Academic Catalog

2026-2027

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Management with a Major in Human Resource Management (BSBA)

Department website: https://www.odu.edu/management-a-major-human-resource-management-bsba

Chair of Management Department:
Shaomin Li
SLi@odu.edu

Chief Departmental Advisor:
Jennifer Klinger
JLKlinge@odu.edu

Human Resource Management Area Coordinator:
Sheila Keener
SKeener@odu.edu

Director of ADP HCM (Human Capital Management) Academy:
Ryan Klinger
RKlinger@odu.edu

Designing and implementing policies, practices, and systems that optimize employee performance and cultivate positive work environments, Human Resource Management is the strategic approach to effectively managing people in organizations.

Why Earn a Degree in Human Resource Management?

A degree in human resource management paves the way for a variety of human resource jobs and specialist roles in analytics, talent acquisition, training and development, performance management, compensation and benefits management, employee relations, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Whether you intend to pursue a career in human resources or aspire to any organizational leadership position, the knowledge and skills you develop in this program lay a solid foundation for career success.

What Skills and Knowledge Will You Learn?

Students learn best practices for managing, motivating, and supporting employees across all stages of the employment life cycle. Students learn how to create policies, practices, and systems to efficiently organize employee behavior and how to create team processes and workplace cultures to promote both employee well-being and business success. Students develop critical skills in communication, conflict management, and ethical decision making as well as acquire topically relevant knowledge about legal workplace issues, emerging technology, and evolving workplace trends. These skills and knowledge are both highly valued within human resources and transferable across career paths.

Program Highlights

The Department of Management has partnered with ADP, one of the region's largest private-sector employers and an industry-leading provider of Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions to create the ADP HCM Academy @ ODU to provide Human Resource Management majors with real-world skills, technology training, and networking opportunities to supplement traditional classroom learning. Highlights include:

  1. Cutting-Edge Curriculum: Courses are designed and continuously modernized to reflect the latest trends and challenges in the field, including HR analytics, generative AI in the workplace, and evolving technological, global, and legal workplace trends.
  2. HR Technology Training: Thanks to the unique partnership with ADP, all students receive free access to, and training on, ADP’s award-winning and market-leading human resource management software: ADP Workforce Now. Students enter the workforce with valuable HRIS credentials and experience.
  3. Hands-on Learning: The program emphasizes practical, hands-on learning through simulation projects, case studies, and real-world community consulting projects.
  4. Professional Certification Prep: ODU’s Human Resource Management curriculum is continuously evaluated by the international human resource accrediting body (the Society for Human Resource Management) to ensure that learning objectives are aligned with the field and students are prepared to earn professional certifications. As part of the program, students can take courses to prepare for the SHRM-CP (certified professional in human resources) exam or other specialized human resource certifications.
  5. Networking Opportunities: Through partnerships with ADP, our active student SHRM club, and community professional human resource networks, the program offers students opportunities to connect with professional mentors and learn from leaders both within and outside the classroom. Thriving talent pipelines with organizations of all types ensure students have opportunities to complete internships and earn jobs.

Strome College of Business (SCB) Center for Undergraduate Advising and Student Success

The mission of this office is to challenge and support students in self-exploration and, through advising, provide resources for them to develop an achievable plan for success. Our vision is for students to be aware of their academic, personal, and professional goals; empowered to pursue them; and confident in their ability to accomplish them.

Our professional advisors work with all Strome College of Business students regarding degree planning, changing majors, admissions, continuance, graduation requirements and required curricula for the majors and minors offered by the College.

Degree Requirements

Students in all of the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree programs must fulfill the University General Education requirements as well as the Strome College of Business’s core, major, and elective requirements. Students must choose at least one major area to meet requirements towards the degree. 

To stay in compliance with AACSB accreditation standards, students receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Old Dominion University must complete at least half of their business course work in residence with a minimum of four courses in their declared major. This equates to 10 business classes, thus meeting the University's residency requirement as well.

Majors in the college may not take business and public administration courses for pass/fail credit except those courses in which pass/fail is the only grading option (i.e., internships and practica).

