School Offers Online Program for Non-Business Majors

Posted on April 6, 2009

UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School has launched an online program to provide non-business majors the business knowledge, skills and confidence to differentiate themselves in the increasingly competitive job market.

The UNC Business Essentials certificate program “allows the non-business major to become fluent in the language of business to stand out in an interview with a company, make a more meaningful impact in a nonprofit or start their own business or organization,” said Susan Cates, associate dean of UNC Executive Development at Kenan-Flagler. “The program is a must-have for students and recent graduates who need to build their real-world relevant business knowledge and add a valuable credential to help distinguish them in the job market.”

The new program begins enrolling students in April and includes a total of six courses: “Introduction to Business,” “Financial Accounting,” “Economics and Finance,” “Marketing,” “Business Operations” and “Business Communication. ”

Completion of the program will allow students to reference the UNC Business Essentials certificate from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School on their resumes. The online program has no residential requirements, and students can work on their own schedule without interrupting their day-to-day activities or compromising the learning experience.

After reviewing the design of the program, 100 percent of recruiters surveyed said that having the UNC Business Essentials certificate program on their resumes would give students an edge over other non-business majors. In addition, 87 percent of recruiters said they would recommend this type of program to new hires who are non-business majors.

The program was developed by combining UNC’s expertise in curriculum with Avalon Consulting’s experience in online learning and instructional design, said Jessica Brack, managing director of UNC Business Essentials. UNC also partnered with TopSchool for the student portal and information system and Agilix for the course management system.

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