Current Students

Yes, if there is room available, the student meets course prerequisites and a request for a Late Course Registration is completed by the student and approved by the faculty member. 

Registration Centre Forms are available online and in print from the Registration Office or from the Business Programs Office, Building 250, Room 406.

Prerequisite

A course that must be completed (successfully) prior to taking the next course.

Co-requisite

A course that must be taken at the same time as another, unless it has already been successfully completed. 

A prerequisite or a co-requisite be waived under exceptional circumstances. Approval must be obtained from the Department Chair. Students not meeting pre- or co-requisite requirements will be deregistered.

Please refer to the Program and Course Calendar for information on Repeating a Course.

A directed studies course is a specialized, independent study option for students who need to complete a course outside of the regular schedule. It allows you to pursue a specific academic goal with the guidance of a faculty member.

You might take a directed studies course in one of three scenarios:

• Senior Project/Internship: This is for senior-level students who want to explore a specific research interest or complete a project with one-on-one mentoring from a faculty member (e.g., MGMT 491/499).
• Graduation Requirement: If you need a specific course to graduate, and that course is either full or not being offered before your graduation date, you can arrange a directed study.
• Small Group Study: In cases where there's not enough student demand for a full course section, a small group of up to five students can independently work through the course material with a dedicated instructor who will guide them through the learning outcomes.

To register, you'll need to:

1. Find a Faculty member: You must find a faculty member willing to oversee your directed study.
2. Complete the form: Download and complete the Directed Studies form from the Registration Website.
3. Get approvals: The form must be signed by the participating faculty member, the Department Chair, and the Dean's Office (Building 250, Room 418). You'll also need to include a curriculum plan and methods of assessment (course outline provided by the faculty member).
4. Submit to registration: Once the Dean's office provides a course section number, it is your responsibility to submit the form to the Registration office to be officially enrolled.

Declaring your Major(s) (and Minors) with your Degree Advisor is an important step in your degree planning and progression and successful completion of a program. It helps to:

• Ensure that your student record accurately reflects your intended academic goal(s).
• Inform your Advisor about your specific interests so you can receive information tailored to your academic objectives, including further information relating to the BBA Matrix for different Majors and Minors available, and assistance using the VIU Goal Planning System (GPS).
• Gain access to reserved seats that have been set aside for students with specific academic goals in some courses.
• Keep you informed (via email) about information relevant to your specific declared goals.
• Inform instructors of the goals of students in their classes.

You are encouraged to declare your major as soon as you know your intended path. To be officially approved for a BBA Major, you must have completed 30 credits towards your BBA, including all of your first and second-year requirements for that specific major.

You can declare a BBA Minor once you have successfully completed 30 credits towards your BBA, including all first- and second-year courses required for that minor. Declaring your minor early helps us with course planning and may give you access to reserved seats.

You can access the “Choose Degree Program Options” screen by:

1. Logging onto your student record
2. Clicking on Academics, then Choose Degree Program Option
3. The Choose Degree Program Options screen will appear, showing the DPOs active for your degree
4. Choose the ones that apply to you and for which you are eligible.

Please note: Once you have updated a DPO, You will NOT be able to make a change to that DPO for seven days.

A BBA Major is your primary area of focus, while a Minor is a secondary area of study. You can complete a single major, a double-major, or a major with a minor. A minor cannot be completed on its own.

Yes, you can declare a second Major to achieve a Double Major. For a Double Major you need to complete all the requirements for two Majors, including the total credit requirements of each Major. You will need to complete a minimum of 60 upper-level credits in the two areas of study (Majors). A minimum of 30 credits has to come from each area.

Students can also graduate with a BBA Major and a Minor.

Yes, you can add a minor from a different faculty (such as Arts, Social Sciences or Science) to your BBA. You will need to contact the degree advisor for that specific faculty to declare it.

Even if you haven't officially declared your major, you can still take third- and fourth-year business courses as long as you meet the prerequisites. However, you will not have access to reserved seats for that major and may be more likely to end up on waitlists.

