Bluefield College has received approval from its accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), to begin offering a new master’s degree in business administration (MBA).
Continuing to expand its academic offerings to meet the higher education needs of students from Central Appalachia and beyond, the college announced the creation of the new online MBA this past October and has since been waiting on the go-ahead from SACSCOC to launch the program. With that endorsement now in place, the college is accepting applications for its first class of MBA students.
The new online MBA is the school’s fourth new master’s degree program in just three years. It follows BC’s first ever master’s degree, an online master’s in education (MAEd), in 2015, an online master’s in nursing (MSN) in 2017, and a Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences (MABS), offered in partnership with the Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and approved by SACSCOC earlier this year.
“These new master’s degree programs are indications of the broadening academic offerings at Bluefield College that are in response to the needs of the workplaces in our region and across the Commonwealth,” said BC president Dr. David Olive, “as well as to the educational needs of students seeking to expand their knowledge base within the fields of education, nursing, medicine and business.”
Offered through Bluefield College’s new Caudill School of Business, also created earlier this year thanks to a transformational gift made by former BC faculty member Dr. Donald W. Caudill, the online MBA will have concentrations in leadership and healthcare management, and according to BC leaders will further fulfill the school’s mission to provide an exceptional educational experience that prepares students to become transformational servant leaders.
“This new MBA targets industries where qualified people are needed that believe in serving others and transforming the world,” said Dr. Sharon Perot, dean of professional studies and chair of the Department of Business. “It is different from others because all students participate in service learning community-based projects at either a business, community center, state agency, or non-profit organization as a laboratory to learn about management, leadership, and organizations.”
Dr. Perot also noted that students in Bluefield’s new MBA will gain a worldview through participation in Net Impact, a community of more than 60,000 students and professional leaders across the world committed to creating positive social and environmental change in the workplace and the world.
“Students will participate in a business simulation with other MBA students across the country in order to develop skills in leading teams, organizations, community partnerships, and societal and global management initiatives,” said Dr. Perot. “They will complete a six-credit-hour practicum that serves their organization or community needs through application of functional knowledge and academic coursework, and they will participate in decision-making that incorporates stakeholders, engages in ethical decision models, and serves to create and sustain social, environmental, and economic value.”
For more information or to apply for admission into the new MBA program, visit bluefield.edu/mba, or contact Dr. Perot by email at [email protected] or by phone at 276-326-4226.