ACCT-130
Explore Business Management
Whether you're just starting out, changing careers or seeking to advance in your field, an online associate degree in business management can help you reach your goals.
Build Your Career Future
In today's complex business landscape, individuals who can effectively work in day-to-day business operations are in high demand. Our business management associate degree online program arms you with the business acumen necessary to succeed in a variety of career paths, providing you with both foundational business skills and in-demand soft skills that you can apply throughout your career. Plus, it's a solid stepping stone toward a full bachelor's degree in business management for those who are returning to school after time away, or embarking on their first degree.
Fast Start Formula Career Offerings
Increasing the career mobility of our students is at the center of everything we do. As an associate degree student, you get free access to the Fast Start Formula Career Bundle for getting noticed and getting hired, taught by Jen Morris, a leading executive career coach that partners with us to support our students in their job search journeys.
Learn More in an Information Session
Attend our upcoming Information Session for the business management degree to meet the program director and get your questions answered.
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Academic Excellence and Recognition

Regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education

Ranked among the Best Online Bachelor’s Programs by U.S. News & World Report

Designated as a Military Friendly School for our commitment to the military community

Named the among the best schools with accelerated bachelor's degrees by Intelligent.com
Move Your Business Career Forward
Business and financial occupations are expected to grow 8% from 2020 to 2030, which is faster than the average growth for all fields, as a result of an increasingly complex global business landscape. The median annual wage for these roles is $72,250.*
Graduates of Champlain's online business management associate degree program will be prepared to succeed in a variety of career paths across many fields and industries, including human resources, business analysis, administrative services, operations, and sales.
*Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2020; jobs titles: Payscale, 2020
Top Jobs for Associate in Business Management Graduates
- Administrative Assistant
- Executive Assistant
- HR Assistant
- Office Manager
- Operations Support Specialist
- Payroll Administrator

