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The Williams College of Business

Frequently Asked Questions- MBA

What Every Xavier MBA Student Needs to Know

 

Time and Balance

A MBA student has six years from her/his original admission-term to complete their degree. On average, it takes 2 1/2 to 3 years to finish the MBA degree. Some students complete the degree in 1 year or 3 semesters as these students take a full-time course load (3-5 classes a term) and do not work full-time. Most students who work take 2 classes at a time. This allows for balance between home/personal obligations, work, and school. Balance is a word stressed in the Xavier MBA because - without it - time in the program will be more challenging than needed. It is important to remember that a student's physical/mental/spiritual health and those who care about the student come first. Then comes work. Then comes the MBA. The Xavier MBA was designed with this in mind, which is why students can take time off without penalty.  However, time off extends your overall program length and, therefore, the completion of your degree.

Due to the intensity of the 8 week on line MBA sessions, it is recommended that a student only take one on-line class at a time.  On-Line MBA students take a total of two classes in a semester, but only one class in each of the 8 week on-line sessions.  There are two 8 week on-line sessions in each of the fall, spring, and summer semesters.

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Financing Your Degree

After admission, one of the most important aspects of graduate school is deciding how to fund your graduate studies.

Many students have some form of tuition remission provided by their employer. The amount varies, as well as the eligibility for tuition remission. It behooves a student to have a discussion with his or her manager and/or HR department before registering for classes to make sure that all policies and procedures regarding the use of tuition remission are understood.

For those students in need of financial aid, the following resources are often utilized by students:

  • www.fastweb.com - a free scholarship search through the web.
  • Xavier MBA Partial Tuition grants - these partial tuition scholarships are awarded based upon need as demonstrated by the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). These grants are usually a discount off the stated credit hour tuition rate, on average ranging from $20 - $50 off per credit hour. Consideration is automatic each year based upon FAFSA submission by March 1st. The grant is awarded for the following academic year.
  • Williams College of Business or University graduate assistantships - these positions offer full-time students the hourly minimum wage and tuition remission for graduate business classes. GA positions range in terms of duties, hours required, and amount of tuition remission provided. Please see Graduate Assistantships later in this document for a more detailed explanation. The application deadline for Wiliams College of Business GA position is March 1st for positions that begin the following academic year.
  • Federal Aid - US citizens and permanent residents are eligible for federal loan consideration. MBA students must complete the FAFSA ( www.fafsa.ed.gov) to be considered for a federal loan. MBA students receive the Stafford Loan. The interest is either subsidized (paid at the end of the educational experience) or unsubsidized (paid monthly throughout the entire educational experience). To be considered for a Stafford Loan, you must be:
    • A student must be fully admitted to the MBA program.
    • Registered for five semester hours or more.
    • In good standing with a cumulative g.p.a. of 2.8 (NOTE: the MBA program requires a cumulative g.p.a. of 3.0 for good standing; this supersedes the Financial Aid requirement of 2.8 or higher.)
    • Male students must register for selective service if you have not previously done so.

Upon completion of the FAFSA (which does require tax information from the previous year), the student must contact the Office of Student Financial Services at 513-745-3142 or xufinaid@xavier.edu for assistance in loan packaging. An on-line interviewing process is required of all loan recipients.

Receipt of federal loans is considered Payment in Full on the Payment Agreement Form that is submitted to the Office of the Bursar.

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Academic Honesty and Plagiarism

Academic honesty is expected of all students. You can find the University's Academic Honesty policy on line at  https://www.xavier.edu/handbook/standards/specifically-permitted-and-prohibited-conduct/miscellaneous-policies/academic-honesty

Academic honesty has taken on new dimensions as the internet has become the primary resource for paper and project research. Xavier offers resources to ensure students have the proper citations and documentation. The best come via the Library. https://www.xavier.edu/library/xu-tutor/xu-tutor-use/academic-honesty

 

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Double Concentrations

Double concentrations are possible. Only one class is permitted to be "double counted" for both concentrations.

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The Value of a Concentration

A concentration is similar to a minor in undergraduate school. It is made up of 3-4 classes. Completion of a concentration does not make the student an expert in the subject, but it can enhance their already obtained undergraduate major OR it can - along with experience - provide a solid foundation which can be built upon and used for future career planning.