Our BBA Degree Advisor, Sharon Kelly, is here to help you navigate your pathway choices. She can provide guidance on your eligibility, course requirements for graduation, and how to enhance your employment profile. You can self-book an appointment to discuss your academic and career goals.

GPS is a tool to help you plan your educational path and to ensure that you have all the credits needed to complete a VIU degree. It shows how the courses already taken apply to the degree and it highlights courses that are still needed to complete the desired goal. You can also use GPS to explore different degree options to determine the courses you need.

When you declare your goal(s), your Program Advisor will officially "declare" those in GPS once you meet with her to get goal coded. Meet with her in the semester in which you are completing all the required first and second year required courses for the Major or Minor that interests you.

1. Access GPS in your Student Record through a link in the left menu under "Academics". Alternately, you can launch GPS directly.
2. Once in your GPS. Once the GPS program opens up, click on the white cloud on the top blue bar to update your student record. A bubble that reads, "Student Record has been Updated" will appear on the top right. Notably, you should update your GPS student record every time you access it. If you don't, things like grades, recently applied transfer credits, or changes to your enrollment may not appear accurately.                                                                                                                                                                                                           
3. Select the "Declared" academic goal (if it has already been set up).
   • Your declared goal may also be labelled "Locked", which indicates that your declared goal is set up for your Degree Advisor to add comments and/or include exceptions or waivers. Remember that your declared goals can be discussed and changed by contacting your Degree Advisor.
4. Click "Create Audit". This takes you to a screen that displays an audit of all degree requirements, including those that have been met with courses you have already completed (green checkmark) and those that are still outstanding (red Xs).
   • The GPS layout is generally similar to the matching set of courses as laid out in the BBA Matrix, although the Electives section may be displayed at a different location.
   • Exceptions and comments included by your Degree Advisor are displayed in brown writing.
   • Courses in which you are enrolled are indicated by grades of "ENR". Note that waitlisted courses do not show up in GPS audits.
5. If you want to explore other BBA majors (add a goal) and explore which courses that are required to complete to earn that major, you can do that by using the following steps:
   • From the page, click Add
   1. + click the folder Vancouver Island University
   2. + click the folder 2021-2022 (or the year you started)
   3. + click Bachelor's Degrees
   4. + click Bachelor of Business Administration
   5. + (choose a major)

• Then scroll up the page and click Save. No need to put in a goal name.
• Note: You can choose whatever goal you want because the GPS goals are all 'unofficial' at this point.
• To review your newly added goal

1. Go back at the GPS Home Page, click on the goal you just created, and click Create Audit.
2. From here you can see which courses you have applied to your degree audit and what is left for you to complete.

Note: Contact your Degree Advisor if you see any information that appears to be incorrect in your GPS, or if you have any questions.

You can also use GPS to explore other VIU program options by setting up additional goals, such as BA or BSCI minors or majors without impacting your declared goal, or if you have not yet declared your goal(s).

GPS is intended to be quite self-explanatory, and you cannot "break" or change anything in your record by using it, so feel free to play around with it. Simply delete any goals that you do not want to keep.

1. Access GPS in your Student Record through a link in the left menu under "Academics". Alternately, you can launch GPS directly.
2. Select "Add" under Academic Goal.
3. Select "Vancouver Island University" and the current calendar year.

•  
  • You will then see a list of all science and non-science credentials offered at VIU.
    • Select the credential(s) and goal(s) of interest you would like to explore.
    • When finished selecting, name your selection (or leave blank to autogenerate a name), and save it.
  • These are unofficial goals for your use only, and you can create as many as you like.
    • Click "Create Audit" to view an audit with your unofficial goals.
• Note: The Elective section of your unofficial audit may not be accurate. The correct number of credits required for a given goal can be confirmed by consulting the matching program grid.

If you are interested in learning more about programs outside of the Bachelor of Business Administration, you should contact the appropriate Program Advisor.