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College of Business Administration

Student FAQ

Note: Near the end of each fall and spring semester students finishing 495 present their projects to CoBA faculty and company representatives. All CoBA students will receive a schedule of the presentations via campus email. Each spring students will also receive an email with a listing of Senior Experience information forums for interested students.

How do I sign up for Senior Experience?


There is a mandatory pre-class info session the semester prior to enrolling or taking the class, usually in March for the fall semester and October for the spring semester鈥攚atch the CoBA Advising Announcements page for more information.

Upon completion of all prerequisites you will be able to enroll in BUS 495 through the SMART system.

Am I allowed to petition for acceptance into the program if I do not have all of the prerequisites completed?

No. All prerequisites must be complete in order to enroll.

Will companies be provided for us, or can I go out and find my own company?

A list of organizations with projects will be provided, but students can nominate an organization of their own choosing. If you have an organization in mind as a site for your project, please contact Ed Ashley well before the start of the semester.

Will I have to work in a group for Senior Experience?

Yes, students work in teams of 5 students.

Can I choose my group members?

Yes, you will be able to choose your group members. However, you will be urged to choose your group members wisely and you will be required to submit written justification for the composition of your group.

Can I choose the type of problem that I focus on for my project?

You will be able to express your preference among the organizations and projects available. For example, if you are interested in high technology manufacturing, you can express a preference a related organization and project.

Will I be forced to choose all the same types of students (e.g., all Accounting students) for my team, or can I create an interdisciplinary team?

An interdisciplinary team is advantageous and preferred in many ways.

How are the 3-units of work done in the semester?

You will meet at least once per week with your faculty supervisor. To determine how many hours outside of class you should spend working on the project, we use the standard for all classes: For every hour you spend in class each week you should be spending 3+ hours outside of class. Thus, you are expected to spend about 15 hours each week working on the project outside of the time spent with your faculty supervisor.

What will I be doing in the semester during "course" hours?

This time will be spent doing a number of things, which could include: Reading and completing tasks for the class, meeting with key employees from the sponsoring organization to complete your project, reading up on the target organization and industry in the library, working alone at home on your portion of the project, meeting with your other team members to work on your project, working in the computer labs on campus to complete your project, and so on. You will have to decide where and when you need to work outside of class time. The faculty supervisor will not decide that for you.

For these hours spent working outside of class time will I have to "clock in" and "clock out" at the organization in which I'm doing the project?

No, this is not intended to be like an internship, where you would have a set schedule of  hours that you work. Basically, you are functioning as a team of consultants for that organization. You decide when and for how long you spend time at the organization.

If I work full-time, how do I meet the requirements for Senior Experience?

If you can attend the regular class meetings for BUS 495, as well as an agreed-upon meeting time with all of your team and the faculty supervisor, then you can enroll in the course sequence. However, you will be expected to spend time outside of class working on your project. Some of that time will be spent working inside the target organization, and some of that time will probably have to be during business hours. You will have to make arrangements with your employer to spend some time during business hours working in your target organization. If your employer will not let you do this, then you can do one of three things:

  1. If your employer can provide a suitable project, and if you can persuade four other students to work with you, you can do your project in the organization in which you are employed;
  2. You can do a project in an organization in which you can meet with the key employees of that organization during non-business hours, i.e., evenings and weekends;
  3. You can do a project within a company such that your current employer will consider the experience valuable enough to let you work on the project during business hours.