BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

The mission of the undergraduate business programs at Tusculum University is to develop ethically, globally and civically engaged business leaders.

Tusculum’s Bachelor of Science in Business Administration provides a foundation in all essential areas of business with an additional emphasis on these key areas:

• The global marketplace
• Ethical decision-making
• Diversity in the workplace
• The team-centered approach
• Personal responsibility

WHAT CAN I DO WITH A BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DEGREE?

Tusculum University graduates have discovered various roads to success. TU graduates are entrepreneurs, managers, supervisors, educators, consultants and more. Initially, many begin in sales, business administration trainee programs, first-line management and production.

Others continue their education and pursue graduate degrees. Students who graduate with a 3.0 GPA automatically qualify to be admitted into our nationally recognized Pioneer MBA programThe Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program of study is offered as a general BSBA and six majors. All majors are also offered as minors, which are available to students in the business program and to students from other university programs. The tax minor is not available as a major.

Each major requires a generalist background in management, accounting, economics, finance and computer applications. Building from this knowledge base, the student continues to increase his/her skills and knowledge with the required courses of the major. The flexibility of the curriculum allows students to select additional business administration courses for electives.

Bo Cordell

ALUMNI TESTIMONIAL

I am Bo Cordell, and I graduated from Tusculum with an undergraduate business administration major and an international business minor. I am vice president of sales at Covenant Logistics, formerly Landair. I have worked at Covenant for 10 years since starting an internship during college.

Tusculum and the Business Club provided me an opportunity to do some job shadowing in college, which allowed me to be introduced to Landair. From this job shadowing opportunity, I was able to turn that into an internship, which has allowed be to grow for the last 10 years throughout a public organization. Once I was able to secure the internship, the various classes I took, including finance, economics, and accounting, allowed me to have a leg up from other folks who weren’t well-versed in these various topics.

The best part about the Tusculum College of Business is the hands-on teaching approach you receive, as opposed to a larger college, where this isn’t possible. The teachers were willing to come early/leave late to answer questions I had, which provided me a much better opportunity to fully grasp the concepts we were learning. Tusculum University also has a “family” vibe to it, so it truly feels like the teachers are invested and care about how their students perform in their classes – and after they graduate.

Choosing Tusculum was one of the best decisions I have ever made personally and professionally. I was afforded an opportunity to play a sport, while getting introduced to the company I have worked at since my graduation, along with meeting my wife and many lifelong friends. The hands-on teaching approach and the personal touch you receive during your education is truly unique and helps make Tusculum the special place that it is.

The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration aims at inspiring students civic engagement. This is achieved through activities within the classroom and in the community.

Students serve the community when participating in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA). In the process, students learn valuable skills in tax preparation, professionalism and interviewing while understanding the needs of the community

A key objective of our business program is to prepare students for successful professional careers. Our curriculum is built for this purpose, and it is a key focus of every course in the program.

In addition, the Bachelor of Science in business administration is fully integrated with the Quality Enhancement Plan for Tusculum University. This plan aims to prepare students for careers by centering student learning outcomes on career management, teamwork and collaboration as well as employment readiness. The student learning outcomes in the QEP are important ways to help students achieve their goals.

Other examples of career-focus activities include accounting courses utilizing the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification materials, a tax course focused on the study for the Internal Revenue Service enrolled agent professional examination.

Tusculum University’s partnership with Ballad Health in the Tennessee Strong Futures program enriches the personal lives of the participants and the local community. The program is offered to mothers or fathers who are recovering addicts, and they have the opportunity to participate in their program to avoid losing their children or jail time or both. Tusculum students provide the instruction on personal finance literacy.

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program enriches the lives of community participants. They are able to properly file their income tax forms and, quite often, they pay less taxes and receive bigger tax returns than they would without the assistance. A significant number of community members are helped by VITA: 783 people in the 2021 tax year and 635 in the 2017 tax year.

The Bachelor of Science in business administration attributes its success to its Judeo-Christian heritage. The program shares the small student-to-faculty ratio of the university so students receive closer attention from professors, who can identify weaknesses and strengths and to provide prompt and readily available meetings outside of class time. In addition, professors provide the academic advising needed to ensure students are on track in their college careers.

• Cherokee Mental Health Scholar Internship in hospital administration
• Accounting internships with various regional firms like Blackburn, Childers & Steagall and Rodefer Moss & Company
• Finance internships with Northwestern Mutual and other companies
• Chartwell’s Food Service
• Ballad Health
• Unaka Corporation
• Forward Air Corporation
• Tusculum University’s Office of Institutional Advancement