For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing and PR Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: April 14, 2025
Business Management program near top of national ranking
Fennimore -
For the second consecutive year, the Southwest Wisconsin Technical College Business Management program is listed near the top of a national survey. Best Value Schools has ranked the college’s program as the second-best in the country. The program provides students with the tools needed to meet the challenges of managing a business.
“This ranking is a credit to the Business Management instructors and their dedication to our students,” said Dr. Kim Maier, executive dean. “A Business Management degree can impact students in a variety of positive ways. They move on to do great things.”
Program students receive a background in business operations, accounting, marketing, service operations management, human resource management, team building, problem solving, and business law. Business managers are found in every aspect of the economy.
“The Business Management program is a great choice for many reasons,” said Karyl Nicholson, Business Management and Economics instructor. “The program prepares students for such a broad range of potential jobs.”
Those potential careers include:
• Real estate: sales, property management, title companies
• Finance:
- Insurance: sales, adjusters, internal business functions
- Banking: customer service reps, bankers, lending, operations, loan processing
• Management: working with people to help organizations achieve goals in both the private and public sector.
• Public sector graduate placement examples include: city/county/regional economic development, administrative economic specialists, Community Action, correctional facilities, educational institutions, and state and federal agencies.
• Sales and marketing: sales, marketing (including social media marketing within the examples above)
• Small business ownership in nearly every trade.
“Every organization – in both the private and public sector- requires effective business management skills to achieve goals, stability and move forward,” said Nicholson. “Think of how school districts, hospitals, IT companies and the like operate. Courses in the program foster the mastery of so many skills/functions that can be applied across nearly every industry and every size.”
The program can be taken in person, online or a combination part-time or full-time. Student ages have ranged from 16 through 70. “The opportunities for advancement within existing employment increases significantly with the earning of this degree,” said Nicholson. “Many students have been out of school for a while. They may be currently working or found themselves unemployed. The perspectives and proven reliability they possess are valuable traits that foster success. These traits also enrich the classroom. This program allows them to earn a marketable credential, allowing them to obtain meaningful, challenging work within their current job, in a different setting, or as a business owner.”
At the completion of the program, students are expected to be able to:
• Plan the operations of a business across functional areas
• Organize resources to achieve the goals of the organization
• Direct individuals and/or processes to meet organizational goals
• Control business processes
According to Best Value Schools, “The outlook for people who earn an associate degree in Business Administration and Management is expected to grow in the coming years, with an increase of about three percent per year. There are many careers one can pursue with this type of degree, and so salaries vary wildly. In general, students who earn an associate degree in Business Administration and Management expect to make about $7,000 more per year than people without a degree. The average salary with an associate degree in Business Administration and Management is $56,000 per year.”
Best Value Schools used a specific methodology to rank the best schools to earn an associate degree in Business Administration and Management. Schools were graded on two metrics and were awarded points based on these metrics. The first metric that was used to score the schools was the cost of tuition per credit. He second was overall enrollment size.
Learn more: https://www.swtc.edu/academics/programs/business/business-management
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. The college was recently named a top 10 finalist for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online, HyFlex and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |