The MBA at FMU 

The Master of Business Administration degree program is designed to prepare students for management positions in business, government, industry, and non-profit institutions and to provide continuing educational opportunities for those persons already so employed in the Pee Dee Region of South Carolina. All required courses are offered during the evening hours.

In 1998, the School of Business received approval from the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education to offer the Master of Business Administration degree with Concentration in Health Management. This program has the same admissions requirements as the regular Master of Business Administration program and requires 36 hours of graduate level courses. The 18 hours required in business subjects are taught by graduate faculty of the FMU School of Business. The 15 hours of health management courses are taught by the graduate faculty of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) over a state-of-the-art distance learning network. The remaining three hours are electives and can be taken from other FMU courses or from other MUSC courses. Graduates of this program receive the M.B.A. degree from FMU along with the Certificate in Health Management from MUSC. The Master of Business Administration degree with concentration in Health Management program is designed both for individuals who currently work in the health care field and for those who would like the background enabling them to enter the field.

Admission Requirements

Students are accepted for graduate study in business as degree students. To be considered for admission as a graduate degree student, the applicant should fulfill the following requirements:

1. Submit the graduate application for admission and pay the non-refundable application fee.

2. Submit official transcript(s) of all undergraduate and graduate work from accredited institutions. Have earned an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution as evidenced by the official transcript(s).

3. Submit the official Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) score.

4. Submit two letters of recommendation from professional associates or former professors who can attest to the academic potential of the applicant.

5. Have an acceptable admission score as determined by combining the undergraduate grade point average (GPA) and a recent score of not less than 400 on the GMAT. Either of the following formulas may be used:

  (GPA X 200) + GMAT ≥ 950

     or

  (GPA [in upper-level courses] X 200) + GMAT ≥ 1000

NOTE: Upper-level courses include all hours taken after the

first 60 semester hours at the undergraduate level.

6. Have successfully completed the business foundation material. This material may be satisfied by either of the following options.

 a) The Undergraduate Foundation Option: Complete the 3 undergraduate foundation courses (9 hours) listed below (or their equivalents as approved by the coordinator of the M.B.A.). Successful completion must be evidenced by the official transcript(s). Only those courses with grades of C or higher will be acceptable.

 b) The Graduate Foundation Option: Complete the three graduate foundation courses (6 hours) listed below (or  their equivalent as approved by the director of the M.B.A.). Successful completion must be evidenced by  the official transcript(s). Only those courses with grades  of C or higher will be acceptable.
 

Students may enroll in courses under either foundation option before taking the GMAT provided the student has earned an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution as evidenced by the official transcript(s).

7. Submit personal statement indicating your work experience and why the Master of Business Administration degree would be useful in your career.

All of the above materials must be submitted in one packet to:

 Graduate Office
 Francis Marion University
 Post Office Box 100547
 Florence, SC 29502-0547

To be guaranteed timely consideration for acceptance into the M.B.A. program, all of the above materials should be submitted by:

 Fall Admission: March 15
 Spring Admission: October 15

It is the applicant's responsibility to gather all materials to complete his/her application. Only those completed (with all materials) will be reviewed by the Graduate Council for Admission.

To receive an application or for any questions, please call the Graduate Office at (843) 661-1284.

Requirements for Master of Business Administration Degree

Each student seeking the M.B.A. degree must complete the following requirements and adhere to the stated policies:

1. The student must successfully complete the foundation material requirement described earlier.
    
2. The student must successfully complete the 36 semester hours required in the selected program.
   
    a. Master of Business Administration degree:
   

   Course	Title	Semester Offered
   ACTG 720	Financial Accounting Concepts and Problems	Spring
   ACTG 721	Accounting for Management Control	Fall
   MIS 777	Information Systems Management	Fall
   ECON 710	Managerial Economics	Spring
   ECON 720	The International Business Environment	Summer
   FIN 740	Financial Theory and Applications	Fall
   MGT 750	Management Theory and Applications	Summer
   MGT 755	Production Management	Spring
   MGT 758	Business Initiation and Entrepreneurship	Fall
   MGT 759	Strategic Management	Fall
   MGT 773	Management Science and Statistics for Business	Fall
   MKT 730	Marketing Theory and Applications	Spring

 
      
 b. Master of Business Administration degree with Concentration in Health Management:

Although there is no required order for these courses, it is recommended that students take Management 773 in the first or second semester and take Management 759 in the last semester. The normal course load of students working full-time is two courses each in the fall and spring semesters and one course in the summer.

