The Business Department of Western Carolina Teachers College was founded in 1934 by C. W. Humphrey. Humphrey furnished typewriters and tables from his personal funds. The one department, with three courses and eight to ten students, flourished and grew.
The Bachelor of Science degree program in Business Administration was introduced in 1947. The first Business Administration degrees were awarded in 1955. In 1967, the School of Business was established with five departments. The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration was offered with concentrations in accounting, data processing, finance, management, marketing and office administration. Business education was an affiliated area of office administration.
The Master in Business Administration was initiated in 1970, the same year that the School of Business moved into the Frank Forsyth building. The new building housed an IBM 360, Model 30 computer. In 1977 the School of Business was reorganized into four departments. The four department organization remained in place until 1998.
In January of 1981, Chancellor H. F. Robinson and Vice Chancellor Robert E. Stoltz announced the commitment of Western Carolina University to seek accreditation of its business programs by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (now Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). In 1983, the School's undergraduate programs were successfully accredited followed by the graduate program in 1984. Reaccreditation of all programs occurred in 1990 and again in 2000.
In the Fall of 1994 the School of Business changed it name to the College of Business.