Curriculum Development: Business Administration Degree Program Creation

Overview

The Business Administration AAS degree prepares students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for skilled administrator positions in domestic and global enterprises. This program develops business acumen, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making skills required for business administrators, specialists, and associates.

In 2017, the TriCounty Technical College Business and Public Services (BPS) Division tasked my team with redesigning the Business Department’s main degree offering. At that time, the BPS Division only offered an AAS degree in Management. The school had received pushback from both graduates seeking employment and local employers who wanted to hire graduates with more specialized experience. It was determined that the program, as it was, was not sufficient and that the curriculum needed a complete overhaul to better align the program with TCTC’s program improvement objectives..

The ADDIE model was used for this project and great attention was paid to the analysis phase of the curriculum development, as the new degree program had to fulfill the needs of numerous stakeholders:

  • Traditional program graduates entering the local workforce

  • Clemson Bridge students transferring from TCTC to the Clemson Business BA program

  • Local employers needing to hire new graduates

  • The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (TCTC’s accrediting body)

The Management AAS degree program was recreated as the Business Administration AAS degree with emphasis options and integrated Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) certificates.

Features

  • In addition to the general Business Operations Management AAS program, student can now choose a degree emphasis: Management, Entrepreneurism, Marketing, Logistics & Supply Chain Management, or Operations Management. These emphasis courses allow students to align their educational path with their intended industry or role upon graduation.

  • The updated Business Administration AAS degree program includes the incorporation of seven Council of Supply Chain Management Professional (CSCMP) certifications, which are viewed favorably in our manufacturing-heavy local industry. These certificates include Customer Service Principles, Management Decision Making, Fundamentals of Supervision, Consumer Behavior, Retailing Strategies & Applications, Operations Management I, and Operations Management II.

  • I maintain a position on the Business and Public Services Advisory Board, which ensures that the program curriculum supports both the needs of the students, as well as the needs of local employers. This alignment means students can expect to be gainfully employed upon graduation and employers will receive personnel who are well-prepared for the jobs they are offered.

The Business Administration AAS Program curriculum now aligns with the Clemson University Business Administration BA program curriculum and allows students the option to craft their own educational experience by including emphasis courses in place of general program electives. The non-emphasis program curriculum outline is shown here:

Program Curriculum