The College of Business has extended its Department of Business Administration major to five separate majors. The idea was approved in the spring by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the new concentrations are available for this semester.

There are now more beneficial opportunities for students who decide to make Business Administration their major, said Randall Westgren, professor and head of Business Administration. He believes the change will help students decide more specifically what they want to do.

“The whole program took about five years to develop and put into motion,” Westgren said. “For incoming and returning business students wanting to have a major in business administration, they will have a more distinct menu of options.”

The new majors include Business Process Management, Information Systems and Information Technology, Marketing, Supply Chain Management and Management. Management includes two concentrations of its own: Entrepreneurship and International Business. Students declaring a Management major can choose either one of these concentrations or simply study Management.

Along with the new, more specific majors come new choices for Business students. For current students already a part of the major, they can choose to switch to this new system and start over on a more specific path or stay with the old system.

Incoming and returning students can also more easily make a decision on whether to take on a double major or change their major entirely. Students can use what they learned in other classes that are closely related to their current or new major and have an academic advantage on completing a double major.

Huseyin Leblebici, professor and outgoing head of the Department of Business Administration, said on the department Web site that the new majors replace the “Business Administration” title that has appeared on transcripts for two decades.

“It’s a very welcoming change,” Leblebici said.

Camille Cade, junior in ACES and a Business Administration minor, said it’s good to have more options.

“Now I can pick a path that more closely matches my major,” Cade said. “I’m glad I won’t have to go through some classes I’m not interested in.”

Developing this new program required the efforts of all sections of the Business College. According to department heads, this decision was student-influenced and faculty-driven. The faculty have been involved on a daily basis in developing the program for a total of 10 years. In that time, more than 30 new courses have been developed, and students have had the opportunity to turn their concentration into a major.