ASHEBORO — Salem College has received approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to offer its bachelor of science in business administration program through the University Center of Randolph County at Randolph Community College’s Asheboro Campus.
Salem has been offering courses in business through the University Center since August 2008, in anticipation of launching a full program once approved by SACS.
“Simply put, this means Salem College is approved to offer a four-year degree or ‘degree completion’ program in business administration at RCC,” said Ed Hartgrove, executive-in-residence and business and economics faculty member at Salem.
Hartgrove performs the liaison functions for the program along with Clark Adams, English/communications instructor for RCC.
“We are excited to be able to provide this opportunity to the citizens of Randolph County and surrounding counties, and we are grateful for this partnership with Randolph Community College through the University Center of Randolph County,” Hartgrove added.
Salem College was one of the colleges who joined the University Center of Randolph County at its inception in 2008, creating an opportunity for local students to complete a baccalaureate degree without leaving the county.
Since then, the number of students in the program has grown significantly, along with the number of inquiries about joining the program in the future.
“This growth can be attributed to several factors, the most important being the quality and integrity of the course offerings,” said Hartgrove.
He noted that students at the University Center receive the same quality education received on Salem’s Winston-Salem campus.
That quality was heralded in an Aug. 18, 2009, article in Forbes magazine, when Salem College was ranked highly in two Forbes college lists, including America’s Best College Buys.
Salem came in at No. 14 on the Best Buy list, and was one of only 23 schools nationwide to place in the top 100 of both that list and the annual ranking of America’s 600 Best Colleges (Salem ranked no. 67).
Other North Carolina institutions on that 600 Best Colleges list included Davidson College (No. 60), UNC Chapel Hill (No. 68), Duke University (No. 104), and Wake Forest University (No. 130).
“Our objective is to offer a quality program to Randolph County citizens,” said Hartgrove.
“We will do this in two primary ways: offering an innovative curriculum designed to prepare students for their professional aspirations and staying tuned into our current students’ needs,” Hartgrove added.
Hartgrove and Adams work together on an individualized academic planning process for each student in the program.
“This process helps our students blend transferred courses, prerequisite courses needed or taken at RCC, and the upper-level Salem business courses to determine a projected graduation date,” he added.
Having the individual academic plans help students know exactly what they will need to take before enrolling.
Students do not have to have their associate in arts or associate in science degrees to enter the program and some are taking Salem College and RCC courses in the same semester, moving more quickly toward their goals.
“We have students who are taking prerequisite courses at RCC and other schools as they prepare to enter or re-enter the program,” said Hartgrove. “Job demands, family commitments, and financial considerations are just a few of the other reasons adult students need and appreciate the ability to step into and out of the program as necessary.”
Other factors contributing to the growth this year, according to Hartgrove, include the expansion of the program to three courses per semester and the addition of a Finance specialty to the Marketing specialty that was initially offered.
Students can now complete their degree in six semesters (instead of nine) and, if they qualify, they can apply for financial aid as a full-time student.
Also, in the summer of 2009, Salem College became a signatory institution of the Independent Comprehensive Agreement between the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities and the North Carolina Community College System. Students with Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degrees enter as juniors.
Hartgrove pointed out that the support of the respective schools’ presidents, Dr. Susan Pauly at Salem College and Dr. Bob Shackleford at Randolph Community College, and their administrative staffs, including Anne B. Hockett, vice president for instructional services at RCC, and Dr. Ann McElaney-Johnson, vice president for academic and student affairs and dean of the college at Salem College, has been paramount in the program’s success.
By the end of the spring semester, a few students in the program will be approaching the halfway mark in completing their Salem coursework.
“I would like to take this opportunity to dispel any concern that course credits have been lost if the courses were taken prior to receiving SACS approval,” said Hartgrove.
“No credits have been lost. We are hoping that any prospective students delaying their applications will now complete the process and get started,” he added.
Hartgrove also noted that even though Salem College is the nation’s oldest continually operating educational institution for women, male students are accepted into Salem’s BSBA program at the University Center of Randolph County.
For more information about Salem’s BSBA program and the University Center of Randolph County, visit RCC’s Web site at www.randolph.edu and click on University Center.
