If you want a degree that offers versatility, look no further than the online bachelor’s degree in business administration at Southwestern College. Courses are taught online by experienced business experts to provide you with the flexibility you need to complete your education on your time from anywhere, and learners are provided with a variety of tools and student resources to support academic success while preparing for professional advancement.
Prepare for a variety of business careers with courses in human resources, accounting, management, and business
Experience applied learning through a variety of actual business scenario and case study assessments and a complete business simulation
Recently ranked by U.S. News and World Report for online business degree programs and online bachelor’s degree programs, Southwestern College offers quality online degrees to adult learners.
Students enrolled in the online business administration program at Southwestern College can expect to:
Explain contemporary leadership and management theories, concepts, and practice and their respective applications.
Evaluate the appropriateness of management and administrative methods and practices for routine administrative operations and functions, and for addressing change and other challenges presented in domestic and global organizations.
Collaborate effectively with individuals, teams, organizational partners, and other related circumstances using appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods.
Apply best practices for knowledge-based strategic, operational, and functional decision making.
Use appropriate technologies to support functional and administrative processes.
Employ sustainable, ethical, legal, and socially responsible business practices.
Communicate effectively in a variety of business contexts.
Success in increasingly complex domestic and global business environments requires effective leadership and support from those with business administration and discipline specific knowledge and skills. This program provides knowledge and skills in business administration; strategic, marketing, human resource, and financial management; and sustainable business practices. Emphasis is placed on responsible citizenship at the individual and corporate levels, including ethical, legal, and socially responsible behaviors and business practices. Business administration graduates have 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.
Admission Requirements
Applicants must be graduates of an accredited high school or have completed a GED®
Minimum GPA of 2.0
Core Major Requirements
HUM201: Ethics
Ethics introduces learners to moral philosophy, the branch of philosophy that questions what is good and bad. The course surveys a number of important ethical theories — ethical relativism, objectivism, egoism, altruism, utilitarianism, duty – based moral theory, natural law, natural rights, and virtue ethics — as they examine reasons why certain actions are morally right or wrong. Learners will apply ethical theories in the evaluation and analysis of current controversial issues, question ethical matters from a variety of angles, and acquire new tools to assist them in making ethically sound, well – informed decisions throughout their lives.
ACCT285: Financial Accounting
This course provides a basic understanding of the financial reporting requirements of business organizations. Learners will translate business transactions into journal entries and post the journal entries to ledger accounts, examine and develop the components of basic financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, statement of equity, and statement of cash flows), and complete the accounting cycle. Learners will use horizontal, vertical, and financial ratio analysis to analyze the financial performance of a company.
HRD301: Principles of Human Resource Management & Development
Principles of Human Resource Management and Development – The strategic role of the human resource function in today’s organizations is aligned and integrated with the overall mission and key objectives of the broader organization. Having a solid foundation in the areas of managerial and legal responsibilities, current trends in HR, performance management, recruitment, succession planning, training and development, labor relations, and other key areas, is critical for the entry and mid-level employee. These topics and more are covered with a specific focus on their application in real-world scenarios.
MASC115: College Algebra
This course provides learners with the algebra, reasoning, and problem‐solving skills needed for everyday life. The course focuses on simplifying expressions and solving equations in real‐world situations using variables for unknowns. Learners will solve problems using algebraic principles and tools and then incorporate these mathematical concepts into realistic business, consumer, science, and statistical contexts.
SSC110: Principles of Microeconomics
Principles of Economics II Micro EXP provides learners with an introduction to fundamental economic concepts and to how these concepts play out in the real world. Learners will apply essential models of economics to concepts such as economic interdependence and market equilibrium and think about how these models contribute to optimal resource allocation. Learners will address classic microeconomic issues such as profit maximization and determining the optimal output. Learners will also discover how decisions are made within companies in different market structures and how the industry within which a company operates affects its competitive efficiency.
SSC111: Principles of Macroeconomics
This course introduces learners to fundamental economic concepts and encourages them to consider how those concepts apply to the real world and to their own lives. Learners will explore the models of economics, how they portray economic interdependence and market equilibrium, and how they contribute to optimal resource allocation. Learners will examine classic macroeconomic issues, such as the effects of government intervention on businesses and individuals. They will evaluate macroeconomic conditions, think about how monetary and fiscal policies affect the corporate world and the overall economy, distinguish between short‐ and long‐run macroeconomic forces and learn how monetary systems influence economic variables.
BSAD340: Legal Environment of Business
Legal and regulatory compliance is a critical consideration for all business activities in the United States. Learners examine the relationships among individuals, partnerships, and corporations, as they apply to law. Contracts, consumer law, and the legalities of employer-employee relationships are examined. Legal considerations relevant to global initiatives are explored.
BSAD394: Marketing
Marketing strategies, methods, and practice are experiencing rapid transformation due to the emergence of disruptive technologies and changes in consumer demand. Marketing theories, strategies, ethics, and legal requirements are examined. Learners will also study current and emerging trends in pricing, promotion, distribution, planning, and the product delivery cycle. The impact of these factors on the marketing of different products and services are assessed. Prerequisite: HUM 201 – Ethics. Prior study of professional communication recommended.
