGREE INFORMATION: The Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration is a four year program for most students. Normally, the first two years are spent satisfying General University Requirements (GURs) and foundation course requirements.

GENERAL UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS: The GURs for graduation apply to all students and are published in the General Catalog. Course planning for the first two years should be directed toward fulfilling most of these requirements. (The GUR requirements may also be met by transferring to Western with an approved Associate of Arts degree from a community college). Students planning to major in Business Administration are encouraged to take the following courses as part of their GURs:

• Math 157

• Econ 206, 207

• MGMT 271

MATH 157 (Business Calculus) 

If you have not taken MATH 157 (or its equivalent) before arriving at Western, you must take the Math Placement Test to determine which Math courses (if any) you must take before taking MATH 157. MATH 157 is one of the seven business foundation courses, so should be completed as early as possible.

Scholarships

A number of scholarships are available for qualifying CBE students. For more information please see the CBE Scholarship page. 

Declaring a Major or Minor

APPLICATION PROCESS: The Business Administration major is offered through the Department of Management, Finance and Marketing, and Decision Sciences. Students must select one department to administer their major. Programs in the three departments differ somewhat in the number of courses required in the major.

Students may apply to the department for acceptance concurrently with application to WWU, or at any time subsequent to University admission. Criteria for admission include:

• Overall high school, college or university GPA,

• Test scores,

• GPA in any college or university courses appropriate to the study of business,

• The number of places available in the students' intended area of interest.

Those students applying subsequent to admission and who have completed the foundation courses listed below with at least a 2.75 GPA or who have at least a 2.50 overall GPA will be admitted if space is available.

Declaration Procedures

The application procedure to declare a major in Business Administration through the Management department is as follows:

1. Be admitted to Western Washington University, See the Office of Admissions website for further information.
2. Complete an "Application for Admission" form for the College of Business and Economics (CBE).  To get one download the application here, or pick up an application from the Department of Management office (PH 351) or the CBE office (PH 419). This form allows each applicant to the College of Business and Economics to select a major or concentration.
3. Take or mail the form AND copies of all College/University transcripts (unofficial transcripts are okay for this purpose) to the CBE Office in PH 419. (This should be done early in the quarter and definitely no later than two weeks prior to the time that registration begins for the following quarter.)
4. The Department of Management will notify each applicant in writing of the action taken on the application. Successful applicants will be assigned a faculty advisor, and will be designated as a pre-major, provisional major, or major in Business Administration through the Department of Management.

Getting Assistance

If you need help or any other information, contact 

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