Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration
2005-2007 Graduate Academic Catalog | Catalogs

Walter E. Heller and Alyce DeCosta

Over his lifetime, Walter E. Heller developed the skills and expertise to create a world-known organization.As a young man he was given the responsibility to oversee his father’s successful sausage casing business. Being a resourceful and meticulous entrepreneur, Walter expanded to jewelry and then automobile financing. As his prosperity grew, so did his vision. Whatever the business at hand, Heller pursued it with vigor. He was the first to arrive on the job in the morning and the last to leave at night. During the 1930s, Heller expanded into the rediscount business and then factoring. Walter Heller’s firm became the preeminent asset-based commercial lender and factor from the 1940s through the 1960s. Heller’s firm was the Cadillac of its industry, loaning money to flamboyant and high profile Hollywood movie studios, including United Artists Corporation. In 1956, Heller’s stock began trading over the New York Stock Exchange. Through its growth, the firm acquired companies, divested companies, and expanded overseas. Business Week magazine summarized Heller’s reach in a 1958 article stating the company “served as a funnel through which 1,800 stockholders, 76 banks, and 10 insurance companies extended credit to some 500 manufacturing distributors, small-loan, and auto-finance companies.”

In1969, Walter E.Heller died at the age of 78. With the generous support of his widow, Alyce DeCosta, and the Walter E. Heller Foundation, a gift of $2 million enabled Roosevelt University to construct a 10-story classroom, laboratory, and library facility. Alyce DeCosta established the Walter E. Heller Lecture Series in International Business and Finance and served as a member of the Board of Trustees. She died in 2004 at the age of 98. The College proudly carries the name of Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration for Roosevelt University.

Mission

The mission of the Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration (WEHCBA) is to give students a career-oriented business education that emphasizes personal and professional integrity and stresses social responsibility in business. At the undergraduate level, the educational focus is on the acquisition of basic competencies in communications, computers, quantitative analysis, critical and creative thinking, and breadth of business knowledge. At the graduate level, the emphasis is on the integration of basic competencies with specialized education to create expertise in one of the functional areas of business. For both undergraduate and graduate students, the recurring themes of integrity and social responsibility are interwoven into the curricula, thus reflecting the progressive principles exemplified in the lives of the University’s namesakes, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Accreditation

All programs of the University are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In addition, the business degree programs offered by Roosevelt through the Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration are accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), a nationally and internationally recognized accrediting agency for business programs. ACBSP fosters a student-oriented approach to business education with primary emphasis on excellence in teaching.

Degree programs

WEHCBA offers six graduate business degrees. The Master of Business Administration is a general management degree with a chosen area of specialization. The College also offers four specialized master of science degrees: Master of Science in Accounting, Master of Science in Human Resource Management, Master of Science in Information Systems, Master of Science in International Business, and Master of Science in Real Estate.

Graduate business certificates

For students holding a graduate business degree, such as the MBA, the College offers four five-course certificate programs: fraud examination, information systems, real estate development, and strategic management.

Location and scheduling

Each degree and certificate program is available at both the Chicago campus and the Schaumburg campus. Badm 401 and the other eight core courses for the MBA are offered at both campuses each semester (fall, spring, and summer). Concentration courses and specialty courses are offered on a regular basis, but not each semester. Graduate business classes are offered in the evening and on weekends. Most students work full-time during the day and attend classes part-time in the evening/weekend. Full-time students take all classes in the evening and on weekends.

Admission to graduate business programs

Admission to the graduate business programs depends on previous academic achievement and work experience. The criteria for applicants with a bachelor’s degree from a United States regionally accredited college or university depend on the undergraduate grade point average.

• Applicants with grade point average of 3.25 or higher (on a 4.0 scale), or a graduate degree in any discipline, are granted direct admission.
• Applicants with a grade point average of 2.8 to 3.24 must submit a detailed work history and a professional goal statement and/or the results of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). An admission decision is made after a review of these documents.
• Applicants with a grade point average below 2.8 must submit a detailed work history, professional goal statement, and a GMAT score. An admission decision is made after a review of these documents.

Applicants to the Master of Science in International Business program must also have a minimum of three years of relevant work experience approved by the program chair.

