New Business Degrees Approved For Georgia Highlands

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ROME, GA -- The University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved Georgia Highlands College to start offering two bachelor degree programs.

The school will soon offer a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Healthcare Management and a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, the college said Wednesday.

These new degrees will be available fall 2017, pending approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

GHC Vice President for Academic Affairs Renva Watterson said she and College President Don Green commissioned a task force in 2014 to find new degree options that would meet the economic needs of Georgia Highlands' service area.

After the group examined census and economic data for the Northwest Georgia region and also found that currently no other USG institution within a two-hour drive provides similar degrees, it was decided that these degree options would best fit the workforce needs of the area.

“The creation of a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Healthcare Management will complement GHC’s long-established associate’s degree program in business and is a clear fit with the mission of the college,” Watterson said.

The BBA in Healthcare Management, she explained, is the perfect precursor for students looking to have careers in hospital administration, clinic administration, health information management, nursing management and rehabilitation administration.

“Georgia Highlands College’s geographic service area is very expansive, reaching Bartow, Chattooga, Cherokee, Douglas, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, North Cobb, Paulding and Polk counties,” Watterson continued. “These areas have a large number of healthcare-based employers, and a bachelor of business administration in healthcare management would not only meet a need for a still rapidly growing job industry but would also help establish Georgia Highlands College as the destination for healthcare education in Northwest Georgia.”

Watterson stated that the implementation of a BBA in Logistics and Supply Chain Management also meets a growing workforce need for an educationally underserved industry.

“GHC’s Associate of Science in Business Administration is the college’s second most popular major and produces the largest number of graduates,” she said. “By providing the BBA in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, students have the opportunity to continue on a business tract that complements the current associate level business degree program at GHC.”

This degree will provide a strong foundation in the key concepts of business as well as developing analytical, critical thinking, and leadership skills. It will also focus on supplier relations, transportation, materials planning, inventory, warehousing, distribution, and customer relationship management.

“With the advantage of GHC having a close proximity to Interstate 75 and the growth of the manufacturing industry in Northwest Georgia, this new BBA degree in logistics and supply chain management will be crucial to building a well-educated workforce," President Green added. "Both new BBA degrees will offer a quality, affordable 4-year degree in growing fields in GHC’s service area. They will provide a strong business core foundation that will develop analytical, critical thinking, and leadership skills for those graduates. As always, we are proud of our partnerships with area high schools, technical schools, business, and industry as we continue to work together to support economic development and growth throughout our region.”

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