BUS 302L FAQ's
Please make an appointment through the online system for a particular lab session to take the exam. Walk-ins will be allowed to take an exam only if there is available space. You can take two exams in each session. Exams are normally scheduled on weekdays and Saturdays.
There are over 800 students enrolled in the class each semester while there are only 30 computers in the exam lab. Exams are spread out over the entire semester to ensure appropriate time to administer all the exams to all students.
You must enroll in BUS 302L again and take the exams again. Exam scores do not carry over. If you enroll in BUS 302L a THIRD or subsequent time, you will need permission of the Associate Dean of the David Nazarian College of Business & Economics. The necessary form is at:
BUS 302L is graded CR (credit) or NC (no credit). To receive a grade of CR you must pass six exams. The exams are in financial accounting, management accounting, macroeconomics, microeconomics, business law, and statistics. To pass each exam you must correctly answer at least 8 out of 16 questions. In addition, your combined score on all six exams must be 60% (58 points).
You can take the exams in each of the six fields up to three times in one semester. That is, you are allowed up to two retakes. Check the Exam Schedule link in the BUS 302L section of the website for information on when you can retake an exam.
The highest score achieved in each subject area will be used in calculating the grade. For example, suppose you took the Financial Accounting exam and scored a 5 on the first try, a 9 on the second attempt, and an 8 on the third attempt – the score of 9 will be used in calculating the grade.
Please contact your BUS 302L instructor to be excused and send us an e-mail indicating that you will not be taking the exam at the regularly scheduled time.
If you are entitled to extra time on the exam, or other arrangements please contact contact Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) directly at the beginning of the semester in order to arrange for extra time or other accommodations.
If you need any further assistance in this matter, please feel free to reach out to the department office by email: somsa@csun.edu or, phone (818) 677-2470. Department office (BB 3121) Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
All accounting majors who have entered CSUN since Fall 2005 are required to take 302L. If you were accepted into the major before Fall 2005, you may be exempt. Please check with your academic advisor or the Accounting Department to see if you are exempt from having to take 302L.
The computer has a record of your grades and the lab instructor will fill out a grade report at the end of the semester like any other course. You should also keep your own record of grades before you leave an exam session by noting your grade on the form provided on the BUS 302L section of the web page.
The Gateway lab (BUS 302L) was developed to improve students’ understanding of basic business concepts and to increase graduation rates in the College. Professors teaching upper division courses had struggled in the past with inconsistent student understanding of concepts in the lower division core areas. Mastery of the subjects tested in the Gateway lab ensures an understanding of these basic concepts.
The objective of the lab is to review and test lower-division core material. As a result of this review, student performance in the upper-division business courses has improved.
One major objective of this course is to change the culture of learning and forgetting. We expect our students to remember eight to ten key concepts from each subject. These concepts are used in upper-division course work and are lifelong concepts for anyone who is a business major. For example, the concept of present and future value is something that is used in several upper-division courses and is a concept that everyone with a business degree, no matter how long ago, should remember. Marginal revenue and cost analysis is a fundamental way of thinking about economic and business problems and a business student who forgets these basic principles is unlikely to make a great impression on his or her employer or be successful in his or her job. To be able to read a balance sheet or income statement is important for any citizen who is trying to understand contemporary events.