Business Certificates

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Business– 18 credits

Penn State’s basic business certificate program is designed to provide you with a solid foundation in essential business concepts and offers a convenient way to “step up” to a degree. The basic business certificate program should give you an understanding of management and marketing and help you improve your written English. You can customize your learning through a series of business-related electives to meet your specific needs and interests. Students who have completed the basic business certificate are eligible to earn the advanced business certificate.

Prescribed Courses (take all):

ENGL 015: Rhetoric and Composition
MGMT 100: Survey of Management
MKTG 221W: Contemporary American Marketing

Additional Courses (select at least 9 credits):

B A 241: Legal Environment of Business
B A 242: Social and Ethical Environment of Business
B A 250: Problems of Small Business
M I S 103: Microcomputer Applications in Business
MKTG 220: Personal Selling

Advanced Business—15 credits

Penn State's advanced business certificate can help develop students' skills in spoken communication and quantification. In a very flexible way, students can explore functional fields of business. Students who complete the advanced business certificate will have completed almost half of the credits required for Penn State Altoona's Associate Degree In Business (2BAAL).

Prescribed Courses (6 credits):

CAS 100A: Effective Speech
MATH 021: College Algebra

Advanced Courses (select at least 9 additional credits):

ACCTG 211 (4cr): Financial & Managerial Accounting
B A 241 (2cr): Legal Environment of Business
B A 242(2cr): Social and Ethical Environment of Business
B A 250: Problems of Small Business
ECON 004: Intro Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy
IST 220: Networking Telecommunications
IST 250: New Media and the Web
LER 100: Labor and Industrial Relations
LER 136: Race, Gender, and Employment
MIS 103: Microcomputer Applications in Business
MIS 204: Intro to Business Information Systems
SCM 200: Introduction to Statistics for Business OR STAT 200 (4cr): Elementary Statistics
SRA 111: Introduction to Security Risk Analysis
SRA 211: Threat of Terrorism and Crime

COURSES OFFERED IN THE FALL 2009 SEMESTER

ACCTG 211: Financial and Managerial Accounting for Decision Making
Introduction to the role of accounting numbers in the process of managing a business and in investor decision making.
Prerequisite: MATH 021 or 1.5 units of high school algebra.

B A 241: Legal Environment of Business
Examines the legal system’s role and impact regarding business transactions, liability issues, and ownership of intellectual property. Students earning credit for B A 241 may not earn credit toward Smeal College baccalaureate degree for BLaw 243 and/or B A 243.

B A 242: Social and Ethical Environment of Business
Explores the social and ethical environment of business and ethical decision making in a business context.

B A 250: Small Business Management
Analysis of problems of the smll firm, particularly for the student who wishes to venture into business. Prerequisite: 3 credits in economics

CAS 100A: Effective Speech
Principles of communication, implemented through presentation of speeches with some attention to group discussion and message evaluation.

ECON 004: Introductory Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy
National income measurement; aggregate economic models; money and income; policy problems

ENGL 015: Rhetoric and Composition
Instruction and practice in writing expository prose that shows sensitivity to audience and purpose.
Prerequisite: ENGL 004 or satisfactory performance on the English proficiency

MATH 021: College Algebra I
Quadratic equations, equations in quadratic form, word problems, graphing, algebraic fractions, negative and rational exponents, and radicals. Prerequisite: MATH 004 or satisfactory performance on the mathematics proficiency examination.

MIS 103: Microcomputer Applications in Business
Introduction to current business sues of the microcomputer, including spreadsheets, database management, word-processing, and decision-making models.

MIS 204: Introduction to Business Information Systems
Introduction to the use of information systems in business organizations.

STAT 200: Elementary Statistics
Descriptive statistics, frequency distributions, probability, binomial and normal distributions, statistical inference, linear regression, and correlation.

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COURSES OFFERED IN THE SPRING 2010 SEMESTER

CAS 100A: Effective Speech
Principles of communication, implemented through presentation of speeches with some attention to group discussion and message evaluation.

ECON 002: Introduction to Microeconomic Analysis and Policy
Methods of economic analysis and their use; price determination; theory of the firm; distribution.

MGMT 100: Survey of Management
Introduction to organizational factors relevant to management processes, including leadership, motivation, job design, technology, organizational design and environments, systems, change. May not be used to satisfy Penn State Business baccalaureate degree requirements. Not available to students who have taken B A 304 or MGMT 301.

MKTG 220: Introduction to Selling Techniques
Principles underlying the sales process and practical application of these principles to selling situations. Studies role of selling in total marketing process. Prerequisite: third-semester standing

MIS 204: Introduction to Business Information Systems
Introduction to the use of information systems in business organizations.

STAT 200: Elementary Statistics
Descriptive statistics, frequency distributions, probability, binomial and normal distributions, statistical inference, linear regression, and correlation.

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