College of Business and Economics
About the College of Business and Economics
About the College of Business and Economics

  1. College of Business and Economics
  2. About the College

About the College


Welcome to the College of Business and Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The College of Business and Economics is the largest AACSB-accredited business school in Wisconsin. Offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate programs, the college prepares students for their first career positions, executive leadership or careers in academia. The college’s reputation for excellence is founded on exceptional student experiences, and it delivers relevant and rigorous curriculum that is conveyed through innovative and effective teaching.

We invite you to join a rich tradition of excellence extending back to 1913 when the university first offered business education classes — then known as commercial education — and 1964 when campus reorganization created the School of Business and Economics.

Today's high-quality curriculum and faculty have been developed on the framework of accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. AACSB accreditation is a mark of quality acknowledged by employers and other higher education institutions, and it drives continuous improvement. Meeting the rigorous standards set forth by AACSB also ensures that the college has the facility, faculty, and technology resources to deliver academic programs successfully.

The college first earned AACSB accreditation for business in 1974, placing it among only five percent of business schools in the world to claim this credential. In 2021, the college achieved supplemental accounting accreditation. Less than two percent of business schools in the world hold dual accreditation in business and accounting from AACSB. 

Among other recent milestones, the college first began delivering online education in 1998, and its Master of Business Administration is consistently ranked among the best online MBA programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The online Bachelor of Business Administration is growing in acclaim and can now be completed with one of several majors.

In addition, the university’s first doctorate of business administration degrees were conferred in 2017. UW-Whitewater is home to one of the few AACSB-accredited DBA programs in the nation, and it is the only university in the state of Wisconsin approved to offer this applied business degree.

Mission Statement

The UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economics is an inclusive, collaborative and entrepreneurial learning community dedicated to sharing values, knowledge and skills to prepare current and future business professionals to contribute successfully and responsibly in a global business environment. Our efforts to engage in high-quality instruction, research and professional activities add value by:
  • Providing an engaging environment for educating undergraduate and graduate students that advances critical thinking, innovative problem-solving, ethical behavior, leadership and a commitment to diversity 
  • Developing and sustaining partnerships with key stakeholders that lead to mutually beneficial opportunities for students, alumni, faculty, businesses and the regional community 
  • Developing and retaining a high-quality faculty whose members strive for excellence, are current in their fields and make scholarly contributions through discipline-based, applied and pedagogical research

Strategic Priorities

Personal Interactions

A unique characteristic of the UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economics experience is the high level of personal interaction between students, faculty, alumni and business partners. It is this interaction that helps create a high-quality applied learning environment; helps students set and achieve high personal and professional aspirations; and gives Wisconsin's largest AACSB accredited business school its "small school" feel.

Exceptional Student Experiences

Exceptional student experiences are built and enhanced by clearly focused initiatives that increase student engagement, provide multiple opportunities, and ensure that those experiences are aligned with college goals. The College of Business and Economics will focus on three particular areas as strategic priorities:

  • Student Organizations
  • Internships
  • International Experiences

Relevant and Rigorous Curriculum

A relevant curriculum is one that engages students in the essential skills they need in their chosen professions. It has immediate application and yet serves as the foundation for their professional career and civic engagement. It prepares students for specific tasks as well as the ability to work through complex situations. A curriculum is most relevant if it has been developed in conjunction with practicing professionals and is regularly reviewed. A rigorous curriculum is one that is designed to challenge students to think, reason and solve problems. It pushes students to excel and expand their knowledge and skills. A rigorous curriculum is not "hard" for the sake of being "hard"; rather it includes both adherence to a high academic standard but also a carefully prepared pedagogical framework that helps students reach that standard.

Innovative and Effective Teaching

Faculty ensure that their teaching methods are effective through professional development and assessment. Faculty engage in thoughtful preparation for teaching by evaluating "best practices," learning from their peers and using feedback to improve. Students can improve the effectiveness of teaching by providing constructive criticism in term-end evaluations. Innovative teaching requires a cautious acceptance of risk to try new methods of teaching. These innovations might be "micro" or "macro" in nature. A supportive learning community climate allows faculty to discuss potential innovation, receive critical feedback, and attempt new methods with a clarity of purpose and reasonable acceptance of failure.

A Reputation of Excellence

World-class colleges have earned reputations of excellence in one or more areas. These reputations are built by ensuring a level of quality that is demonstrably higher than others and then drawing attention to those successes. The College of Business and Economics has numerous areas that already have the qualities necessary to build a national reputation. It also has other areas where increased access to resources or devotion of time and effort could positively impact our reputation.

Significant financial resources

World-class colleges have the financial resources to improve outcomes related to their strategic priorities and mission. They are financially sound and have the ability to direct significant resources to areas of critical need or new directions.

Delivers on its mission

While strategic priorities, annual goals, and areas of excellence may shift over time, the college mission is relatively stable. The mission is a statement of who we are: "The UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economics is an inclusive, collaborative and entrepreneurial learning community dedicated to sharing values, knowledge and skills to prepare current and future business professionals to contribute successfully and responsibly in a global business environment."  While annual goals and priorities may address narrower goals, the college will remain focused on all aspects of its mission and will strive to deliver on that broader mission.  

