VSU Gains New Degrees

VALDOSTA - Valdosta State University students can now choose from two new business degrees and a new arts degree when deciding on a field of study.

At their October meeting, the Board of Regents approved VSU to grant a Bachelor of Business Administration in International Business, a Master of Accountancy and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology. Academic Affairs will provide assessments of each new program, all of which were added to satisfy professional needs in the local community or to meet accreditation requirements.


Bachelor of Business Administration in International Business
According to needs assessments, evidence of international business exposure or experience are valued highly by employers. The Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration was approved to create a major in International Business to meet the demand for this area of study.

The new degree, which integrates additional knowledge base within other fuctional areas of business, requires students to emphasize in accounting, economics, finance, management or marketing, as well as a proficiency in a foreign language. In meeting the LCOBA goal of expanding educational and international business opportunities, the new major is designed to prepare graduates for careers in international business and develop a student's skills in the areas of foreign language, critical thinking, communications, problem solving and technology within the field of international business.

LCOBA plans to reconfigure existing courses in addition to establishing new courses to fulfill the new academic curricula. Faculty anticipate enrollments of 10, 30 and 50 students during the program's first three years.


Master of Accountancy
LCOBA received approval to create a Master of Accountancy program to assist students in attaining the Georgia State Board of Accountancy licensure, which requires 150 hours of coursework -- more than the 120 required for an undergraduate degree. Local firms have reported that the extended study improves performance once hired.

Students in the new master's program will be able to apply appropriate models and tools for solving problems in business and management and will demonstrate knowledge of theories, models and tools relevant to their specialty. Courses, such as Advanced Auditing, Financial Accounting Theory, Advanced Accounting Information Systems, Goverenment and Not-for-profit Accounting, and Corporate and Partnership Taxation, as well as electives in taxes, trusts and wealth and global finance, will prepare students for on-the-job success.

LCOBA will create several new courses for the program, while taking advantage of large Principles of Accounting courses. Faculty anticipate enrollments of 16,21,and 26 students during the program's first three years, with ten regional CPA firms committed to hiring graduates.


Bachelor of Arts in Biology
Students have become increasingly interested in careers related to teaching biology and allied health services, but may have been discouraged from the Bachelor of Science degree coursework, which requires both chemistry and physics. The new Bachelor of Arts will allow students interested in these career fields to tailor their studies more closely to their specific career goals and objectives.

About 75 students are expected to enroll in the new degree program and enrollment is expected to remain steady. Only a few new courses will be required to meet degree objectives, but those who satisfy its requirements will be prepared to enter post-baccalaureate allied health programs as well as teacher preparation courses during a four-year course of study. These students can fill the shortage of biology teachers in middle and high schools or serve in the new jobs in the allied health arena, which are estimated to increase in number by 4 percent annually.