Admissions Procedures

Prior to being considered for admission to the Bachelor of Science in Management program, applicants must be admitted to National-Louis University. Prospective students may apply for admission at any time during the year.

Note: application to the University and the Bachelor of Science in Management can occur concurrently.

Admission to the Bachelor of Science in Management (BSM) Program

Applicants who meet the requirements for admission to the University may be considered for admission to the BSM program. The BSM admissions criteria are as follows:

1. A minimum of 90 quarter hours (or 60 semester hours) of transferable credit with C grades or above from accredited colleges or universities.
2. A cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or better on a 4.0 scale, on all previous coursework.

BSM admissions decisions will be made by the University Director of Admissions (or local representative). A local CMB faculty admissions team consisting of full-time faculty members will be convened to make the admissions recommendations related to those applicants who do not meet the general criteria for full or provisional admission.

Types of Admission

1. Full Admission: Applicant has met the BSM admissions requirements as listed above.
2. Provisional Admission: Applicants who meet the BSM transfer credit requirements but not the grade point average requirements may be considered for provisional admission.

• Applicants who do not meet the grade point average (GPA) requirements for full admission but have at least a grade point average of 1.5 may be admitted provisionally.
• Applicants who have a GPA of less than 1.5 may petition the University Director of Admissions for provisional admission. Petitioners may be provisionally admitted with the approval of the local faculty admissions team.

Provisionally admitted students must earn at least a 2.0 grade point average (GPA), with grades of C or better and no outstanding 'I" grades, in the first term of the program. Students meeting these requirements at the end of the first term will gain full academic standing. Students not meeting the requirements of their provisional admission at the end of the first term will be dropped from the BSM program. Such students may retake first term courses in which they received a D, U, N, VX or WN in order to raise their grade point average. Students must pay for courses retaken. If dropped, students may apply for readmission to the BSM when they meet requirements.

Special Status Students

Applicants who have not submitted all BSM program admission documents, but believe in good faith that they meet the admissions standards, may enroll in the BSM program for one term as a special student under the following conditions:

1. Applicants for special status will be required to sign a statement prior to their admission into the program that they understand the policy on special student status and believe in good faith that they meet the requirements for BSM admission.
2. The University Director of Admissions (or local representative) will co-sign the special student status form, verifying that the policy has been explained to the applicant.
3. If the formal admissions process is not completed by the end of the first term, the student will be dropped from the program. When a formal admissions decision is made, the student may apply for readmission to the program.
4. Special status students are not eligible for financial aid.

Enrollment Requirements for the BSM Program

Students may not enroll in the first term of the BSM program until they meet program admissions requirements or qualify for enrollment as a Special Status Student.

Admissions Standards Exemptions/Waivers

Admissions Requirement Exemption:

Applicants may initiate a request for an admission requirement exemption, along with their application for admission, when they know in fact that they do not meet a program admissions requirement and an admissions decision cannot be made by the local faculty admissions team. Requests for an exemption will be forwarded to the CMB Academic Issues Governance Unit for review. Applicants granted exemptions will be admitted provisionally.

Waiver of the 90 Quarter Hour Admissions Requirement:

Applicants may initiate a request for a waiver of the 90 quarter hour minimum transferable credit standard. If the applicant's request for a waiver and the admissions file indicate a strong potential for success in the BSM, the local Academic Program Director may waive up to 10 quarter hours of this requirement. Any requests in excess of the 10 quarter hours must be submitted to the College Dean. The CMB Academic Issues Governance Unit will be advised of all waivers granted in excess of 10 quarter hours.

International Students

The College of Management and Business welcomes qualified international students for enrollment into its degree programs. Applicants are required to present official records of scholastic achievement and evidence of proficiency in spoken and written English as a prerequisite for admission. In addition to the admission requirements stated above, the following conditions apply:

1. Residents of countries outside the United States, where English is not the primary language, must be assessed by the National-Louis University Language Institute prior to their first registration at the University. Assessed students are required to satisfy the placement recommendations of the Language Institute faculty prior to registration in the College of Management and Business program courses. (This requirement also applies to legal residents of the United States [American citizens and resident aliens] whose native language is other than English.)
2. International students who seek a Student Visa (1-20) must provide financial affidavits documenting available resources for tuition, living expenses, travel, and other expenses. The college does not have the resources to provide financial assistance to international students.
3. Transcripts from academic institutions outside the United States must be submitted with English translation and an official evaluation to establish their equivalence to the National-Louis University grading system.

Admissions Appeals

1. If an applicant or student wishes to appeal an admissions decision, the appeal must be made in writing to the University Director of Admissions and Records (or local representative) within two weeks of receipt of the decision letter. Appeals will be forwarded to the College of Management and Business Academic Issues Governance Unit, which will make a decision to uphold or deny the appeal.
2. The Academic Issues Governance Unit will forward its decision to the applicable CMB program administrator and to the Director of Admissions and Records who will officially notify the applicant of the unit's decision.
3. Further appeal will be administered in accordance with the university policy on academic appeals outlined in the Student Guidebook.