3. The student must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average on all graduate courses applicable to the particular program and a 3.0 grade point average for all graduate courses (see the exceptions under Course Repetition and under Time Limit).
4. The student must successfully complete all steps and meet all requirements as outlined for graduate students earlier.
5. The student should make application for graduation at the beginning of the semester in which the last course(s) will be taken.

Course Repetition

An M.B.A. student is allowed to repeat a maximum of one course for the purpose of improving the grade. Only a grade lower than B can be raised by repetition of a course; a re-examination is not permitted. Any course that is repeated must be retaken at Francis Marion University. A course may be repeated only once. Written approval of the Dean of the School of Business is required for course repetition. Only the higher grade of the repeated course will be counted in the calculation of the grade point average. If a student fails a course (i.e., receives a grade of F), the student must retake that course in the next semester the course is offered. If the student fails the course again, the student will be dismissed from the program. Since this retake process can be applied to only one course, the student will be dismissed from the M.B.A. program if she/he fails more than one course.

MBA Course Descriptions

UNDERGRADUATE FOUNDATION COURSES:

FIN 341 Financial Management (3) F, S, SU. Covers the financial functions of economic entities including financial analysis, financial planning, current assets management, capital budgeting, obtaining funds from the capital markets, and international finance. Computer applications.

MIS 327 Information Systems Fundamentals (3) (Prerequisite: Computer Science 150) F, S, SU. Study of basic systems issues that concern the introduction of technology into the firm and the management of technology-based systems in business organizations.

MKT 331 Principles of Marketing (3) F, S, SU. Basic principles of marketing. Emphasis is placed on consumer's role in marketing and on marketing environment. The basic product, place, price, and promotion decisions are examined.

GRADUATE FOUNDATION COURSES:

BUS 505 Principles of Financial Management (2) (Prerequisite: Admission to the MBA Program or approval of the Dean of the School of Business) SU. An introduction to the basic financial tools and techniques used in corporate financial management, including planning, assets management, capital budgeting, capital markets, and international finance.

BUS 506 Principles of Information Systems (2) (Prerequisite: Admission to the MBA Program or approval of the Dean of the School of Business) SU. Study of the organizational and management issues related to the application of information systems technology into the firm and the management of information systems technology in business organizations.ACCOUNTING COURSES (ACTG)

BUS 509 Principles of Marketing (2) (Prerequisite: Admission to the MBA Program or approval of the Dean of the School of Business) SU. An introduction to the core concepts of marketing and its key role in the development and implementation of business strategy and tactics.

MBA COURSES:

ACTG 720 Financial Accounting Concepts and Problems (3) S. Covers objectives of accounting and the concepts and principles designed to deal with these objectives. Balance sheet and income statement accounts as well as statement of changes in financial position are studied. Covers discussion and solution of more complex accounting problems in international as well as domestic accounting.

ACTG 721 Accounting for Management Control (3) F. Emphasis on the planning and evaluation aspects of accounting for management. Study of decision analysis, budgeting, variance analysis, and application of quantitative methods of decision-making and evaluation.

ECON 710 Managerial Economics (3) S. Practical application of supply, demand, costs, capital, and profit analysis to decision-making in a business enterprise. Covers such topics as price policies, investment decisions, location analysis, and forecasting.

ECON 720 The International Business Environment (3) SU. Covers major economic policy issues as they pertain to business decision-making. Includes such topics as monetary and fiscal policy, price-wage controls, economic growth, governmental regulations and taxation, and multinational corporations.

FIN 740 Financial Theory and Applications (3) F. Financial theory and application by case study. Policies and problems in working capital, capital budgeting, operating and financial leverage, investment in assets, obtaining funds from capital markets, and the cost of capital and international financing are studied.

