School of Business

School of Business Administration

Dean: Shalei V. K Simms (Acting)
Assistant Dean: Joel Feiner
Assistant to the Dean for Impact and Instructional Design: Raul Zevallos
Director of Career Services, External Relations & Administration: Lorraine Todisco
Director of Graduate Programs: Bruce Marx
Accounting, Taxation & Business Law Department Chair: Kenneth Winkelman
Management, Marketing & Finance Department Chair: Madeline Crocitto

About the School of Business

Mission

The School of Business provides access and support to empower our learners (students and alumni) with the knowledge, skills, and values to think critically, communicate effectively, and act responsibly, achieved through a committed faculty devoted to teaching excellence and relevant scholarship.

Vision

To be a respected business school in the region, offering quality undergraduate and graduate programs, with a commitment to student success through engagement, impact, and innovation.

The School of Business will achieve this Vision through

Continuous improvement in teaching, research, and service.
Input from learners, faculty, business practitioners, and community.
Learner centeredness provided by personalized attention in a supportive environment with small classes, ongoing academic and career advising, and effective interaction with administration, faculty, and staff.

We are committed to the following core values:

Integrity promoted by professionalism supported by ethical behavior, teamwork, mutual respect, and appreciation for our diverse world.
Inclusion and diversity through enhanced recruitment and retention strategies.
Learner success throughout and after their college experience

The School of Business is committed to providing a high quality business education to its students through its curriculum, its teaching, its academic support services, and its placement and internship programs. The curriculum is continually updated to reflect changes in the financial marketplace, the impact of information technology on the globalization of markets, licensing examinations, and employment qualifications. All business faculty place a high emphasis on teaching effectiveness and student accessibility. Faculty are encouraged to experiment with a diversity of approaches in transmitting information and ensuring that the classroom is a participatory learning environment. The School of Business realizes the importance of academic advisement as a key component in a student’s college education. Academic support services are intended to complement the curriculum and teaching aspect of a student’s business education.

Students are encouraged to speak with academic advisors and the Director of the Graduate Business Programs to develop their own plan for success.

Program Design

The School of Business offers a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Accounting, a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Forensic Accounting, a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Taxation, a Micro-Credential in Business Taxation, a Micro-Credential in Estate, Gift & Trust Taxation and an Advanced Certificate in Taxation. A combined B.S. in Accounting, and an M.S. in Accounting, a combined B.S. in Accounting and an M.S. in Taxation and B.S in Accounting and an MS in Forensic Accounting are also offered. Students electing to pursue the M. S. degree in Accounting have the option of completing the degree requirements completely online. Students who wish to be licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York State are required to have completed a 150-credit hour program. The M.S. in Accounting, M.S. in Forensic Accounting and M.S. in Taxation degrees, including specified prerequisites*, are recognized and registered by the New York State Education Department as satisfying the 150-credit hour requirement. They also qualify students for a one-year work experience requirement relating to CPA licensure.

*Prerequisite deficiencies must be made up during the first year of study within the graduate program.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate a broad and more in depth understanding of tax and accounting laws, regulations and practice. This knowledge should enable students to develop solutions to complex issues utilizing critical thinking skills.
Students will be prepared to become socially responsible business leaders able to recognize ethical dilemmas and achieve resolutions in a socially and professionally responsible manner.
Students should demonstrate the ability to operate and lead on challenging international tax and accounting issues.
Students will be able to demonstrate an ability to be effective communicators in both oral presentation and written form.
Students will demonstrate well developed research skills.

School of Business Graduate Programs

General Program Requirements

The MS degrees offered by the School of Business are designed for students who have completed the requirements for the B.S. in Accounting which include the following undergraduate foundation courses in Accounting : Cost Accounting, Federal Income Taxation, Advanced Accounting (with government and not-for-profit coverage), Auditing, Commercial Law, Business Statistics, Calculus or Business Analytics, Financial Management, Macroeconomics and Microeconomics, Business Communications, and general business electives.

Non-Accounting undergraduate business majors may be required to complete up to seven additional “Accounting Foundation” courses (32 credits). Non-business majors may also apply for this track, but may need to take additional undergraduate business prerequisites.

Student can apply for the graduate programs when they have completed all but 10 credits of undergraduate prerequisite requirements.

Please note that all remaining prerequisite deficiencies must be made up during the first year of study within the graduate program.

General Admissions Requirements for the School of Business

Requirements for Applicants

Completion of a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or BBA degree.
An official GMAT Examination score taken within the last 5 years (see GMAT waiver below).
All official college transcripts (admission is based on a review of the combination of cumulative undergraduate Grade Point Average and GMAT score).
Two letters of reference (optional).
An essay about the applicant’s career goals and a self-assessment of their strengths.
A $50 application fee.

Applicants wishing to enter the Advanced Certificate Program must meet the following conditions as determined by the program coordinator:

Possess an approved Bachelor’s degree (or its equivalent) from an accredited college or university.
Completed BU4500 (Intermediate Accounting I), BU4510 (Intermediate Accounting II), BU4570 (Federal Income Tax).
Demonstrate the ability to successfully pursue graduate study by having an undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better.

GMAT Waivers are only granted in the following circumstances:

Have passed all four parts of the CPA examination at time of application.
Are a Licensed attorney (admitted to the Bar).
Awarded an MBA or master’s degree in a business related degree.
Are a Chartered Financial Analyst holding a bachelor’s degree.
Have an undergraduate degree in Accounting or an undergraduate degree in Business with at least 24 credits in accounting (including auditing) and have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 overall and a GPA in all Accounting courses of at least 3.30 (GPA to be considered will be cumulative for all undergraduate institutions attended.)

