Toronto Education

“It’s a program that covers all of the key areas of business — so everything from human resource to marketing, operations and internationals business,” says Deborah Warren the coordinator of Business Administration training at Centennial College. “We also offer a work placement, which allows students to work for three semesters in an organization. They have to go through a whole interview process just the way they would if they were looking for a full-time position. What we find is our students have a tendency to go out and work in a variety of areas: Some go on to open their own business, some are in management, and we also have a lot of customer service representatives. We’re really quite a broad program in terms of what we offer students and where they can go after they graduate.”

While Ms. Warren gives a great overview of the program, let’s take a look at the specifics. The three-year Business Administration diploma offering is aimed at those whose ultimate goal it is to become front-line managers in business across any type of industry. To apply, Centennial College expects students to have completed at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. They are also required to have the compulsory English 12C or U credit or skills assessment, or equivalent and the Math 11C, M or U, or 12C or U credit or skills assessment, or equivalent.

Throughout the Business Administration diploma program, emphasis is placed on sound theoretical grounding, critical thinking and analysis, rigorous problem solving, effective business presentations, relevance and application to the world of business management.

The program is designed to ensure that students graduate with a solid understanding of the macro-environment of business, the industry-specific contexts of a variety of business enterprises and the economics of particular industries. Students also learn the range of tasks and managerial practices in all the areas of business including: finance and accounting, management information systems, general management leadership, operations management, human resources management, marketing, international business, entrepreneurship, supply chain management and project management. Specific business administration diploma courses include: Mathematics of Finance (through classroom instruction, students will review basic algebra as applied to business issues. Student are also introduced to the common practices in consumer finance as used by Canadian companies); Financial Accounting (introduces simple tools to allow students to analyze financial information and explain the information contained in the financial statements in their future roles as managers, investors, or other users of financial accounting information); Management Principles (critical thinking in assessing both management theory and practice is stressed throughout the course); and more.

In order to graduate with a business administration college, students must achieve a minimum C grade average and 2.0 GPA.