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Repeating a Course

The grade of "F" will have a severe impact on the student's cumulative g.p.a. It is IMPERATIVE to remove the "F" from your g.p.a. as quickly as possible. Xavier's "Repeated Course" policy removes the old grade from the cumulative g.p.a. and replaces it with the new grade. The "Repeated Course" policy is applicable to any course and any grade. While some schools average the grades and others do not replace them at all (leaving them in the g.p.a. permanently), the Xavier policy is for the grade to be removed out of the g.p.a., though it does remain on the transcript. Completion of a Repeated Course Form by the student is required for this to happen. The Repeated Course Form will replace the most recent grade received - even if it is lower than the original grade. Full MBA tuition is assessed for all repeated courses.

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MBA Grade Scale

For more information, visit https://www.xavier.edu/registrar/faculty-staff/grading-scales. 

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Grades of Incomplete

https://www.xavier.edu/registrar/faculty-staff/grading-scales

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When to Withdraw from a Course

If after discussion with the professor, the student decides that there will be no chance of passing the course, the student may WITHDRAW from it. Xavier's policy for graduate students permits students to withdraw from the class up until the last day of the semester. Withdrawing from a class has no impact on a student's cumulative g.p.a. However, a student may only register for a class three times. The class must be completed on the third time. If this does not happen, the student may not be able to complete his or her MBA program. If the student withdraws from the class after the 7th calendar day of the semester, the "withdraw" will remain on the student's record - no matter if a refund is received or not. There are financial penalties for course withdraws. Please see the section titled Refund Schedule for additional information.

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Graduating from the MBA Program

It is the student's responsibility to know when to apply for graduation. This can be done by reviewing the Degree Audit which is found via the Self-Service Icon on the Student Hub.  If you have any questions about your program progress, contact a MBA advisor to assist you.

All of the program requirements must be met to graduate from the MBA program. This includes all Foundation Skill courses even if a waiver is taken and not passed; Core 550 level courses ARE NEVER waived for students.

MBA graduation also requires a 3.0 cumulative g.p.a. It is important to note that cumulative g.p.a.'s ARE NEVER rounded up; thus a cumulative g.p.a. of 2.99 will not permit a graduation. All students must apply to graduate from Xavier University graduation application. The fee to graduate is $50 and is billed directly to the bursar account. If a graduation application is submitted after the posted graduation application deadline, a late fee of $50 will be assessed to the student's bursar account.

Graduation application deadlines traditionally are in January for May graduation, in October for December graduation, and in June for August graduation.  Graduation application dates can be found in the calendar section of the Office of the Registrar website:  https://www.xavier.edu/registrar/calendars/index.

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Non-Graduating Participant

A student with 6 or fewer hours and in good standing may participate in the May commencement ceremony as a Non-Graduating Participant. The Walker Form must be submitted with an August graduation application by the first Friday of the spring term in January.

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Commencement

Xavier University hosts one commencement ceremony each academic year during the month of May.

All graduates from August, December, and May of that academic year are invited to attend the ceremony. Traditionally, the graduate commencement ceremony starts at 2 p.m. Students who will participate in the commencement ceremony need to arrive at the West Gym Entrance of the Cintas Center between 12:45 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. Students may bring as many guests as they like. No tickets are needed Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. All guests should enter the event from the main front doors of the Cintas Center. More information will be posted during the spring term.

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Transfer Credit

As a Xavier MBA student, you may transfer up to 6 semester hours or 9 quarter hours from an AACSB accredited MBA program. All transfer credit must be approved by the MBA Office before it can be valid. Often, the MBA advisors will assist in finding the correct classes to take as a student does not want to take the wrong course and find out it won't transfer back to Xavier.

For any credit to transfer back to Xavier, a grade of "B" or higher is required. A grade of "B-" is not accepted. Upon successful completion of the course(s), it is the student's responsibility to send an official transcript to the Xavier MBA, to ensure processing of the credit.

Any student who elects to transfer credit from another institution to Xavier must submit the MBA Transfer Course Approval form.

