Vision and Mission

 

Vision

To be the first choice college of business among public universities in Illinois for high-achieving, motivated students who seek an individualized educational experience with the resources of a large university.

Mission

To be a highly respected college of business that develops professionals with the personal dedication, ethics, and lifelong learning capabilities needed to succeed professionally and to serve society. We work as a diverse community promoting excellence in learning, teaching, scholarship, and service.

The College of Business provides an individualized educational experience to develop the business skills and appreciation for continuous learning necessary to succeed in a dynamic global economy. Our high quality programs develop ethical, knowledgeable, and technologically competent business professionals. We strive to do this to further the University mission of fostering a small-college atmosphere with large-university opportunities.

To best serve our students and to efficiently use University resources the College of Business will seek to:

• Offer a responsive, flexible business curriculum within a learning environment that prepares and supports students for continuous learning.
  
• Integrate technology into our teaching and communications with students and colleagues.
  
• Create an environment to fulfill our mission by providing opportunities for faculty/staff development; support for faculty/staff efforts to serve students and improve our programs; and appropriate rewards for achievements in teaching, intellectual contributions, and service.
  
• Target well-defined markets and promote the College of Business effectively in those markets.
  
• Build and maintain partnerships with key constituencies.

Steps to Achieve Our Mission

Emphasizing Excellence in Teaching

As an institution emphasizing excellence in teaching, the College of Business seeks to recruit, develop, and support motivated faculty who are active teacher/scholars in their fields. We create a learning environment through our teaching, intellectual contributions, and service. We expect students to take an active role in the learning process and to take responsibility for their own learning.

We pursue teaching excellence by providing an individualized educational experience, developing and enhancing students’ continuous learning skills by educating them in business theory and its application to business practice. An individualized educational experience is achieved by actively involving students, creating a small class atmosphere, maintaining access to instructors, and experimenting with and refining innovative methodologies, through processes that continuously improve our curricula.

Our Curricula

To prepare our students for continuous learning we emphasize theory, foundational concepts, practical applications, and refining critical thinking skills in our classes. Our curricula seek to build on the general education experiences of our undergraduates and the diverse undergraduate backgrounds of our graduate students.

Core classes and assignments provide training in technology for business applications and emphasize communication skills development. Students are encouraged to use internships and co-curricular activities such as student organizations as opportunities for learning, networking, and developing leadership skills.

Student Research

Undergraduate and graduate student research, pursued in collaboration with our faculty, allows for mentoring by faculty and skill development in our students. Our student support services strive to provide exceptional service quality to meet students’ needs. Our college core courses integrate business disciplines to provide students the breadth they need in today’s team-oriented business environment. Integrated core curricula are followed by opportunities for the in-depth study of a major area and for pursuing a minor, sequence, or interdisciplinary concentration to allow students to develop expertise in an area of interest.

Focus on applied research and instructional development

Students are an important focus of our intellectual contributions. The college’s emphasis is on applied research and instructional development. In addition, we recognize the value of basic research. We bring our research to our students by discussing our findings and other relevant discoveries in the classroom.

Our applied research focus allows our students to more clearly see the relevance of theory to business practice. We value collaborative student and faculty research projects so students can develop research skills and work more closely with faculty. Instructional development, especially the integration of technology, is valued, encouraged, and shared among the faculty. Consulting experiences by faculty are seen to enrich the classroom experience and are encouraged to lay the foundation for future research, student internships, and student projects.

Service

By our service, the faculty and staff are role models for students through contributions to the University, the community, and their profession. Faculty and staff represent the college through involvement in University committees and our professional service enhances the visibility and reputation of our college.

Faculty sponsorship of student groups provides additional opportunities for faculty to mentor students. Such groups allow students to work together and develop networking and leadership skills.

Undergraduate-oriented institution with select graduate programs

We are an undergraduate-oriented institution. Our select graduate programs in Business Administration and Accountancy offer advanced instruction in business theory and practice and an appreciation for continuous learning. The undergraduate programs in accountancy, business administration, business information systems, business teacher education, finance, insurance, international business, management and marketing draw students from throughout the State of Illinois. Our master's programs primarily serve Illinois but draw a variety of both national and international students seeking a quality learning experience.

Our graduates serve in small, medium, and large businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and schools that are located primarily in the State of Illinois and the Midwest. The College of Business explores opportunities to offer programs to meet the needs of Illinois students, workers, executives, and employers. This may occur through contract programs, seminars, and through the University-sponsored Office of the Extended University.

Accreditation

The College of Business is accredited by AACSB International -The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business; the Accounting program is separately accredited by the AACSB. The college is committed to maintaining these accreditations.

Continuous Review

This mission statement is a collaborative effort of the college faculty, administration, Advisory Board, and students. The College Coordinating Team will review it each year with changes recommended to the dean for stakeholder review as necessary. Every five years the Coordinating Team will include students, alumni, faculty, and College Advisory Board representatives in the process of reviewing this mission statement. The College’s Teams and leadership are charged with developing action plans to pursue our mission.