School of Business Administration | Information

In the fall of 1973, 34 students enrolled in 11 business classes at the new off-campus center in Victoria. Growth of the BBA and MBA programs at UHV was slow during the first years as the Division of Business Administration concentrated on meeting the needs of the Victoria area for business courses. Gradually, it became apparent that certain needs of the Victoria community--among them the need for a wider variety of business courses each semester, and a more culturally diverse educational experience--necessitated outreach initiatives to increase BBA and MBA enrollments.

Nineteen ninety-five marked the University of Houston System's introduction of its first multi-institution teaching center (MITC) in Sugar Land, Texas. UHV cooperated with University of Houston, University of Houston-Clear Lake, and the University of Houston-Downtown to offer numerous degree programs to this rapidly growing, underserved market. We began offering courses by interactive video to expand course offerings at both Victoria and Sugar Land, and allow students of the two campuses to interact with each other. UHV took over leadership of this campus and the MBA program offered there in 1998. The same year, we offered our first online business courses.

We committed to offering the entire MBA program online in 1999 and, shortly thereafter, accepted the lead position in the MBA program offered at the new MITC established in Katy, Texas. In 2000, the Division of Business Administration was rechristened the School of Business Administration (SoBA). In 2002, we began offering our first Bachelor of Business Administration program online, with a concentration in Marketing. The BBA with concentrations in Management and General Business soon followed.

SoBA has come a long way from its 34 enrolled students in 1973. Thirty years later, we boast 859 BBA and MBA students enrolled in 88 course sections.

During the past three years, SoBA has reviewed and revised the curriculum for each of its academic programs.

Several years ago, the School of Business Administration articulated its mission and adopted educational objectives for the BBA core after receiving feedback from our stakeholders. The mission statement and educational objectives reflect both the AACSB Curriculum Content Standards and the standards business has set for higher education.

According to AACSB International, our curriculum must be consistent with the School’s mission. On a continuous basis, we must incorporate improvements based upon contemporary theory and practice. The AACSB International accreditation process requires that we demonstrate our ongoing commitment to achieving high quality as well as the effectiveness of our continuous improvement processes consistent with AACSB International standards. During 2000 and 2001, the SoBA Curriculum Planning and Assessment Committee (CPAC) and faculty gathered and evaluated an extensive array of assessment data. In developing the revised BBA core, SoBA carefully considered benchmarking against the BBA core at AACSB-accredited peer institutions; contemporary theory and practice as reflected in books and articles on management education; Major Field Test results of our graduating seniors; faculty surveys and interviews; student and alumni focus groups; and advice from our AACSB precandidacy advisor.

As a result of this extensive review, we added to the BBA core courses in Strategy and the Business Environment, Leadership, Managerial Economics and Financial Statement Analysis, and deleted courses which our review identified as being less useful to graduates. In addition, the program capstone course, Strategic Management, was redesigned to provide students with a more integrated and case-driven finish to their program.

Beginning in 2001, SoBA devoted more than a year to assessment and revision of the UHV MBA program. In 2001-02, the mission and objectives of the UHV MBA program were re-written, the literature review and curriculum mapping were started, and aspiring, peer and competing programs were selected by the School’s Curriculum Planning and Assessment Committee. During the summer, feedback was gathered from students, employers (Business Advisory Council) and alumni. Also, benchmarking data was gathered on aspiring, peer and competing schools. The result of this exhaustive review was a new 48-hour MBA degree plan (39 hours required, 9 hours electives) characterized by integration, relevance, hands-on learning experiences, instructional excellence, skills essential to today’s business organizations, strong learning community, mission-driven curriculum, outward-facing curriculum design, and commitment to continuous quality improvement.

SoBA's culture is grounded in the University's distinctive commitment to making higher education accessible to able students who might otherwise lack the opportunity. SoBA has consistently sought innovative approaches to educational delivery to assist students with complicated professional and personal schedules in achieving their educational goals and to promote their economic well-being. Our participation in MITCs and off-campus education programs, our adaptation to emerging technologies in delivering courses across an expanded geographic market, and our commitment throughout to ensure that all of our students, wherever and however they complete their courses, matriculate from our programs with the best quality education we can provide reflect our commitment to teaching above all.