Program Description
Complete your Business Administration Management, Associate in Applied Science (AAS). The Washington State Workforce Training & Education Coordinating Board reports a skill gap in accounting jobs where the accounting jobs exceed worker supply. Jobs in business administration exist in a wide variety of career paths. Students develop a foundation of knowledge in accounting, management, business, entrepreneurship and application software related to business and communication.
Program Length: 6 Quarters
Program Code: BAMAMAPT
Career Opportunities and Earnings
Previous graduates have found employment in retail, wholesale, and service industries. The greatest expansion in the job market over the next ten years is expected to occur in the small business sector including employment prospects for business managers. Opportunities for advancement are enhanced by a student’s motivation and desire to succeed. The demand for persons trained in this field should remain strong over the next several years.
- Assistant manager
- Buyer
- Department manager
- Management trainee
- Sales manager
- Store manager
- Supervisor
For current employment and wage estimates, please visit and search for the relevant occupational term: bls.gov/oes.
Program Outcomes
When this program is completed, the student will be able to:
- Prepare and analyze company financial statements
- Prepare analytical Excel schedules to support business decisions
- Apply qualitative and quantitative methods for critical thinking and problem solving
- Formulate a personal code of ethical behavior as it relates to a modern business environment
- Utilize electronic technology, including accessing information from various sources
- Recognize and analyze how general and specific forces shape the environment of business and decision making
- Demonstrate competency in written and oral communication
- Apply basic computational skills to practical applications
- Communicate in writing for a variety of purposes and audiences
- Demonstrate competencies to succeed in the selected career pathway workplace
Special Features
- Short-term certificates of proficiency, which include courses within the program, are offered to provide students benchmarks of achievement leading to degree completion
- Classroom instruction and practical experiences are combined into a course of study that provides students with broad exposure to the principles and philosophies of business and management
- Students can continue their academic studies at Peninsula College in the Bachelor of Applied Management degree (BAS). Please contact the BAS advisor for additional prerequisite requirements at BAS@pencol.edu
Program Goals
- Prepare students for a variety of business related job opportunities
- Prepare students for a rapidly changing business environment
- Measure and assess student learning and implement improvements to ensure a high quality program
- Monitor the needs of the business community and maintain the relevancy of program curriculum through advisory committee meetings and program reviews
Approximate Additional Costs
- Books, supplies and miscellaneous fees (per quarter): $200 - $500
- Calculator (recommended): $30
Sample Schedule
This sample schedule is provided as a guide for a full-time student starting in fall quarter whose goal is to earn the AAS. The typical student schedule is based on entering the program during the fall quarter, however some programs allow students to enter in the winter or spring as well. Since not all do, please confirm with an advisor whether this program must be started during a specific quarter or not.
First Quarter (Fall)
Introduction to business systems, processes, and the general business environment. Students explore marketing, management, finance, accounting, business law, information technology, human resources, entrepreneurship, and emerging business topics. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Elective)
Credits: 5
This course examines the basics of international business through social, economic, political, and cultural systems perspectives. Topics include foundation concepts, the international business environment, ethics in international business, theories of international trade, emerging markets, and international business strategy. Planning and organizing international operations are integrated with the study of analyzing international business opportunities. This class may include students from multiple sections.
Credits: 5
Active reading, effective writing, and critical thinking, using subjective and objective approaches. Introduction to research techniques. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Communication Skills)
Credits: 5
Second Quarter (Winter)
Introduction to the fundamentals of business law and the principles of the American legal system including criminal, tort, and business law, contracts, sales, Uniform Commercial Code, and employment. Familiarity with Washington’s RCWs (Revised Codes of Washington) and WACs (Washington Administrative Codes) emphasized through researching regional business law cases. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Elective)
Credits: 5
An introduction to management concepts, including topics of planning, organizing, leading, managing, and motivating available human resources and business assets to optimally and ethically accomplish performance goals. This class may include students from multiple sections.
Credits: 5
Third Quarter (Spring)
Introduces the fundamental concepts about management information systems and the integral role they play in a successful business. Course objectives embrace the notion that management of a modern organization requires knowledge of information systems to gain a competitive advantage, defining what they are, how they affect the organization and its employees, their strategic importance, and the role of emerging technologies in business processes. Students will develop and demonstrate proficiency in the use of key business application technologies. This class may include students from multiple sections.
Credits: 5
Develop beginning through intermediate spreadsheet skills in Microsoft Excel and associated technologies. Create, edit, and format spreadsheets; analyze data using formulas, manage workbook data, create and analyze table data. Interactive training and skill-based assessments are completed in a virtual environment; projects are based on real-world business situations. Integration with cloud computing. Touch keyboarding skills is recommended. This class may include students from multiple sections.
Credits: 5
Fourth Quarter (Fall)
Emphasis on nature of accounting as a system of information for decision making. Specific topics include basic financial statements, the accounting cycle, forms of business organization, financial assets, inventories, and depreciation. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Elective)
Credits: 5
Examines the role of marketing in general business activities. Students will learn the marketing process that develops products and services, methods and techniques of market research, target markets, market segmentation, product planning, distribution, pricing, and promotion. This class may include students from multiple sections.
Credits: 5
Presents economic theories used as tools for critical thinking to show how the U.S. economy operates. Emphasis on causes and consequences of unemployment and inflation and how they affect the well-being of Americans. The use of government spending, taxation, and the monetary system to promote full employment and stable prices will be examined. Explores role of energy and natural resources in shaping our economic future. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)
Credits: 5
Fifth Quarter (Winter)
Study of accounting is continued through specific topics, including liabilities, stockholder’s equity, statement of cash flows, financial statement analysis, and global and management accounting. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Elective)
Credits: 5
A broad introduction to Human Resources Management (HRM.) HRM is the implementation of organizational behavior knowledge to effectively manage people at work. Specific topics include legal issues, job analysis, recruiting and selection, performance appraisal, compensation, benefits, training and development, and career planning. This class may include students from multiple sections.
Credits: 5
Promotes use of critical thinking to explore an individual's relationship to the supply and demand of goods and services. Tools of economic analysis are used to investigate management of environmental systems. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Social Sciences, Elective)
Credits: 5
Sixth Quarter (Spring)
Managerial concepts are explored through accounting systems, management reports, and special analysis for decision making; cost volume-profit analysis; incremental analysis; responsibilities accounting; operational and capital budgeting; and standard cost systems. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Elective)
Credits: 5
Designed to present operations management tools that can be used to develop a competitive advantage in commercial environments. Topics will be studied using an operations management framework: Introduction to operations management thinking, strategic and operational planning, ethical issues, organizational controls and tools, risk management, and the role of technology in operations management. This class may include students from multiple sections.
Credits: 5
Focuses on maximizing economic value or wealth for business owners: a study of how to allocate scarce resources over time under conditions of uncertainty. Students will consider such financial decisions as when to introduce a new product, when to invest in new assets, when to replace existing assets, when to borrow from banks, when to issue stocks or bonds, and how much cash to maintain. Concepts of cash flow analysis and financial planning, time value of money, net present value of cash flows, valuation of stocks and bonds, capital budgeting, and ratio analysis will be explored. This class may include students from multiple sections.
Credits: 5
Your personal educational plan will vary based on many factors including:
- The quarter you begin
- How many classes/credits you plan to take in each quarter
- Your math and English placement; Learn more about placement options by visiting the Assessment and Placement website.
- If you start in our Transitional Studies program