BSAD410: Global Business
The ability to analyze the competitive structures and strategies of global businesses and to formulate effective strategies is an essential competency for businesses in the global marketplace. Competitive strategies, ethical and legal considerations, and management practices for a global business enterprise are examined. Learners evaluate the economic impact of foreign exchange, balance of payments, and the global monetary system on global strategies and operations. Prior study of professional communication recommended.
BSAD415: Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Effective interpersonal skills are essential for professionals as they communicate, collaborate, and negotiate with other individuals and groups within and outside an organization. Successful learners develop the professional interpersonal, facilitation, negotiation, conflict management, and dispute resolution skills necessary for success in today’s complex business environments. This complexity includes elements such as the social, cultural, and economic diversity of the workforce in domestic and global environments. Learners apply these skills in a series of scenarios including those related to personnel, team, contractual, procedural, change, and other stakeholder concerns. Prior study of professional communication recommended.
BSAD430: Financial Management
Managing financial resources effectively in a complex and disruptive economic environment presents significant challenges for businesses in both the private and public sectors. Learners examine finance concepts and principles; ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements; and financial management best practices. Learners engage in financial analysis and project the impact of potential financial strategies for making decisions.
BSAD440: Strategic Management
Employing successful strategies is essential for private and public sector organizations to be competitive, perform effectively, achieve corporate goals and objectives, and meet the expectations of stakeholders. Learners study strategic management theories and principles and examine best practices for developing and executing sucessful strategies in complex, disruptive domestic and global markets. Models and methods for leading and motivating employees to effectively execute those strategies are examined. Prerequisite: Successful completion of all major courses with the exception of the BSAD497. Prior study of professional communication recommended.
CAPS495: Senior Capstone
Learners engage in two projects that assess their achievements and preparation for pursuit of professional aspirations in their major field. Through application and assessment, learners examine the knowledge and skills gained throughout the program, achievement of the program outcomes, and their preparation as followers and leaders in their chosen professional field. Prerequisites: The capstone should take place within the last 9 hours of a learner’s program.
General Education Requirements*
Basic Skills
CORE110: Information Literacy
This course is designed to provide learners with the skills that are fundamental to becoming an information‐literate professional who can locate, evaluate, organize and communicate information. The abundance and rapid flow of data requires skill development in the understanding of information resources, accessing information sources, determining the credibility of Internet information, logically organizing sources and finally presenting the information professionally.
ENGL101: Composition 1
This course helps learners develop writing skills that are transferable to any academic or workplace writing task. The course guides learners through the process of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading academic and workplace writing. Learners will develop skills necessary to craft coherent sentences and paragraphs, to edit editing their writing for proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. They will learn about narrative structure and techniques as well as the elements of successful argumentation and persuasive discourse. This course also guides learners through every stage of the research process. Learners will develop a research plan, conduct research, organize and draft a research paper, and then revise, edit, and proofread that research paper.
ENGL102: Composition 2
This course builds on the thinking and writing skills introduced in Composition 1. Learners will write critical, argumentative essays based on their interpretations of nonfictional texts, including literary, film, and cultural texts, and in doing so, will recognize the role of rhetoric in the writing situation as they craft persuasive discourse. In doing so, they will learn methods of questioning, analyzing, and evaluating their own beliefs as well as the perceptions and perspectives of others. These methods of critical thinking are intended to improve the quality and organization of learners’ writing for any purpose, including academic and workplace purposes. In addition to writing essays, learners will develop more advanced research strategies, as well greater proficiency in APA style. Prerequisite: ENGL101
COM125: Speech
This course helps learners majoring in any discipline strengthen communication skills essential for success in academics and the workplace. Learners will focus on listening, evaluating, and delivering spoken discourse based on audience and purpose. Learners will evaluate why some people are more effective than others as public speakers, analyze speeches and audiences, study ethical considerations for speakers, research and organize findings on a topic, and present findings before an audience, and learn techniques for identifying and reducing speech anxiety.
MASC110 Statistics & Probability or MASC115 College Algebra
MASC110 Statistics & Probability, or MASC115 College Algebra, or more advanced college credit bearing mathematics course requiring college algebra or higher as a prerequisite.
Ethical Reasoning
HUM201: Ethics
Ethics introduces learners to moral philosophy, the branch of philosophy that questions what is good and bad. The course surveys a number of important ethical theories—ethical relativism, objectivism, egoism, altruism, utilitarianism, duty‐based moral theory, natural law, natural rights, and virtue ethics—as they examine reasons why certain actions are morally right or wrong. Learners will apply ethical theories in the evaluation and analysis of current controversial issues, question ethical matters from a variety of angles, and acquire new tools to assist them in making ethically sound, well‐informed decisions throughout their lives.
Disciplinary Perspectives
Natural Science (3 or more credit hours)
Social Science (3 or more credit hours)
Humanities (3 or more credit hours)
The Arts (3 or more credit hours)
Other Cultures (3 or more credit hours)
Capstone
CAPS495 Senior Capstone
Senior capstone or major capstone course.
*Most general education requirements are waived for students with an AA, AS, or AAS degree. Speak to your admissions counselor for details.
Graduation Requirements
Complete all foundation and major courses with an overall GPA of 2.0
Complete a minimum of 124 credit hours, with at least 60 hours at a bachelor’s degree-granting institution
Complete at least 30 credit hours with a C average or above from Southwestern College
All degree requirements are subject to change. Please see Southwestern College Professional Studies Catalog for the most current degree requirements.
