Overview

"Innovative, Versatile, Relevant, Cutting-Edge, Student-Friendly, Flexible, Professional, Exciting."

These are some of the words used to describe Tech’s Business and Information Technology (BIT) degree.

BIT truly is a degree designed for the twenty-first century. What will strike the student entering this program is its dynamic balance between traditional business coursework and information technology requirements. The curriculum integrates business and computer applications in much the same way as today’s most successful, innovative businesses. Graduates work at the interface of business and information technology, enabling them to pursue a variety of career paths. Preparation from the course curriculum encourages and supports the need for continuing education of working professionals. The recommendation of sitting for a professional examination of the student's choosing reinforces this. Graduates from the business program will be instilled to understand and honor the concepts of ethics and diversity in the workplace The curriculum includes all of the pre-professional courses required for admission into most Master of Business Administrations (MBA) programs.

• Program offerings
• Mission
• Departmental Objectives
• Program Outcomes
• Accreditation

Program offerings:

• Accounting
• Management
• Entrepreneurship

The department also offers the following:

BAS: The Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Business is also available through the department. This customized degree provides an opportunity for individuals having an Associate of Applied Science degree to apply a larger block of credit to a baccalaureate degree.

Minors: Students not enrolled in the BIT program can choose to obtain one of two minors in Business Administrations: Accounting or Finance/Management. A minor in Business Administration is a valuable addition to an engineering or other technical degree. Students should check with an academic advisor to determine if the electives within a particular discipline can be fulfilled with business courses.

Helena Program: Students in the Helena area can enroll in upper division courses taught by Montana Tech at the University of Montana - Helena College of Technology. Montana Tech's "Helena Program" enables students to obtain a four year business degree while working full-time.

Mission

The Business and Information Technology Department is committed to providing a baccalaureate education that enables its graduates to provide a lifelong contribution to society by combining a firm interdisciplinary business curriculum with current information technology in a manner responsive to changing market demands.

Departmental Objectives

In support of this mission, the BIT department is committed to the following objectives:

• Prepare students for an ever-evolving business climate by offering a dynamic and emergent curriculum.
• Emphasize both practical and conceptual models to produce a manager capable of insightful, comprehensive, critical and applied thinking.
• Enable students to understand and apply a wide-range of business analytical tools.
• Connect the theory of management and leadership to the practical challenges of the workplace to be an effective problem solver.
• Deliver a student with an in-depth appreciation of group dynamics and team work.
• Provide an educational program of study integrating business and technology.
  

Program Outcomes

• Graduates will be able to implement contemporary management practices.
• Graduates will be understand and be able to implement the strategic management process.
• Graduates will be prepared to implement the business decision making process in decision analysis.
• Graduates will communicate effectively using written, oral , and multimedia venues.
• Graduates will be able to interpret and analyze financial statements.
• Graduates will be able to work effectively on projects in either a team environment or an individual basis.
• Graduates will be prepared to be lifelong learners. Upon graduation, graduates will be well equipped to pursue post-baccalaureate studies.
• Graduates will be ready for the technological challenges of the twenty-first century workplace.

Accreditation

Program

Our BIT program is accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). Their accreditation process provides us with yet another refining tool to provide the best possible education for our students. Some of the benefits of accreditation through the IACBE are:

Clear evidence of the quality of our program
Continuous improvement
Best practices
Accountability
An international perspective
An enhanced reputation

According to the IACBE, only a little over half of the Business programs in the U.S. today are accredited. We chose to become a member of their organization to ensure that our program has the characteristics of excellence that come from an in depth evaluation process.

College accreditation

The Northwest Commission on Colleges & Universities (NWCCU) accredits the college. The initial accreditation was in 1936 (Montana School of Mines) and the most recent accreditation was in 2000. Our next accreditation is scheduled in April of 2010.

Tim Kober • Department Head • (406) 496-4457
Gail Bergman • (406) 496-4401
Admissions Office • 1-800-445-TECH