Regulations for Continuance in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

In addition to the Old Dominion University continuance policies, the following policies are specific to all declared Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) students. The Strome College of Business makes a reasonable effort to notify undergraduate students who are not in good academic standing in the BSBA program of their academic status. Each undergraduate student who is placed on BSBA Academic Alarm or BSBA Termination (explained below) will be sent an e-mail message to that effect at the student's Old Dominion University e-mail address, in accordance with the Electronic Communication Policy for Official University Business. Non-receipt of the e-mail messages by a student will not be considered grounds for granting exceptions or delays in enforcement of the BSBA continuance regulations.

BSBA Continuance Regulations

If a student’s Grade Point Average (GPA) in their BSBA Core courses falls below a 2.0, then they will be on Academic Alarm within the Strome College of Business (SCB). This policy is very similar to the University's academic continuance policy, the main difference being that it is based on the core Business courses and impacts acceptance and continuance within the SCB.

Academic Alarm

The first semester in which a student’s BSBA Core GPA drops to below a 2.0, they will be on Academic Alarm. Once considered on academic alarm within the college, taking courses within the BSBA Core is the only way to bring that GPA back up.

  • If the student raises the BSBA Core GPA to above a 2.0, then they will no longer be on academic alarm.
  • If the BSBA Core GPA does not reach a 2.0 but the semester average in the BSBA Core courses is a 2.0 or higher, then the student will remain on academic alarm and be able to continue within the SCB.

SCB Termination

While on academic alarm within the Strome College of Business, if the semester BSBA Core GPA falls below a 2.0, the student will be terminated from the SCB and their major coding will be changed from Business to Undecided. (Terminations will not be processed in summer semesters.)

Appeals

If you have been terminated, you may appeal the decision if you have extenuating circumstances and documentation to support your claim. To appeal, write a letter and include documentation of your circumstances to the Associate Dean of the Strome College of Business (Constant Hall, Suite 2004). There are specific details that need to be included with your appeal - for more information, please see the appeals process as described in the most recently issued catalog.

Guidelines for Filing a BSBA Termination Appeal

1.    All students have the right to appeal their BSBA termination if they believe that extraordinary circumstances were the main reason for their poor academic performance. Notifications of pending BSBA termination are sent to the student's ODU email address and include information on the appeal process and deadlines. All BSBA termination appeals must be submitted electronically using the link provided in the email and will be reviewed by the SCB Termination Appeal Committee. Students are responsible for submitting their appeal by the stated deadline; late appeals will not be reviewed. Decisions of the Termination Appeal Committee may be appealed to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs in the Strome College of Business whose decision is final.

2.    Appeals must be based on circumstances pertinent to the semesters in which the academic difficulty occurred that were beyond the control of the student and for which official withdrawal from the course(s) was not an option. Appeal letters must be legible and authored by the terminated student. The appeal letter must provide sufficient detail and explanation regarding the following points because there is no face-to-face meeting with the Associate Dean for Academic Programs in the Strome College of Business. The decision of the Associate Dean is final. Students without documentation will not be allowed to appeal their termination. In order to be reviewed, an appeal letter must:

a.    Document the extraordinary circumstances such as a death in the family, medical complications or chronic conditions, personal or family emergency, overwhelming work schedules, dorm-mate conflict, or a personal relationship conflict that have adversely affected performance: i.e., a statement or letter from a physician, employer, family members, faculty, academic advisor, Counseling Services, or Educational Accessibility.

b.    Explain how the extraordinary circumstances caused each semester of poor academic performance.

c.     State the reasons why an official withdrawal was not requested.

d.    Explain how the extraordinary circumstance(s) has been resolved.

e.    Provide a plan of action to return to good BSBA academic standing.

3.    Students who do not file a BSBA termination appeal or whose appeals are denied, are no longer eligible to pursue a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Upon BSBA termination, the student's major in the Strome College of Business will be removed. (This does not affect a declared second major outside of the BSBA.) These students are advised to work with an advisor in the SCB Center for Undergraduate Advising to explore other major options, and for referrals to other advising departments for a new major declaration.

4.    BSBA-terminated students who had pre-registered for a subsequent semester lose eligibility for continued enrollment in upper-level business courses.

Applying for Readmission to the BSBA Program

After a minimum of five years has passed since a student was terminated from the BSBA program, the student may apply for readmission to the program. There must be a high probability the student will successfully complete the degree program, and approval will be at the discretion of the Strome College of Business Associate Dean.