Business Technologies Division

This is an archived copy of the 2013-14 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.cincinnatistate.edu.

Division Phone Number: (513) 569-1620

Cincinnati State’s Business Technologies Division provides specialized business education by offering several programs that lead to an Associate of Applied Business degree, as well as programs leading to an Associate of Arts in Pre-Business Administration, an Associate of Applied Science in Dietetic Technology, an Associate of Science in Pre-Nutrition Science, and several certificate programs.

Organized job experience through cooperative education work assignments with leading business firms is a key component of the learning program. Business coursework, along with job-related activities during co-op terms, provide students with business skills and business experience.

Credits earned in the degree programs are transferable. Cincinnati State has established articulation agreements with the College of Mount St. Joseph, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Thomas More College, Xavier University, Northern Kentucky University, University of Cincinnati, Miami University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Union Institute and University, Wilmington College, and Franklin University.

Entrance Competencies

In order to ensure a high degree of success in academic studies in business technologies, entering students must meet established academic levels in mathematics, communication skills, and reading comprehension. To aid in determining these levels, entering students are required to take COMPASS®, the college admissions/placement test. If testing and previous academic background indicate that a student has not reached the necessary preparatory level, a divisional advisor will identify a group of classes to help the student reach needed levels. Preparatory classes are available year-round.

Cooperative Education – Working for Success Experience

Cooperative education allows students to apply concepts learned in the classroom to the business world and to gain practical experience that enhances employment after graduation. Therefore, in the Business Technologies Division all degree-seeking students (except in Dietetic Technician, Dietary Manager, and Pre-Nutrition Science) must earn credits in cooperative education.

The Business Technologies Division’s Working for Success Experience, a series of practice-oriented courses, ensures student success in preparing for and achieving career goals. The foundation for the program is the College First Year Experience course. This course prepares students for successful transition to college life.

The Working for Success Experience continues with BUS 190 Professional Practices. This course prepares students for cooperative education experience by learning fundamental skills required to gain employment such as goal setting, career research, resume writing, interviewing, and negotiating. After completing this course, students are ready for the practical experience provided by cooperative education.

The primary element in the Working for Success Experience is cooperative education, where classroom studies are integrated with work experience. Most students complete two semesters of meaningful employment that is structured, managed, and evaluated in a systematic way to help students realize their career goals. Students also complete learning modules to acquire additional skill sets necessary to sustain employment.

In exceptional situations students, in consultation with their program co-op coordinator, may fulfill the co-op requirement by completing Co-op Seminar courses (BUS 280 Cooperative Education Seminar 1 and BUS 285 Cooperative Education Seminar 2).

After students complete co-op requirements, they enroll in the third course of the Working for Success Experience, BUS 290 Business Competencies. This capstone course ties together the practice-oriented courses of the Working for Success Experience. Students complete educational units that build competencies needed to advance in their chosen field of work. The Business Competencies course includes mandatory community service. The capstone course helps students gain perspective on responsibiities to the community and form the foundation for good citizenship.

The Cooperative Education Requirement

  1. Students can meet the Business Technologies Division cooperative education requirement in these three ways:
    • Complete the traditional cooperative education work experiences
    • Fulfill the requirements by applying for advanced standing
    • Complete the Co-op Seminar classes satisfactorily (with prior approval of the co-op coordinator)
  2. To be eligible to participate in the cooperative education program, students must meet the following requirements:
    • Matriculate as a student.
    • Maintain a GPA of 2.0 or higher, and complete any required program technical courses. (See co-op coordinator for list.)
    • Attend a co-op orientation session, complete an application to co-op packet, and return it to the program co-op coordinator before consideration for placement.
    • Agree to follow the curriculum and meet all program requirements as specified.
    • Agree not to seek full-time employment with a co-op employer until graduation.
    • Understand that co-op students are not eligible for unemployment benefits for co-op positions, and as such, agree not to apply for them.
    • Gain prior coordinator approval if it is necessary to drop out of co-op employment and complete the remainder of the co-op requirements by taking co-op seminar courses. If students leave co-op employment, they are eligible to re-enter only with approval of the co-op coordinator.
  3. Students may complete the required co-op experience in full-time or part-time work, depending on the availability of positions. Students must meet with their co-op coordinator as soon as possible after admission to their academic program to complete their co-op plan.
  4. The Business Technologies Division assists students in completing their cooperative education work experiences. Although the division’s co-op coordinators are generally successful in finding interview opportunities for co-op students, there is no employment guarantee. If employment is unavailable, the co-op coordinator works with students on alternatives to fulfill the cooperative education requirement.

Transfer Module

The Ohio Board of Regents developed the transfer module to facilitate transfer of credits from one Ohio public college or university to another. The transfer module contains 36 to 40 semester hours of course credits in the areas of English, mathematics, arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and natural and physical sciences. A transfer module completed at one college or university automatically meets the requirements for the transfer module at another college or university once the student is admitted. For additional information, see the “State of Ohio Policy for Institutional Transfer ” and the “Transfer Module ” sections of this catalog.

Associate’s degree programs in the Business Technologies Division contain in their curricula most of the required courses for the Cincinnati State transfer module. Students who wish to complete the transfer module should schedule the additional courses at their convenience. Students who transfer to an Ohio public university for baccalaureate degrees will find that the Cincinnati State Associate of Applied Business degree, and other associate’s degrees, combined with a transfer module showing grades of C or higher receives preferential consideration at the receiving institution.