What is Assurance of Learning?

What should business school graduates know and be able to do as they move from their college classes to their professional careers? How do we know that UW-Whitewater students are graduating with the skills and knowledge that they will need in order to succeed in business? 

Our process, called "assurance of learning," develops and reviews goals or outcomes for student learning, measures those goals in classes, and then assesses student strengths and weaknesses in meeting the goals and standards. If faculty discover a challenge or weakness, they will work together to find better ways to teach and engage students so that the weakness is addressed and student learning is improved. They might suggest different homework assignments, new presentations, new readings, or different ways of learning, such as using online practice sets, or even new courses or curricula. The college continuously develops and revises goals, working with our alumni, advisory boards, and recruiters as well as reviewing research on business expectations. Faculty monitor changes in their own fields and what students will need to be able to do as they graduate. Instructors report students' performance regularly, and each fall all business faculty gather to review the data and make plans for helping students be even more successful, to "assure" that they are learning all the skills they will need. Below are the learning goals for both undergraduates and MBA students.

Goals for Bachelor of Business Administration Graduates

The College of Business and Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is cultivating graduates prepared to be successful business leaders. By graduation, it is our goal that all students will be:
  • Ethical and able to identify ethical issues
  • Globally aware
  • Critical thinkers
  • Analytical
  • Leadership
Faculty teaching core business courses will measure and track students' performance on these goals. The college reports results to faculty, advisory boards, students, and accreditors. We strive to improve student performance on these goals by regular review and changes in teaching and curriculum. These ideas and goals will be present throughout each student's College of Business and Economics experience, with certain courses focusing specifically on selected goals.  Students will learn the importance of each objective and how it can be applied to their future careers.

Goals for Master of Business Administration Graduates

UW-Whitewater's MBA program is advancing students to be leaders and executives in their professions.  The College of Business and Economics wants its MBA graduates to be able to:

  • Think Globally
    • Evaluate the impact of culture on business strategies.
    • Develop business strategies that adapt to international environments.
  • Behave Ethically
    • Apply appropriate theories and models to assess divergent perspectives of ethical dilemmas.
  • Innovate
    • Create strategies and identify structures and processes that exploit technology for innovative business opportunities and solutions.
  • Make Strategic Decisions
    • Generate alternative strategic actions in business situations.
    • Choose and defend strategies that sustain competitive advantage.
  • Think Critically
    • Define the problems in business situations.
    • Identify relevant information for making business decisions.
    • Analyze quantitative and qualitative information useful in determining actions
  • Communicate, Negotiate, and Persuade
    • Develop messages that are appropriate in style, tone, and content for communications situations.
  • Manage Projects
    • Plan and allocate resources for completing projects.
    • Determine the means for evaluating project success.
  • Lead
    • Determine the means for leading, evaluating, and motivating staff.
    • Lead teams effectively.
The College of Business and Economics requires students to take classes with these goals interwoven into the course subject matter. Faculty keep goals of the program as constant themes in each course, whether or not the subject matter is specific to one particular goal. Students complete courses in three major module areas: technology, global, and strategic. Graduate faculty measure student outcomes each time they teach selected MBA courses. Every year, faculty meet together to discuss student performance and set goals for improving teaching and learning.

College Leadership

 In addition to world-class faculty, facilities and business resources, the College of Business and Economics has an exceptional leadership team with the support and agile mindset to stay at the forefront of business education.

Dean

Paul Ambrose, Dean
Ph.D., Business Adminsitration, Management Information Systems, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
cobedeansoffice@uww.edu

Associate Dean

Ahmad Karim, Associate Dean for Accreditation and Assessment
Ph.D., Business Administration, University of Iowa
karima@uww.edu

Associate Dean

Linda Yu, Interim Associate Dean for Graduate Programs
Ph.D., Finance, University of Memphis

gradbus@uww.edu

Assistant Dean

Sara Deschner, Assistant Dean for Online Education and Technology
M.A., History, Northern Illinois University

cobetech@uww.edu

Assistant Dean

Kari Pahl, Assistant Dean for Student Success and Academic Services
Master of Science in College Student Personnel Services and Administration, University of Central Arkansas
undergradbus@uww.edu

College of Business and Economics, Hyland Hall

Directory

View specific contacts by department in the College Directory.

Dean's Office

Phone: 262-472-1343
Email: cobedeansoffice@uww.edu

Graduate Business Programs

Phone: 262-472-1945
Email: gradbus@uww.edu

Undergraduate Business Programs

Phone: 262-472-4900
Email: undergradbus@uww.edu

Online Bachelor of Business Administration Program

Phone: 262-472-4900
Email: onlinebba@uww.edu

CoBE Technology Support

Hyland Hall, Room 3001
Phone: 262-472-4981
Toll-Free: 866-472-4982
Email: cobetech@uww.edu

Map and Directions

uww.edu/maps?building=HH
University of Wisconsin Whitewater