Part 2: Academics

The Office of Professional Development: A Key to Student Success

How Students Progress Through the College

The College of Business is different than many other colleges at UCF. We are a selective admissions college. All students must successfully complete a series of pre-core classes in order to become business students. Once in the college, most of the courses students take are required for everyone (we refer to these as core courses and there is no mechanism for opting out of them.) A few of these courses, what we call primary core courses, play a special role in a student’s ability to get into certain majors. The primary core courses must be completed before a student can start courses in a major. Some majors also require that the student maintain a minimum GPA to remain in the major.

View a complete list of our Admission Standards and Academic Policies.
 
 

 

Course Formats

We employ a variety of course formats and modes in the college designed to support our culture of engagement and prepare our students for today’s business world. Courses in the Pre-Core and Core tend to use a blended learning format that combines digital content with hands-on group learning experiences to improve students’ basic knowledge, problem solving and soft skills. We refer to these courses as REAL (Relevant, Engaged, Active Learning) courses. The professional development courses use a lecture capture technology that allows students to experience courses live or asynchronously while completing action-oriented assignments outside of class that are designed to help them choose a major, build a professional network, develop their resume, get an internship and land a good job before graduation.

Our Capstone experience combines lecture capture with face-to-face breakout sessions that culminate in the Great Case Competition—a live, real-world case where we crowdsource a solution to a problem provided by one of our corporate partners. Check out our most recent Capstone Competition, which was conducted virtually.

Courses in the major tend to use a more traditional face-to-face format. Some courses, like those in our Integrated Business major, use a flipped-classroom approach that stresses individual preparation outside of class for intensive, applied, group problem-solving activity and soft-skill development in class.

Ready to Register?


 

Selecting a Major & Enrolling for Classes

Choosing a major is often one of the most difficult decisions students will make during their time in college. UCF College of Business takes a proactive approach to choosing a major by designing a curriculum and programs to help students identify their interests and skills.

The College of Business is home to eight undergraduate degree programs (majors)

Learn About the Majors  
 

 

How We Communicate with Students

All official communication with students about academic policies and academic standing is sent through Knight’s Email. Students can set up an email account here.

All expectations of students in a particular class including assignments and exam times and dates are included in the course syllabus provided by the professor. College events, such as The Invitational, Street Smarts and EXCHANGE guest speakers are communicated in a variety of ways including on our website and on video monitors throughout the college.

 

 

Career Development

As part of the coursework in their selected major, students will begin taking classes in the Career Professionalism Series, a four-course series designed with the ultimate goal of helping students secure professional employment before graduation. The courses teach students a variety of skills for their post-college career including:

  • Financial planning
  • Career search strategies
  • Interviewing techniques
  • Executing a career plan

Learn more about “In the Major Curriculum.”

 

 

Resources for Success

Business students have access to career-planning and advising services through the college’s Office of Professional Development. Staffed by experienced Human Resource professionals, our Career Coaches help students develop their career plans from the day they start classes in the college.

At this time, the Office of Professional Development is assisting students with career advising and schedule planning needs virtually, via email and video conferencing services.

Learn how your student can utilize the Office of Professional Development.

The UCF Parent & Family Fund

This fund supports programs and services above and beyond what is covered by tuition and fees. UCF relies on parents, families, alumni and friends for a portion of each year’s operating budget. The value of a UCF degree is strengthened by the investment parents and families make in UCF’s future. We ask all parents to continue the tradition by making a participatory gift at any level to the Parent & Family Fund.

Make a Gift Now
 

 

Scholarships & Financial Aid

There are countless public and private scholarships available to college students. Scholarships are awarded for a variety of reasons including academic achievement, financial need, campus and community involvement, and leadership experience, and generally do not need to be repaid.

Learn About Scholarships  
 
In addition to scholarships, financial aid options at UCF include grants, loans, waivers and federal work study. The Office of Student Financial Assistance can help you and your student apply for financial aid and answer questions about qualification requirements.

Learn About Financial Aid

 

 

Course Availability Concerns

The college offers more than 500 class sections each Fall and Spring semester. The best chance at getting a preferred schedule is to enroll at your first opportunity. Some courses do fill up fast. Department chairs monitor class demand by looking at the number of students wait-listed for a course and make adjustments where they can to accommodate excess demand. That said, not every student is going to be able to enroll in a class at a time of their choosing. Having a back-up plan is important. An early conversation with the right person in the Office of Professional Development can help students make adjustments without prolonging their time to graduation. If the student waits until the last minute, the Office of Professional Development staff are only taking walk-ins and the line to get in can be quite long.

 

 

Concerns About Grades or Quality of Instruction

If your son or daughter has an issue with a particular instructor, they should try to resolve this informally by attending the faculty member’s office hours and having a discussion. If the student is uncomfortable doing this or the meeting with instructor fails to resolve the matter, your son or daughter should contact the faculty member’s department chair to schedule a meeting. We take complaints against faculty very seriously. The department chair is the faculty member’s direct supervisor and is in the best position to deal with issues of misconduct. For a list of department chairs, see the College Leadership section below.

 

 

Concerns About Inappropriate Behavior

These situations are rare, and when they do occur, we take them very seriously. A university needs to be a safe place for people to learn, work, exchange ideas and participate in new experiences while enjoying mutual respect. UCF is a wonderful place, and we intend to keep it that way for everyone. We want people to speak up if they have a concern and there are a number of venues for doing so.
Concerns about:

  • A fellow student in class should start with the instructor
  • An instructor should start with the department chair
  • A department chair should be brought to the dean

If a student is uncomfortable bringing a concern up within the college, the university has a number of offices charged with addressing different types of concerns.

Student Complaints & Appeals

 

 

College Leadership

The college has more than 120 distinguished faculty members who are committed to research, teaching and service. Although they come from diverse backgrounds, they all share the same goal – to help our students develop into successful professionals.

Below is a list of the leadership team members from the college’s eight academic departments and the Office of the Dean.


< Part 1: Expectations
Part 3: Student Life >

 

 

 

 

Ready to Register for Classes?

Setting up your class schedule through myUCF is easy and straightforward.
Already registered? Be sure to log in to double check your schedule.

 

GET STARTED!