Clarion University and Butler County Community College have partnered to allow BC3 students to get a Clarion degree without leaving the Butler campus.
Graduates of BC3's associate degree in business administration program can complete Clarion's BS in business administration degree in accounting by earning an additional 60 credits. Courses are taught by the same faculty who teach students on the Clarion campus and are offered through a mix of face-to-face, Interactive Television and online classes.
"The BC3-Clarion completion degree is a win for the students in the Butler County area because they are now able to get a four-year AACSB accredited accounting degree at BC3. AACSB is the premier accrediting body for business degrees, with only the top five percent of business schools in the world being AACSB accredited," said Dr. Anthony Grenci, accounting professor. "Further, since students can take all of their courses either at BC3 or online, they save the cost of room and board, which can be more than half the cost of a college education. With the BC3-Clarion completion degree, a student can earn an AACSB-accredited degree in accounting for the cost of about one or two semesters at a state-related or private university."
Program graduates enter the workforce able to:
- Generate, analyze and communicate accounting information for internal and external use;
- Utilize analytical thinking skills to interpret evidence and formulate evidence-based conclusions;
- Employ technology to support data analysis and business decision making;
- Understand the business ethics and the social forces shaping the environment of business;
- Demonstrate interdisciplinary competence across accounting, economics, finance, management and marketing.
Grenci said Clarion University also benefits from the partnership.
"We teach both Clarion and BC3 students at the same time through Interactive Television (ITV). With today's budget constraints affecting all universities, the days of running courses with an enrollment of only three or four students are over because it is not cost effective," he said. "Our partnership with BC3 enables us to more quickly fill our classes and, therefore, offer more and a wider variety of courses. We are better able to offer the courses that students want, when they want them."