Note: A GMAT waiver may apply to students applying for the BS/MS Program (see the School of Business section in the Old Westbury Undergraduate Catalog for further information on this program) if a current Old Westbury undergraduate student has an Old Westbury overall GPA of 3.25 or above, and a GPA of 3.30 or above in all Accounting courses (including Intermediate Accounting I) taken at all colleges.

Acceptance decisions are made by the Graduate Business Admissions Committee based upon the above materials submitted with the application.

Note: The Old Westbury Master of Science programs in Accounting, Forensic Accounting, and Taxation are intended to qualify a graduate for licensure as a Certified Public Accounting after passing the Uniform CPA Exam. Questions on the licensing application require disclosure of prior felony and misdemeanor convictions (including please of guilty, no contest, or nolo contendere, prior professional licensing issues, charges of professional misconduct, and child support obligations. This may become an issue in obtaining a license as a Certified Public Accountant.

Candidates not meeting any of the above criteria are also permitted to take graduate business courses, as a nonmatriculated student, if they have earned a US Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) that included the prerequisites for the course(s) they are interested in taking and have an overall 3.00 GPA in all of their undergraduate courses.

Non-matriculated students with the appropriate prerequisites will be allowed to register on a space available basis. There is a limit of 12 credits allowed at the graduate level.

Course Waivers

Required Accounting Foundation courses in the two-year professional track may be waived based upon prior undergraduate coursework. Required 7000-level graduate courses may be waived based upon prior graduate coursework. Waivers will only be granted after careful evaluation by faculty in the area of specialization and the Graduate Business Admissions Committee.

The maximum graduate level credits that may be waived are as follows:

30-Credit MS Accounting Track - 6 credits
MS in Forensic Accounting- 6 credits
MS in Taxation - 6 credits

General Policies & Procedures

Residence

All degree candidate must complete at least twenty-four (24) graduate credits at the College at Old Westbury to meet the residency requirements in the M.S. in Accounting, Forensic Accounting or Taxation programs. Once enrolled, permission to take any course in the graduate program elsewhere must be granted by the Director of the Program in consultation with the Graduate Business Academic Standing Committee; such approval would be considered an extraordinary exception.

Schedule of Courses

The graduate program operates on a three semester per year basis: the fall semester begins the end of August and ends in mid-December; the spring semester begins mid-January and ends mid- May; the summer semester has two sessions. The first summer session begins the end of May and ends in early July, and the second summer session begins in early July and ends in mid August. During the fall and spring semesters, each class meets one evening a week, with the first class period beginning at 5:40 pm and ending at 7:55 pm and the second class period beginning at 8:05 pm and ending at 10:20 pm. During the seven week summer sessions, classes meet twice per week on Mondays and Thursdays with the first class period meeting from 5:30 pm to 8:10 pm and the second class period meeting from 8:20 pm to 11:00 pm.

A full-time student who completes four classes per semester may be able to complete the 30- credit programs in one year. Part-time students may take courses in the program as their schedule permits. Not every course is offered every semester. Students must complete the program within five years.

Academic Advising

All students admitted to the graduate program will be advised by the Director of the Graduate Programs. This process entails: full discussion of student goals; explanation of all degree requirements; clarification of requirements for the CPA exam; description of the course schedule and frequency of course offerings over the relevant period; and information about internships, placement, and the employment market.

Graduate Assistants

Contingent upon funding, a small number of graduate assistantships may be available to aid faculty with research and teaching activities. Graduate assistants will be under the supervision of the assigned faculty and the Director of the Graduate Business Program and the performance of graduate assistants will be reviewed on at least an annual basis.

Academic Standing

Graduate students whose cumulative graduate Grade Point Average (GPA) falls below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. Students on academic probation have one semester in which to raise their GPA to 3.0. Any student whose GPA remains below 3.0 at the end of the probationary period may be dropped from the program.

Any student who receives an “F” in a course or any student whose cumulative GPA is less than 3.0 will have his or her record reviewed by the Graduate Business Academic Standing Committee. Based on the facts of the case, the Committee may issue a letter of warning, may place the student on probation until a certain target level of academic performance has been met, or may deny continuance in the graduate program. Students may be denied continuance if they do not, in the next semester, make up a failed course or for some reason cannot bring their cumulative GPA to 3.0. Dismissal from the program is final and may not be appealed.

Graduation Requirement

To graduate a student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better for Old Westbury graduate course work.

Application for Degree

In the last semester of attendance, a degree candidate is required to send an application for graduation to the Director of the Graduate Business Programs by the specified deadline.

Program Faculty

Wen Wen (Erica) Chien
Associate Professor

Madeline Crocitto
Professor

Jeffrey D’Amico
Assistant Professor

Alireza Ebrahimi
Associate Professor

Linval Frazer
Associate Professor

David Glodstein
Associate Professor

Costas Hadjicharalambous
Associate Professor

Cary Lange
Associate Professor

Yu Lei
Assistant Professor

Lingxiang Li
Assistant Professor

Roger Mayer
Associate Professor

Albert Murphy
Associate Professor

Patrick O’Brien

Assistant Professor

Michael Onorato
Assistant Professor

Katarzyna Platt
Assistant Professor

Zhihong Shi
Associate Professor

Elena Smirnova
Associate Professor

Kenneth Winkelman
Associate Professor

Jishan (Jason) Zhu
Associate Professor

Listings in this section may not reflect changes in personnel made after submission of catalog material.