Business Administration
Is a Business Administration Major for Me?
At Southwestern College we teach our learners to combine skillful leadership with technical knowledge to succeed in a complex business environment. Our broad-based business administration curriculum provides practical, marketable skills to help our learners in the job market. Southwestern College’s business administration program is excellent preparation for graduate studies that could propel your career even further.
Business administration is offered both in the classroom and online.
Program Outcomes
Success in business administration is leveraged not only by mastery of business disciplines, but also by demonstration of leadership in a complex business environment. The focus of this degree is on gaining knowledge and developing skills in business leadership; strategic, administrative, and financial management; and marketing. The business administration curriculum will provide learners with practical, marketable business administration, management, and leadership skills grounded in industry accepted theories and practices to help them enter and/or progress in a competitive job market, while building a solid theoretical foundation for potential graduate studies.
Program Outcomes:
- Demonstrates a thorough knowledge of theories, concepts, practices, and terminology in business leadership; strategic, administrative, and financial management; and marketing.
- Reveals ethical reasoning through the assessment of business problems or concerns, consideration of different perspectives and/or alternative solutions, and determination of conclusions and/or viable solutions.
- Applies generally accepted methods and practices, technologies, and tools associated with business leadership; strategic, administrative, and financial management; and marketing.
- Utilizes critical thinking and analysis through the accurate framing of business problems or concerns, thorough consideration of different perspectives and/or alternative solutions gained from expert insights and scholarly research within the degree and related fields of study, and presentation of defensible conclusions and/or selected solutions.
- Employs effective broadly applicable and intellectual skills in professional oral and written communication, mathematical and quantitative literacy, information literacy, and creativity and innovation through the assessment and presentation of business problems or concerns, different perspectives and/or alternative solutions, and conclusions and/or viable solutions.
- Applies the aforementioned knowledge, skills, critical thinking, and ethical reasoning in the conduct of an independently constructed project focused on the resolution of a complex business problem or concern.
- Demonstrates the knowledge and skills to effectively lead people and business processes.
- Exhibits the aforementioned knowledge, skills, critical thinking, and ethical reasoning necessary for preparation for his or her chosen career path related to the business administration field of study.
Required and Core Courses
Required Major Courses
BSAD 310 Financial Accounting Systems
BSAD 430 Financial Management
BSAD 320 Managerial Economics
BUS 394 Marketing
BSAD 340 Legal Environment of Business
BSAD 410 International Business
BSAD 420 Management Information System Analysis
BSAD 440 Strategic Management
CAPS 491 Senior Capstone
Required Core Courses
HRD 210 Building Academic Success
CLO 320 Critical Thinking
CLO 340 Ethics in Today’s Organization
CLO 410 Decision Sciences
CLO 415 Professional Communication
CLO 499 Responsibility for the Future
Recommended Prerequisites
ECON 326 Economic Theory
BUS 395 Corporate Finance
Recommended Electives
BQM 450 Statistical Techniques
BUS 328 Organizational Behavior
STL 430 Multi-Cultural Perspectives and Global Trends
SOCS 320 Adults in Transition
All classes are 3 credit hours unless otherwise indicated.
Course Descriptions
BSAD 310 Financial Accounting Systems
(Prerequisite for BSAD430)
Accounting and business organizations, recording process, income determination, asset valuation, financial statements, fund statements, ratio analysis, and use of financial accounting information for decision making.
BSAD 430 Financial Management
(Recommended Prerequisite: BUS 395 Corporate Finance and Prerequisite: BSAD310 Financial Accounting Systems)
Problems and procedures of financial management encountered in normal operations of a corporation. Emphasis on forward-looking financial analysis such as investments, project finance, and risk.
BSAD 320 Managerial Economics
(Recommended Prerequisite: ECON 326 Economic Theory)
Applies models derived from microeconomics, macro-economics and international economics to the solution of business problems in a global economy.
BUS 394 Marketing
Product concepts from idea to delivery to the ultimate consumer will be examined. Also included will be pricing, promotion, distribution and planning for the marketing effort. Emphasis on being an informed consumer included.
BSAD 340 Legal Environment of Business
Examines the social and governmental structure within which business operates. Addresses labor and employment contracts, business torts and crimes, legal process, public issues and environmental regulations.
BSAD 410 International Business
Framework for analyzing competitive structure of industries and for formulating strategy within an international context. Study of foreign exchange, balance of payments and the international monetary system.
BSAD 420 Management Information Systems Analysis
Evaluation of different types of software and their application in organization. Emphasis on practical skills, spreadsheet modeling and database design. Techniques for developing systems responsive to managerial needs.
BSAD 440 Strategic Management
Synthesis of major business administration disciplines. It is recommended that this be the last course in the core curriculum for Business Administration.
HRD210 Building Academic Success
Introduces academic success topics and tools that are intended to establish and strengthen understanding of the learner and academic success coach relationship, critical thinking and reading, institutional policies and procedures, and the basics of online research and academic writing while experiencing the Southwestern College Professional Studies course format on the way to becoming a Southwestern College Moundbuilder.
CLO 320 Critical Thinking
This course prepares learners to critically interpret, synthesize, analyze and evaluate information. It is designed to introduce learners to complex problems and help them come to well reasoned conclusions and solutions.
CLO 340 Ethics in Today’s Organizations
This course will utilize the expertise of professionals working in the various disciplines as well as the moral reasoning of ethicists. An approach to the ethical challenges of a modern society is developed.
CLO 410 Decision Sciences
This course introduces the learner to utilizing and applying both quantitative and qualitative methods for individual, organizational, and societal decision making. A variety of tools and techniques will be examined as the foundation for the development and interpretation of attributes and variables in addition to the use of data sources for the purpose of improving processes and organizational environments.
CLO 415 Professional Communication
A study of the communication processes in situations encountered in organizations and professional environments. Analysis of simulated and real life situations will include the creation of professional documents and various functions of written, oral, and interpersonal communications.
CLO 499 Responsibility for the Future
Seniors with various majors will share learning and approaches from their different disciplines toward dealing holistically with issues that shape the future, seeking to integrate disciplines and to synthesize knowing, caring, and doing.
CAPS491 Senior Capstone
Learners will be required to develop a portfolio project that demonstrates their knowledge, skills, and abilities in their major discipline. Particular attention will be given to the presentation of evidence and artifacts from their major courses as well as recent research relevant to their specific program outcomes. The purpose of the final portfolio project is to document learner achievement and to ensure learning outcomes are met. 3 credit hours.
All classes are 3 credit hours unless otherwise indicated.
Admission Requirements
Entering students must have earned at least 30 college credits from previous college coursework or ACE evaluated military training, a GPA of 2.0, and have three years of work experience. Transfer hours accepted for Professional Studies admittance should include English Composition I and II, and mathematics (college algebra preferred). These courses may be considered in transfer or completed at Southwestern College.
Contact a program representative to evaluate your options.
Graduation Requirements
A total of 124 credit hours must be earned to graduate. You must have at least 60 credit hours from a four-year university or college and at least30 hours from Southwestern College (does not include prior learning experience credits). Of the 30 hours required from Southwestern, 15 of the last 30 hours earned toward your degree must be at Southwestern College. Contact your Academic Success Coach for more information.
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Southwestern College’s business administration program teaches its learners to combine skillful leadership with technical knowledge to succeed in a complex business environment.