International students and other applicants with academic credentials from institutions outside of the United States must submit a transcript of college-level work, a GMAT score, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and the Test of Written English (TWE). The admission decision is based on a weighted combination of these measures of ability and aptitude. This applies to both US and international students.

Probationary and at-large students are not admitted to WEHCBA graduate programs.

Graduate assistantships

The College has a limited number of graduate assistantships available to full-time students each year. The assistantships provide a cash stipend and up to 18 semester hours of tuition. The duties of a graduate assistant may include research, advising, or other academic projects. Applications are available from the WEHCBA office at either campus.

Academic performance

All graduate students are expected to maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of

3.0 (B), and all courses required for the degree must be completed with a grade point average of 3.0 (B) or higher. If, at any time in the program, the cumulative GPA falls below 3.0, the student is placed on academic probation. If the GPA is not brought up to a 3.0 at the end of the next semester of enrollment, the student is placed on academic suspension and is not allowed to enroll in further classes. Students may appeal this decision if there are extenuating circumstances. No more than six semester hours of C may be counted in the total credits accepted for the master’s degree. Although a grade of C is acceptable, it indicates work below the level expected of graduate students.

The focus of the learning process is a shared responsibility of the student and instructor. WEHCBA stresses teamwork and group projects with many case analyses and written and oral presentations. Above all, the College expects each student to contribute to the education of his/her colleagues by sharing the expertise that has been gained from real world experience.

Time commitment

The study of business at the graduate level requires a substantial time commitment over an extended period. Each student is expected to attend class on a regular basis and to arrive on time. It is impossible to predict the amount of out-of-class time required to successfully complete a particular course.Variables include a student’s academic background and ability and the nature of the course. The workload often varies from week to week. Assignments must be turned in on time; penalties for late assignments may include grade reduction or non-acceptance.Although most instructors will try to make arrangements for a student whose work demands travel, this may not be possible in all cases. Students are responsible for informing instructors in advance of known absences and as soon as possible in the case of emergencies.

Course load

The College recommends that students working at full-time positions take one or two courses each semester. Three courses constitute a full-time academic load. For students who are working full-time, a three-course load is approved only in unusual circumstances and for students in good academic standing. Students who are not employed or who are employed part-time usually take a full-time load of three classes each semester. Four courses constitute an academic overload. This course load is approved only in unusual circumstances and for students in good academic standing.

Advising

The advisor for each graduate program is the program director. Advising may be in person, by telephone, or by e-mail. Advising and registration start in April for the fall term and in November for the spring and summer terms.All students should seek advice,if necessary, and register as early as possible in the registration period.

Computer skills

Most courses taught by the WEHCBA either require or recommend the use of computer skills and business application programs. All graduate business students should have or acquire basic skills in word-processing, spreadsheets, databases, and presentation software. Each building has a personal computer laboratory available for student use; however, Roosevelt’s computer laboratories are often at capacity during exam periods and near the end of a term. We strongly recommend that each student have access, outside of the University, to an up-todate personal computer, business application software, and the Internet.

To facilitate communication with advisors, instructors, and among students, all graduate business students are expected to have an e-mail account and check it regularly. Free e-mail accounts are available from the University.

Internships

WEHCBA offers two different internship courses, Acct 492 and Mgmt 492. With the prior approval of the relevant graduate program chair, a student may elect to use one of these internships as an elective course in the degree program. An internship can be a valuable learning tool for those graduate students who have had limited work experience or for those seeking a major career change. WEHCBA does not have any regularly scheduled graduate internships, but companies often notify the College of opportunities.Students interestedin pursuing the possibility of an internship should discuss this with their degree program chair very early in the program.

Students may use only one internship (3 credit hours) to fulfill degree requirements. If a student is using an internship to fulfill a degree requirement, he/she may not apply independent study (Acct 495, Fin 495, Hrm 495, Infs 495, Mgmt 495, Mktg 495) towards degree requirements. To accept an internship, a student must be legally eligible to work in the United States. A student may not use an employer for whom he/she already works full-time for an internship unless the project is clearly distinct from his/her regularly assigned job responsibilities. The student must receive written approval from the degree program director before enrolling for an internship.

Catalogs | 2005-2007 Graduate Catalog