Business Administration

You will need to follow the general enrollment process for GTCC.  During the advising process you will have the opportunity to indicate your desire to study within this curriculum. Your advisor will help you sign up for the specific courses you need.

Your faculty are the strength of this program. Each brings a career of real world experience from a variety of industries to the classroom. 

Carl B. Smalls is the lead instructor for Introduction to Business (BS110) and Small Business Management (BS230) and an Associate Professor of Business Administration. This is his 27th year in academia and his fourth year at GTCC.  Smalls teaching experience includes appointments at Lake Superior State University (Michigan), University of Detroit Mercy (Michigan), and Eastern Michigan University (Michigan). Administrative appointments include Piedmont Community College – Director of the Small Business Center, Winston-Salem State University – Associate Director of Athletics, Marketing/Fundraising and the University of Detroit Mercy – Director of the College of Business. His private industry work experience includes various executive and management positions with firms such as WILMOCO Capital Management, Ford Motor Company, Volkswagen of America, and the National Football League (NFL). In addition to, board appointments with local and national organizations. Professor Smalls holds a B.S. from North Carolina A&T State University, an MBA from the Atlanta University Graduate School of Business (where he was a Volkswagen of America Scholar) and a graduate of the Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government in Investments and Behavioral Finance. 

Richard DePolt teaches Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics.  He has spent his entire adult life studying and teaching economics. As a graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill, he studied and taught Economic History with a focus on the economic development of the United States. From there he served for six years as a Visiting Instructor at Wake Forest University where he taught Principles of Economics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, and Environmental Economics. After that, it was back to graduate school at UNC Greensboro to study microeconometrics and the Economics of Education. He came to GTCC as an instructor in 2009 and has served as Department Chair since 2013.

Tiffany Fearrington, Instructor, Business Administration

Karen Pentz, Instructor, Supply Chain

The curricula in all of our programs is reviewed and informed by advisory committees to ensure that you will learn the skills and competencies local employers demand.  You will complete coursework in the core business processes – accounting, management, and marketing and learn valuable employability skills, such as team work, communication, and critical thinking. 

If you pursue the general business administration track, you will study more advanced business topics, such as supply chain management and international business. The coursework in the sales and small business tracks augments the core with training in professional selling and social media marketing. If you are interested in starting your own business, you can extend your education with training, coursework, and advice offered through GTCC's Small Business Center, which is housed within the same division of the college. 

The human resources management track will prepare you to support and manage the most important asset of every company:  its employees. You will study employment law, design compensation and benefit plans, and learn how to recruit, hire, and train employees

Business administration graduates qualify for entry level positions in management or sales or have the foundation necessary to open a small business. Graduates from the human resources program are eligible to work as a specialist within the human resources department of a large organization or as a generalist within a smaller firm.  For those already employed in one of these areas, an AAS degree in business administration or human resource management can open doors to career advancement.

To maximize the amount of credit hours that will transfer to the 4-year school, you should earn an Associate in Science degree and not an Associate in Applied Science degree. The goal is to complete most of your general education requirements at GTCC and then complete your major requirements at the four-year school. We recommend that you work closely with your advisor at GTCC and the admissions office at your destination college to ensure you are taking the appropriate coursework.

You should earn an associate degree in business administration or human resource management if you are looking for entry level employment or career advancement. You will graduate with a sound foundation in all aspects of business and be prepared for entry level employment in management or as a human resource specialist. 

If you are looking to gain employment more quickly, a certificate will open doors for entry level employment. You can earn this credential in two semesters, gain employment, and then continue taking coursework to earn the associate degree. Certificates are also an attractive option if you want to supplement another degree. If you already have a bachelor’s or master’s degree, a certificate can enhance your skill set for a career change or career advancement. Students in other programs seeking self-employment, such as culinary, cosmetology, or automotive systems, will also benefit from a certificate in small business management.

You can earn your AAS degree or Certificate in Business Administration or Human Resource Management by attending classes part-time or full-time during the day, evening or online. All courses, with the exception of Professional Selling, are offered seated or online. You will work with your advisor to create a schedule suits your needs.

As A Full-time Student

In the catalog you will see that the degree is set up to be completed in two years. Please note that this 2-year plan assumes:

• You have successfully placed out of DRE 097, or EFL 074, EFL084, and EFL 094.
• You have successfully placed out of DMA 010, DMA 020, DMA 030, DMA 040, and DMA 050.
• You are able to successfully complete five classes every spring and fall semester.
• You are able to successfully complete two classes during the summer semester.

Earning Your Degree While Working

If you are working more than 10 hours a week, or are responsible for the care of someone else (child, parent, spouse, etc.), you probably will not be able to complete the degree in two years.

Think of your degree as a job. If you are already working full-time, you will not be able to ‘work’ full-time on your degree. You should probably take no more than two classes per semester. This means it will take you four to five years to complete your degree.

If you are working 20-30 hours a week, you should probably take no more than 3 classes per semester. It will take you three to four years to complete your degree.

These are guidelines. You are the one responsible for deciding how many courses to take each semester. If you take more classes than you can handle, you will end up spending more time and money getting your degree than needed. Over committing can also lower your GPA and have an impact on the funding you receive.