Jamestown Business College Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rosanne Johanson

September 4, 2007

(716) 664-5100

Jamestown Business College Becomes a Four-Year College

Jamestown, N.Y. — Jamestown Business College is now a four-year college. According to JBC president Tyler Swanson, the New York State Education Department has granted the college the legal authority to offer a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Management.

The announcement was made at a press conference held on Tuesday, September 4, at the college's Fairmount Avenue campus. Swanson noted that, "The college's faculty and staff, at the direction of a very forward thinking Board of Trustees, has worked very hard for nearly five-years to make the Bachelor Degree authority a reality. On behalf of all the students who will benefit from their efforts, "I say Thank You!"

Swanson introduced JBC Board Chairman Douglas Schutte who said. "I speak fro the members of the college's Board of Trustees and would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the college's faculty and staff fro their commitment and hard work that resulted in this accomplishment. They are a very conscientious and dedicated group of people."

He went on to say, "This is a student-driven initiative." The primary impetus for the proposal came from the requests of JBC graduates, many of whom studied utilizing the college's evening/weekend program. "When the students spoke, the college listened." At JBC, Students Come First. In 2002, the Board engaged in discussions that resulted in a three-year study to determine the feasibility of the project. In 2005, the entire college community unanimously endorsed the pursuit of the B.B.A. degree.

The process of obtaining approval included attaining Middle States Commission on Higher Education accreditation as a Bachelor Degree institution. This was in addition to obtaining the legal authority to grant the degree. Both initiatives required the college community to complete a comprehensive self-examination to determine its readiness to offer the new degree.

The college's vice president and academic dean, David Conklin, charged the faculty with the responsibility for development of a curriculum for the new degree. "Our planning and assessment process includes formal and informal information gathering. It quickly became clear that the students, alumni, and employers who were surveyed favored the initiative. A faculty committee worked for more than two years developing each course offering of the new program.

"We are all very excited about the addition of this new curriculum." Conklin went on to define this as an upper-division offering. All B.B.A. students will earn a JBC Associate Degree with a minimum grade average of B minus. The new program will be scheduled in the college's evening/weekend format. This format, which is may be unlike any other, allows students to attend class two evenings and Saturday morning each week. Students take one course at a time, are classified as full-time students, and can complete an associate degree in two years. Associate degree students will then be able to complete a bachelor degree in just seven additional terms-approximately 21 months. "We just go better!" We now offer both Associate and Bachelor Degrees!

JBC student Linda Sobina also addressed the group present for the announcement. "I would like all of you to know how excited I am to have the opportunity to complete my bachelor degree here at JBC. Just as all the other JBC students and graduates, I too, selected JBC from available options in the local area. I was attracted to the evening/weekend schedule, as it allows me to work full-time and yet complete my education in a normal time frame. JBC is definitely my choice for completing my bachelor degree! I would also like to thank the college for making access to a bachelor degree a reality for me."

Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards addressed the group as to the benefit of the new degree to the community. "I am sure I speak for all the entire community when I say that this is exciting news for all of us. I am so pleased to be part of the unveiling of Jamestown Business College's bachelor degree program, as it will provide a direct and positive impact on our community. The college is to be commended for providing educational access to students who may otherwise find it difficult to complete a four-year degree. I also applaud the college for the hard work required to complete this initiative.

The college will begin offering classes later in the 2007-2008 academic year.

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