BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) — Starting this fall, Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek will offer an accelerated Weekend Business College that will allow students to earn a certificate in two semesters.
The pilot program will provide students with a business management certificate in two semesters.
“Our idea is that some students may not always have the opportunity to go two straight years for college to complete the necessary 60 credits for their associate’s degree,” Bobby Beauchamp, executive director for business, information, technology and public safety education, said. “So our thought process is giving them the opportunity to achieve their business management certificate in their first year of college.”
Beauchamp said the program may be particularly attractive for someone who wants to move up in a business. It could also act as a strong head start on an associate’s degree.
“It meets the needs of a variety of students. It just depends on the individual student and what their goals may be,” he said.
SCHEDULE
Unlike the traditional business college, which runs for 16 weeks per semester, the accelerated weekend college places students into a cohort for two classes every seven weeks.
Fall
- First seven weeks: Introduction to business and office procedures/keyboarding
- Second seven weeks: Principles of economics macro or micro and organizational behavior
Spring
- First seven weeks: Business law
- Second seven weeks: General Accounting
- Whole semester: Microsoft Office applications software
The accelerated program allows students to focus on fewer classes at a time, compared to the traditional schedule of four classes per semester, Beauchamp said.
Students will have the option to choose to complete the classes entirely online or meet every other weekend.
“It’s Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. And the way it’s scheduled, they would meet every other Friday and every other Saturday, so they would be coinciding together. So Friday and Saturday on one week and the next week they’re not,” Beauchamp explained, adding that the option to meet every week for additional support is available.
The cap for the program is 24 students. As of Tuesday, it was still wide open.
If something happens and a student cannot complete the second semester, they have the option to take the remaining classes through the standard program, which runs in the fall, spring and summer for 16 weeks.
For more information or to sign up for the program, contact the Kellogg Community College’s Admissions Office at 269.965.4153 or adm@kellogg.edu.
