​All BALA courses stress critical thinking, effective writing and speaking, ethical decision making, and teamwork. Faculty are selected for their academic excellence and familiarity with the business world.

First-Level Courses

BALA 100 ~ Business and Society - This course will introduce students to an interdisciplinary study of the impact of business on individual and society. Students will explore relationships between people, business, and politics. Concepts in globalization, financial markets, ethics, diversity, leadership, and economics will be examined from an individual perspective vs. societal perspective. Students will receive a broad overview of business functions, including  finance, human resources, marketing, and computer information systems.

Intermediate Courses

BALA 103W ~ Critical Thinking in Business - Prereq.: ENGL 110. This course is intended to introduce students to effective reasoning and give them the tools to apply such reasoning in the business context and throughout their lives. Students will learn how to critically evaluate information presented to them—to define issues, ask pertinent questions, challenge assumptions, recognize speaker objectives and motivations, analyze arguments, and evaluate evidence—and will apply this knowledge to real-world scenarios.

BALA 201W ~ Business Communications - Prereq.: ENGL 110 and BALA 100. Introduction to fundamental skills in oral and written communication combined with intercultural competence. Intensive practice in writing effectively across various businesses, drafting and revising documents based on current events and case-studies, creating external and internal communication pieces for organizations, and writing for digital platforms.

Accounting 100 ~ Financial and Managerial Accounting - Prereq.: BALA 100. Teaches non-accountants to understand pertinent numerical information in personal, public, and corporate situations. Budgeting and financial reasoning.

BALA 165  ~  Oral Communication in the Workplace - Fundamentals of oral communication in business settings, including interpersonal communications, listening, informative briefings, public presentations, small and large group interaction, and interviewing.

BALA 200 ~ Entrepreneurship and Innovation - An introduction to the process of beginning a new enterprise; learning how to take an idea for a new or improved product or service and turn it into a business. Students will create a full-fledged business plan, suitable to be sent to possible investors and lenders. Emphasis will be placed on creating the plan, and then presenting that plan in an effort to convince investors of the viability of the business. Students will learn the thought processes and skills required to succeed when tackling the problems faced by the entrepreneur.

Upper Level Courses

BALA 302 ~ Law and Ethics of Business - Prereq.: BALA core courses or junior or senior standing. Law and ethics are not mutually exclusive terms. Students will learn to examine situations in the news from legal and ethical perspectives. As employees and future managers, they will be able to consider their own decisions from these vantage points. More important, they will become wary of easy answers to tough questions.

BALA 303 ~ Strategic Management and Leadership - Prereq.: Permission of the Director. Rational steps used in problem solving and analytical thinking in practical situations. Including case studies and management games, this course helps students to appreciate the role of intuition, creativity, and imagination in solving problems. Students learn strategy-formulation techniques culminating with a business strategy simulation competition.

BALA 398.3 ~ Principles of Marketing - Prereq.: BALA 100. This course may be taken as a replacement for or in addition to ACCT 100.  Develop skills needed to position a brand, business, or product.  Students will learn to think strategically about marketing in today’s global environment.

BALA 391 ~ Business Internship - Prereq.: BALA core courses. BALA students are given the opportunity to complete a supervised internship in an appropriate corporate, not-for-profit, research organization, small business, or governmental organization. Students participating in an internship receive academic credit and/or a stipend for working in companies across a range of industries that reflect the diversity of interests of BALA students. Students gain critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, oral and written communication, and intercultural fluency skills.