Southwestern College Professional Studies

Online Quality Management Degree Program

If you are interested in business schools in Kansas or online, Southwestern College Professional Studies may be right for you. The Business Quality Management program is designed to provide learners with the knowledge and skills necessary to implement organizational change through quality improvement in all organizational processes of a business. The curriculum for our business degree in quality management is designed to produce industry leaders capable of assessing the impact of current management processes on operations within a business. By earning a quality management degree online, you can utilize information to improve the quality of products or services as well as evaluate customer satisfaction. In a complex business environment, it is important to be able to direct people as well as processes to ensure that the business environment runs smoothly and efficiently.

Learners who are working toward a Quality Management degree online at Southwestern College Professional Studies can gain experience in the use of appropriate accounting and financial functions for decision making within today’s business environment.

Contact one of our admissions counselors today for more information on our Quality Management degree online.

Program Outcomes

The Business Quality Management Degree is designed to provide learners with the knowledge and skills necessary to implement organizational change through quality improvement in all organizational processes of a business. The Business Quality Management curriculum is designed to produce industry leaders capable of assessing the impact of current management processes on operations within a business. Learners will, utilize information to improve the quality of products or services and evaluate customer satisfaction based on the consistent delivery of top quality products and services that are completed on time, and meet specific customer defined levels of quality. Learners will gain experience in the use of appropriate accounting and financial functions for decision making within today’s business environment.

Program Outcomes:

1. Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of key business concepts and generally accepted business quality management theories and practices including Lean, Six Sigma, Total Quality Management and Benchmarking techniques. .
2. Develop skills in financial decision making, and accounting for a career as a quality improvement manager.
3. Apply critical thinking to the completion of projects in the field of quality management.
4. Utilize leadership skill to direct people, and process in a complex business environment.
5. Create documents which showcase an understanding of the use of different technological quality based tools, including Six Sigma, Lean, and Total Quality Management.
6. Apply ethical reasoning in all aspects and levels of Business Management including local, federal and international environment.
7. Formulate effective written and oral communication.

Required and Core Courses

Foundation Courses

CORE101 Developing Academic and Professional Strengths
ENGL101 Composition I
ENGL102 Composition II
CORE110 Information Literacy
MASC115 College Algebra (or other approved college mathematics)
CLO 415 Professional Communication

Major Courses

BQM 301 Business Quality Management
BQM 310 Team Management
BQM 320 Organizational Leadership
BQM 432 Accounting for Management
BQM 444 Project Management
BQM 450 Statistical Techniques
BSAD394 Marketing
CAPS492 Senior Capstone

Competency Courses

As a part of your degree program, you will be required to complete competency courses in the following areas:
• Exploratory Courses
• Institutional Outcomes

The remainder of the requirements to reach graduation will come from your Competency Courses. See an admissions counselor for specific transfer credit substitutions.

Course Descriptions

BQM 301 Business Quality Management

This course is an overview of the key elements that comprise a superior quality management program and the most accepted techniques (e.g., benchmarking, Baldrige criteria) for achieving quality.

BQM 310 Team Management

This course covers the study of teams and the impact of self-directed teams on continuous improvement. The focus will be on viewing the organization as a series of interactive teams with emphasis on the skills and knowledge essential to organizing teams, evaluating data, measuring progress, plotting accomplishments, and developing empowered teams.

BSAD394 Marketing

Product concepts from idea to delivery to the consumer will be examined. Pricing, promotion, distribution, and planning for the marketing effort will also be covered. Emphasis on being an informed consumer is included. Course procedures include oral and written communications, group interaction in class, and a group project.

BQM 320 Organizational Leadership

This course is a study of leadership models and styles, including the principles of the latest leadership thinkers. The focus will be particularly on leadership within organizations emphasizing motivational, decision-making, communication, and employee involvement skills. Special emphasis will be given to diversity management, including minorities and gender issues, in the workplace.

BQM 432 Accounting for Management

This course is designed to address the needs of the nonfinancial, non-accountant manager. Study will include basic accounting principles as they deal with budgeting, asset value, cost factors, direct labor, overhead, standard cost, positive and negative variances, and spreadsheet analysis. An overview and an examination of activity-based costing are included as well.

BQM 444 Project Management

This course covers the study and understanding of project management dealing with knowledge of the product and the environment in which the project is realized. The knowledge of technologies involved, financial, and contractual matters are included. Learners will also develop an understanding that human relations and communications are critical to project management.

BQM 450 Statistical Techniques

The course is a survey of descriptive and inferential statistics, probability theory, sampling theory, hypothesis testing, and study of variability, regression and correlation. Emphasis will be placed on statistical applications and how to apply statistics in reducing large amounts of data into a meaningful form for effective decision making.

CAPS492 Senior Capstone

This course is for PS business quality management and operations management majors. 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.

Admission Requirements

Entering learners must have earned at least 6 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 least 30 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.

Meta

Quality management is important in every employment sector from health care, to service industries, to manufacturing. Southwestern College Professional Studies offers a bachelor of science degree with a major in business quality management, to offer ideas and insights into current best practices as well as the thoughts of the pioneers of the quality movement.