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The Jesuit MBA Network

The Jesuit MBA Network offers students the chance to transfer back to the Xavier MBA program up to 18 credit hours. The Jesuit Network works to maximize the transfer credit of students. Depending upon where a student has the most credits, he or she can work with the Jesuit MBA schools to be a visiting student or a fully accepted student to finish his or her degree. For example, a student with twenty-five 600 level credit hours at Xavier could be transferred to Chicago. The Xavier student can apply to be a visiting student at the Loyola Chicago MBA program (a Jesuit sister school of Xavier) and take the remaining classes needed for degree completion there. OR, if the Xavier student has twelve credit hours and gets transferred to Boston, he or she can apply for admission to Boston College and, upon admission, will have their Xavier credit considered for transferability. Things to note about the Jesuit Network:

  1. Every MBA curriculum is different so it may not be possible to find equivalent classes at every Jesuit MBA network university.
  2. Every Jesuit MBA program has different admission requirements for full acceptance and visiting student acceptance.
  3. Some of the Jesuit MBA programs are on semesters and others are on quarters. This will impact how many classes you have to take as a quarter credit is 2/3 of a semester credit.
  4. Tuition rates vary greatly among the Jesuit MBA schools. The schools on the coast will have a higher tuition rate than the Midwestern schools - such as Xavier.
  5. As a visiting student, there may not be immediate registration access. As was mentioned above, every school approaches visiting student registration differently - with some schools being more restrictive than others.
  6. When attending another Jesuit school, be patient as that school will be different from Xavier. Unfortunately, the Xavier MBA advisors cannot assist much when taking classes at one of the Jesuit sister schools. As a student there, you will have to abide by the policies and procedures of that school. However, the Xavier advisors will do their best to assist whenever possible.

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Graduate Assistantships

There are three types of graduate assistantships available to MBA students. They are: MBA Assistantships, University Assistantships, and Weekend College Graduate Assistantships.

MBA Assistantships are usually full-time positions that require 10-15 hours of work per week from students. The hourly rate is minimum wage ($7.40/ hour). Assistantships provide full tuition coverage for two to four MBA classes in the fall and spring semesters. MBA GA positions are open to fully-admitted students ONLY who are in good standing with a cumulative g.p.a. of 3.0 or higher. Provisional and conditional admission students cannot be considered for MBA GA positions. The majority of the MBA GA positions are based within the academic departments of the Williams College of Business and the MBA/Dean's Office. The application deadline for MBA GA positions is March 1st of each year. The positions available are usually for the following academic year - starting in the fall term. These positions are renewable based upon the discretion of the hiring department. MBA Assistantships are NOT teaching assistantships. They are research and office oriented.

University Assistantships are graduate assistantship positions that are available to all graduate students on the Xavier campus. They are found in University offices from undergraduate academic advising to the library. These positions usually require 20 hours of work a week at the minimum wage and tuition coverage up to the Xavier University Master of Arts rate, which is less than the MBA tuition rate. University GA positions are posted each spring starting March 1st. These positions are coordinated by the Office of Graduate Services. The positions are posted online every March 1st. University GA positions are NOT teaching assistantships. They are research and office oriented.

Weekend College Graduate Assistantships are graduate assistantships that are available on the weekend as they support the undergraduate weekend college program. The Weekend GA positions last for 8 weeks - as that is the length of the academic term of the Weekend College. Each Weekend College course has a GA assigned to it. Like the MBA and University GA positions, Weekend GA positions are not teaching positions, but do assist with study sessions, tutoring, chapter reviews, and other administrative tasks that a professor may need (but not teaching and course grading). Weekend College GA positions require that GA's attend the undergraduate weekend class each Saturday and to hold their remaining weekly hours on Sunday. As the Weekend GA positions are only 8 weeks each, it is possible to have two GA positions during the same semester with one during the first eight week session and the other during the second eight week session. Like the other GA positions, the Weekend GA positions are paid minimum wage and offer coverage of one MBA class; thus, two weekend GA positions during a semester will cover two MBA classes. Weekend GA positions are open to all University graduate students. MBA students are given strong consideration for all business oriented Weekend GA positions though MBA students are eligible to apply for any Weekend GA position available.

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