The mission of the Division of Business and Information Technologies (housed in the Dr. Perry W. Ward Building) reflects the application of Lawson State’s overall mission to the field of Business and Technology. To accomplish this mission, the Division offers programs to provide students with specialized training and skills that will enable them to become employable and competent in their discipline, provide students with skills that will allow them to matriculate successfully in a four-year college or university setting, provide knowledge and skills that will prepare students to function as intelligent citizens and consumers in a business-oriented society, and meet the special needs of the community; a Small Business Development Center that offers services to entrepreneurs so they can build a growing and stable platform that will enable them to expand; assistance with campus online courses using BlackBoard and registering them as a Southern Regional Electronic Course (SREC); and various areas of training to business and industry and the community. We specialize in providing state-of-the-art, highly marketable programs. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the skills obtains from our highly skilled instructors train individuals for more than 250 occupations as well has refresh existing skills. The curriculum provides students with a broad understanding of business, accounting, office administration, a competence in business computer programming, and knowledge of information technology infrastructure.
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DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSES - The Business and Information Technologies Division offers selective distance education courses in every degree plan. The Distance Education program at Lawson State Community College is designed to provide online educational opportunities for learners, regardless of their location or time constraints. The college provides high quality, cost-effective educational experiences that emphasize institutional strengths and are responsive to the needs of both on-campus and off-campus learners.
ONLINE PROGRAMS - The Business and Information Technologies Division offers two (2) fully online Business Transfer (AA) degrees. The AA degrees are designed to allow students to easily transfer to four-year institutions. Upon completion of the degree, each student would transfer to the four-year institution as a third-year student—junior classification. By coming to the community college first, the student will benefit from a substantially lower tuition for the first two years of their B.S. degree. The Business Administration (5 Core Courses + 9 Hours [3 classes] of Electives) degree is signed for students interested in Management careers and Accounting. The Business Education degree (1 Core Course—21 Hours [7 Classes] of Electives) is for those students interested in all other Business Technology areas other than Management and Accounting such as Sales, Business Teacher Education (High School), Marketing, Health Information Technicians, Health Information Management, Web Designers, Law, Consultants, Insurance Brokers, Entrepreneurship, Computer Science, etc. NOTE: Please remember, since program requirements differ between universities, each student is required to use STARS as a guide in order to adjust (electives) the transferring program to your required needs. Also a GPA of 2.0 must be maintained in the programs.
DEGREE/CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS - The following programs are offered in the Business and Information Technologies Division: Business Administration (AA); Business Education (AA); Accounting Technology (AAS); Business Management and Supervision (AAS); Computer Science--Business; Computer Science--
DUAL ENROLLMENT - The Business and Information Technologies Division also offers dual enrollment courses. Dual enrollment is a program that allows high school students (usually sophomores, juniors, and seniors) to enroll in college courses for credit prior to high school graduation. College credits earned through dual enrollment can be simultaneously applied toward high school and college graduation and can be transferred to other colleges or universities.
SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER - The Small Business Development Center provides customized training for business, industry, governmental agencies, etc. The Center assists small business owners and prospective business owners with business plans as they relate to starting and/or maintaining a successful small business.