Associate in Arts — Business Administration & Accounting
The Associate in Arts (AA) degree is designed for students who want to pursue a four-year degree in one of the liberal arts disciplines or training at a professional school that requires a strong liberal arts background. Upon transfer, students who earn the Associate in Arts degree generally major in fields such as anthropology, business, communication, economics, English, foreign language, geography, history, humanities, music, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology.
Earning a degree in Accounting or Business Administration opens up many professional career opportunities in manufacturing, service, corporate and non-profit settings.
Credentialing Options
Frequently Asked Questions
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 (BUS 110) and Small Business Management (BUS 230) 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 M.B.A.. 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.
Dr. Mark Harrison, Associate Professor, teaches a variety of Business Administration and Accounting classes. He is committed to preparing students to be productive employees and to help them achieve their professional goals. Dr. Harrison learned about business the old fashioned way. He worked in a grocery store and several factories, including a furniture factory, a cookie factory, and a corrugated box factory. He also served as the accountant for a law firm. Dr. Harrison has drawn upon these experiences to create a rich learning environment as an instructor at High Point University (1998-2000), Southeastern University (2006-2015), and at GTCC (2000-2006, 2015-present). When he is not teaching, Dr. Harrison serves as the head of the audit committee at his local church and enjoys swimming, traveling, and playing video games.
Education:
- High Point University, BS in Business Administration/Finance Concentration
- High Point University, MBA
- Nova Southeastern University, DBA in 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.
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.