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Edwards Campus to offer bachelor's in business administration

The Edwards Campus will offer a new bachelor’s degree in business administration beginning in January, following action by the Kansas Board of Regents.

The regents voted to approve the new bachelor’s of business administration degree program as the first new program at the Edwards Campus funded through the Johnson County Education and Research Triangle initiative. As of this semester, students can also minor in business.

The goal of the program is to boost the career prospects of working adults in Johnson County and to enhance the business capabilities of local organizations to achieve commercial success that will stay and thrive in Kansas, as in the case of bioscience-sector research.

“This is an ideal program for people in the workforce who want to combine their work experience and technical skills with enhanced business management skills,” said Bob Clark, vice chancellor of the Edwards Campus. “There has been great demand for an undergraduate business degree. Students attending Johnson County Community College as well as working adults have expressed a strong desire to have access to the high quality program provided by KU’s nationally ranked School of Business. Johnson County has developed into a powerful economic and employment engine for the region. The demand for skilled workers has grown along with it.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth in Johnson County increased 68 percent between 1990 and 2007, although job growth in Jackson County increased only 1.3 percent. The national growth rate was 25.6 percent.

“The bachelor’s in business administration provides students with advanced management skills so they will understand the cost/revenue business implications of their workplace decisions. This can open the door to additional responsibilities with their current employer or to a new career path,” said Keith W. Chauvin, associate dean for academic affairs and professor in the School of Business. “Without these skills in our community, companies will go somewhere else to find the talent they need. This program will boost the human capital of the community and help keep good jobs in Johnson County and in Kansas.”

The degree differs from the bachelor’s of business degree offered at the Lawrence campus and is available only at the Edwards Campus. Calculus will not be required for the Edwards Campus program.

The new program is for students who have completed at least 60 college credit hours, yet have not earned a bachelor’s degree. Coursework will focus on business-oriented decision-making and business management skills. The same faculty who teach the highly regarded master’s of business administration program at Edwards will teach the bachelor’s of business administration program. Classes will be offered late afternoons and early evenings to accommodate working students.