MIS 777 Information Systems Management (3) F. Study of problems and issues encountered in managing information systems technology within the firm. Uses a variety of cases including some on multinational organizations to emphasize the analysis and decision-making required to plan and control the information resources in a modern business.

MGT 750 Management Theory and Applications (3) SU. Covers the development of critical thinking related to planning, implementing, and evaluating programs to utilize human and material resources of the firm. Emphasis on application of ideas through case studies, research papers, in-class exercises, and field projects. International management strategies are reviewed.

MGT 755 Production Management (3) (Prerequisite: 773) S. Covers applications of systems analysis, statistics, and management science techniques to the production/operations function of businesses. Topics include forecasting, capacity planning and location, aggregate planning, product design, inventory management, scheduling of tasks and projects, quality assurance, and simulation of productive systems. The course uses a combination of exercise solving, term papers, and field projects.

MGT 758 Business Initiation and Entrepreneurship (3) F. Identifying economic needs and markets, establishing enterprises to meet these needs, and strategies and tactics for competing in both domestic and foreign markets.

MGT 759 Strategic Management (3) F. Applying concepts learned in accounting, economics, marketing, finance, management, management science, and statistics through case analysis. Focus on increasing analytical, synthesizing, communicative, and evaluative skills in both individual and group problem-solving contexts. Several cases on multinational firms introduce the international dimension.

MGT 773 Management Science and Statistics for Business (3) F. Theoretical foundations and applications of hypothesis testing, simple linear regression, and multiple regression. Application of models and techniques of management science, with emphasis on linear programming and related topics. Use of computer software to solve problems.

MKT 730 Marketing Theory and Applications (3) S. The development of critical thinking related to identifying target markets and creating marketing mixes to exploit those markets. The increasing importance of marketing in today's global economy is also emphasized. Focus is on the application of ideas through case studies, problem-solving activities, research papers, and field projects.

MBA HEALTH MANAGEMENT COURSES:

704 Health Policy (3) S. This course is designed to provide students with a conceptual and analytical understanding of health policymaking and politics. Political and policymaking institutions and processes that affect the structure and functioning of the U.S. health care system will be examined. Fundamental concepts and issues associated with political decision making and the delivery of health services will be explored, including the impact of constitutional and other legal provisions, the activities of political parties and interest groups, the involvement of health professional associations and client organizations, and the relationships between economic factors and evolving health policymaking patterns.

705 Health Economics (3) F. This course is designed to provide students with a conceptual and analytical understanding of health economics. Health care systems in the United States will be examined from the perspective of supply, cost and demand determination. Fundamental concepts and issues associated with economic decision-making and selected economic issues will be explored through the application of various socioeconomic concepts and behavioral models.

721 Health Care Delivery Systems (3) SU. This course is a systematic approach to understanding the origin and evolution of the U.S. health care delivery system. Topics include the history of medical care in the U.S., description of the variety of health personnel and facilities that comprise the system, including an investigation of selected contemporary health policy issues, public health, mental health and alternative systems. Should be taken first semester. Faculty

729 Financial Management for Health Care Organizations (3) F. This course introduces the student to selected financial management and corporate financial topics. Specific topics include financial statement analysis, working capital management, risk and rate of return, capital structure and leverage, capital budgeting, stock and bond valuations. Prerequisite: HAP 726.

735 Health Law and Risk Management (3) S. This course introduces the student to legal concepts and issues related to health care management. Special topics include liability, risk management, patient-provider relationships, fraud and abuse, antitrust, and health legislation. This course will also examine selected business law topics including agency and partnership, business corporations, and joint ventures.

MBA Faculty

Kay L. Belanger, Ph. D.

Charles G. Carpenter, Ph. D. 

Fred R. David, Ph. D.

Rodger G. Holland, Ph. D.

Ben L. Kyer, Ph. D.

Johnathan G. Munn, Ph. D.

Susan D. Peters, Ph. D.

Hari K. Rajagopalan, Ph. D.

Neil F. Riley, Ph. D.

Hubert Setzler III, Ph. D.

Elizabeth Sharer, Ph. D.

Allen E. Smith, Ph. D.