When speaking to Idaho State University’s Dean of the College of Business, Shane Hunt, it is easy to absorb his enthusiasm for ISU’s business programs, “I am more thankful today than ever to be part of the ISU College of Business family and I am more excited than ever knowing that our best days are still ahead of us.”
Serving Students
ISU is one of only 189 schools globally that have the highest-level accreditation in both Business and Accounting from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), reflecting the world class business education ISU students receive. AACSB is the longest-standing and most prestigious accreditation that can be earned by a university and its business programs. Students in the Idaho Falls area can earn business certificates, associate’s degrees, bachelor’s degrees, and master’s degrees either online or through a hybrid program with a mix of online and in-person classes on the Idaho Falls campus. Classes from the College of Eastern Idaho easily transfer to ISU for degree completion.
ISU offers a number of non-degree certificates in financial literacy, professional sales, entrepreneurship, labor economics or project management. Each of these certificates requires just three courses that have no prerequisites. ISU also offers a Bachelor of Business Administration in general business or in accounting, economics, finance, management, marketing or healthcare administration.
Senior management major Josiah Bell states of his experience in his Idaho Falls courses, “The professors all had legit real-world experiences in business and they kept the trajectory of the course in line with preparing us for that.”
ISU offers the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and the Master of Accountancy (MAcc) to students in Idaho Falls. The MBA is online (with plans to add in-person courses) while the MAcc is an on-campus program.
Kristine McCarty, the ISU College of Business Director of Graduate Studies relates, "The MAcc program in Idaho Falls is an excellent opportunity for those interested in the field of accounting to continue their education. The program is offered flexibly in the evenings, allowing students to continue to work full-time while pursuing the degree. The MAcc is able to be completed in one year full-time, or in two years part-time."
Accounting Department Chair Bob Picard notes the MAcc program was created about 10 years ago to provide the 30 credits of education beyond a bachelor’s degree required for a CPA license, “There is so much more to the accounting world than in the past that it is necessary to have a master’s degree to keep up with current standards.”
Scholarships
Over 90% of business students who applied received private scholarships in addition to any ISU scholarships awarded at admission. A new scholarship endowment from alumnus Michael Mather will benefit junior or senior level students majoring in accounting who have a 3.0 and are Idaho residents.
Mather states, “I am a strong believer that the time and effort put into getting a degree is the best and most productive thing a person can do for himself. Having seen the positive effect some financial help can be for students while working in advancement, I just thought this was a very positive thing that I would do.”
Serving Businesses
On the Pocatello campus, construction is under way on the Orin C. Smith Global Finance Lab and Walter P. Brown Center for Sales Excellence. The only Sales Center in the state of Idaho provides a lab environment for students and area professionals to perfect their sales and presentation skills, state-of-the art video training software, a networking area and a podcasting studio. These are available to Idaho Falls students and businesses.
ISU’s business professors (including two new endowed professors in management and finance) consult with large companies, small businesses and non-profit organizations in our community. “I have never seen a group of professors more committed to student success than the professors in the ISU College of Business,” Hunt stated.
The ISU College of Business will be putting on a sales event open to the public March 29 on the Idaho Falls campus from 4 to 7 p.m. This will be a free event with presentations focused on professional sales. Click on the Community tab at isu.edu for more information about this event. Companies can also arrange for short training workshops from ISU’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Economic Development at isu.edu/cob.
Hunt is enthusiastic about the ISU College of Business presence in Idaho Falls.
“I think our future is very bright. We want Idaho Falls to continue to thrive and grow because it helps all of us,” he said. “We want to do more things to help the business community. We want to do more things to help our students who want to attend ISU at the Idaho Falls campus. Part of the long-term success of eastern Idaho is going to be the ability of Pocatello/Chubbuck and Idaho Falls to work together more closely to help grow the greater economic pie for all of us.”
ISU Free Business Sales Event
March 29, 2023
4 – 7 pm
BSUB Building
ISU Business Programs in Idaho Falls