Credit Transfer Policy

The courses in the BSM program that carry 400 level numbers are specifically designed to meet the needs of groups of adult learners that have extensive but highly varied experience in organizational settings. These courses feature extensive personalized, experiential and relevant opportunities that are seldom available in courses designed for traditional students. There is a presumption that these courses are unique and do not duplicate transfer courses that may have similar titles but were designed for traditional undergraduate students. It is also assumed that prerequisites have limited utility because adults enter with extensive and near infinite permutations of traditional university courses, corporate training, professional continuing education workshops and other relevant experiences.

Academic Standards

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Management(BSM) program will be monitored continuously to ensure compliance with BSM program academic standards. To remain in good academic standing and complete the requirements for the program, students must adhere to the following academic standards:

1. Students are expected to maintain at least a 60% course completion ratio for any given term and a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0.
2. Students will be placed on academic probation if they earn a cumulative GPA lower than 2.0 for BSM courses in any given term. Students on academic probation must earn a cumulative 2.0 GPA for the following BSM term's course work, with no outstanding "I" grades, in order to return to good academic standing. If students do not earn the 2.0 GPA for the following BSM term's course work with no outstanding "I" grades, they will be dropped from the BSM program. Students who are on academic probation or who have been dropped from the BSM program are permitted to retake courses in which they earned a "D" or "U" grade, in order to raise their term grade point average. Students must pay for courses retaken. If dropped, students must apply for readmission to the BSM when they meet the standards.
3. Students who miss 50% of class meetings in one course (unless special arrangements were made beforehand with the instructor) will be given a "U" in that course and will be required to retake the course.
4. Students who miss three consecutive class meetings in a term will be dropped at the end of the term or the last day of attendance where state or federal law supercedes and must apply for readmission if they wish to complete the program.
5. Any student who is carrying two outstanding "I" grades or more in the BSM program (from any number of terms) will be dropped from the program at the end of the term in which a third "I" is received. A student must apply for readmission to the BSM program upon completion of at least one of the "I" graded courses.
6. Instructors may set specific conditions (e.g., time limit). For a student to complete "I" grade course work and may convert the grade to "U' if the conditions are not met. In the absences of specific conditions, students have one year after the final class meeting of their cohort group to complete any "I' grades before such grades are converted to U grades.
7. Any course for which a "U" grade was assigned must be repeated and successfully completed. Students must pay for re-enrollment in such a course.

Sequence of Terms and Courses

All BSM program terms, and courses within those terms, must be taken in sequence unless the deviation is approved by the Dean, College of Management and Business (CMB), upon the recommendation of the local CMB Academic Program Administrator.

Transfer Between Groups

Students will only be permitted to transfer from one class group to another between terms. Students will not be permitted to transfer from one schedule to another between courses unless there are extenuating (emergency) circumstances. Transfers must be approved by the local Academic Program Director or Administrator.

Options for Additional Credit

The following options are available to students for earning additional credit toward degree requirements:

1. Credit by examination, including ACT-PEP, CLEP, DANTES, or other approved examinations.
2. Credit by Portfolio, up to a maximum 60 quarter hours via the University's portfolio assessment of prior learning process.
3. Additional course work at NLU or other accredited institutions. A maximum of 12 quarter hours in 'independent study" courses may be taken at NLU to apply toward the degree. Additional credit may be earned through 'special topics' courses or other NLU courses offered through any of the colleges or through Continuing Education and Outreach.
4. FOCUS Courses: Focus On Completing Undergraduate Studies (FOCUS) offers accelerated courses to enable adult students to gain credit in a convenient format. A total of seven FOCUS terms with a total of 24 courses are offered to provide students who wish to enter one of the University's three field-based degree-completion programs with the general education requirements, general education electives and free electives they will need to graduate from the University.

Once students have obtained a minimum of 90 quarter hours, they may apply for admission to their major-either the Bachelor of Arts in Applied Behavioral Science (ABS), the Bachelor of Science in Health Care Leadership (HCL), or the Bachelor of Science in Management (BSM). Students who enter their major with less than 128-130 quarter hours (depending on the credits in their academic major) should be aware that in addition to completion of their major, they will still need additional college credits to earn their Bachelor's degree, which requires 180 quarter hours. These students may continue to enroll in FOCUS courses, take CLEP or DANTES exams, or complete a portfolio of prior learning.

Degree Requirements

The responsibility for meeting all graduation requirements rests upon the individual student. Failure to meet deadlines will result in delayed graduation. The degree requirements are as follows:

1. A student must complete at least 180 quarter hours of study, of which at least 49 quarter hours must be completed in the BSM program at National-Louis University.
2. Sixty quarter hours of general studies credits are required for the BSM degree.

• The 60 quarter hours of general education must consist of at least one course equivalent in each of the following seven content areas: communication, humanities, fine arts, quantitative reasoning, physical and life sciences, social sciences, and behavioral science.
• BSM course work may not be applied toward the general studies credit requirements needed for graduation.

  3.  Students must complete the program with at least a 2.0 grade point average.

  4.  A maximum of 60 quarter hours of technical credit may be applied toward the BSM degree.   

  5. A maximum of 60 quarter hours of credit by portfolio may be applied toward the BSM degree.

Honors

Upon recommendation of the faculty, students who earn a 3.8 or higher grade point average in this management curriculum are awarded program honors. This designation is recorded on the transcript to recognize outstanding academic performance.