Program Details
Learn more about Champlain's 100% online business management associate degree.
Champlain's online business management courses encompass the top skills needed by today's business professionals. Graduates of the program are required to complete the following courses.
Professional Courses (33 credits)
General Education Courses (15 credits)
Human Behavior & Social Institutions (3 Credits)
Science Literacy (3 Credits)
General Electives (6 Credits)
Professional Courses (27 Credits):
The perspectives, beliefs, and preferences of employees in today's workplace are more diverse than perhaps ever before. Today's high-performing managers are those who foster inclusive, positive, and responsive organizational cultures for their people. But with such varied perspectives, what cultural considerations make the most sense for an organization? Management in the 21st Century will teach students how to foster a workplace environment where people can flourish and are motivated to meet objectives and ambitions for the organization.
The American Marketing Association defines Marketing as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. In this course, students will learn marketing terminology and principles including the marketing mix, marketing segmentation and how external forces impact marketing strategy as well as how marketing fits into the organization.The impact of ethical issues, diversity, globalization and social responsibility on marketing decisions will also be examined.
Accounting is the language of business. This course introduces the student to accounting from the point of view of the user of financial reports and is appropriate for personal as well as business applications. Students explore the impact of transactions on the financial position and profitability of a business, and analyze financial reports of real-world corporations.
Managerial accounting focuses on the needs of management for accounting information to make informed decisions in the internal operations of a company. Topics include decision-making, accounting for planning and control, cost-volume-profit relationships, and budgeting.
Prerequisites
Finding and utilizing the right data and information to help with business decision-making - this skill is indispensable to any business professional, no matter the field or discipline of business. Students learn how to find data - the right data - efficiently and accurately, using advanced search methods. Students will harness major resources and utilize databases, government resources, and financial websites. Students will also learn to utilize a system for developing research questions, choosing the right resources to substantiate a research plan and evaluate and organize business data into useful forms.
Students will learn about the application of positive individual and group strengths and capacities that can be recognized, evaluated, and expanded to advance organizational well-being. This course encourages students to apply positive organizational behavior processes to everyday challenges organizations face to drive positive workplace behaviors and outcomes. This course also helps students to practice and gain skills, knowledge, and competencies to become positive and impactful leaders and change-makers from whatever position they hold.
Project Management is the formal application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project-based activities to meet organizational requirements. Project management is accomplished through the use of processes such as Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. Project managers can divide projects into these phases to provide better management control with appropriate links to the ongoing operations of the organization. Collectively, these phases, known as the project life cycle, form the foundation for the practice of project management and are guided by the Body of Knowledge from the Project Management Institute (PMI).
Business managers must have an understanding of how organizations are financed in order to make more informed decisions. Managers must also recognize and assess the role of investment to business operations. By exploring the Time Value of Money and applying this principle to borrowing and lending decisions, students will learn how certain financial, capital budgeting and resource allocation decisions are made. Students also will learn how business forecasting assists business managers in developing longer-term strategic plans.
Prerequisites
ACCT-130
All businesses have information systems, and the vast majority of them are computerized. Students will study the development and use of information systems to achieve organizational goals. From a management perspective, students will learn how information systems enhance business processes, how to use information systems as a competitive advantage and their usefulness in integrating across organizations. Other topics include IS security, ethical issues surrounding information systems and the consequences of its international reach.
Business analytics and data visualization transform data into business insights to allow for better decision-making. This course utilizes a combination of existing datasets and common analytics tools to teach new and emerging managers, without backgrounds in data science, how to evaluate data, consider available options, and present a graphical representation of data outcomes for decision-makers.
Principles of Economics introduces the fundamental concepts of economics - the study of how people manage resources, and how they react to scarcity. This course focuses on both microeconomics (the behavior of consumers and companies) and macroeconomics (large-scale economic factors such as employment and interest rates), so that you'll gain a broad understanding of how a modern market economy functions, how decisions in business settings are informed by economics, and how economics applies to your everyday life.
General Education Courses (15 Credits):
This course draws on fundamental concepts of contemporary communication research to help students identify and develop strategies to become effective and versatile communicators across media and settings. Students will examine and respond to a range of interpersonal situations through the critical evaluation of the three essential components of all communication: its purpose, audience, and context. Students will leave the course with the ability to reflect on and adapt their strategies to successfully and consistently communicate for a range of purposes across diverse settings.
This course introduces students to the foundational concepts needed to communicate effectively in writing for academic study and professional development. Students will be introduced to rhetorical modes and their role in the development of written communication. Students will also learn how to use the four stages of the writing process--prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing--to create written communication that meets its intended purpose for its intended audience. A minimum grade of C is required for this course to meet a general education requirement.
This course builds on students' proficiency in the writing process and rhetorical modes to introduce the use of sources in written communication. Students will practice information literacy as they learn to determine information needs from sources, identify types of information resources, develop effective search strategies, and incorporate sources in written communication, legally and ethically. A minimum grade of C is required for this course to meet a general education requirement.
Prerequisites
Complete ENGL-100 with a minimum grade of C or better
Mathematical reasoning, when applied to everyday and professional lives, has two dimensions: logic for deterministic situations and probabilities for non-deterministic situations. This course aims to help students develop these mathematical reasoning skills.
Choose One:
This course builds on students' proficiency in using evidence from sources to support their own prior knowledge to using evidence from sources to develop persuasive communication for a range of purposes, including solving problems and pursuing opportunities in the workplace, in addition to academic study. Students will learn to articulate effective inquiry questions, recognize errors in logic, interpret the validity of persuasive communication created by others, and develop effective persuasive communication of their own using evidence from sources. The role of accurate citation of sources in persuasive communication will also be addressed. A minimum grade of C is required for this course to meet a general education requirement. Prerequisites: ENGL-100 The Writing Process & ENGL-110 Introduction to Using Evidence from Sources in Writing.
Prerequisites
Complete ENGL-100 and ENGL-110 with a minimum grade of C.
In this course, adult students demonstrate skills and knowledge from work and other life experiences in order to request credit for a specified degree requirement. Students use the conceptual framework of argumentation to make a logical case for credit in an e-portfolio. The portfolio will identify the context for the student's learning in the subject matter, trace its progression over time, and explain how the learning is equivalent to the specified CCO degree requirement. The student will then demonstrate proficiency in each course learning outcome and integrate the learning outcomes in a relevant case study. To achieve a course pass, the completed portfolio must demonstrate course outcome proficiency according to the framework and criteria described above. Portfolios meeting these criteria will be submitted to a faculty subject matter expert for evaluation.
Prerequisites
Full admission into a CCO degree program, ENGL 111, ENGL 112, and approved PLA plan. Students within 12 credits of degree completion are not eligible to take CRIT 200.
Science Literacy Course (3 Credits):
Students will develop the ability to apply scientific methods to understand the natural world, to identify scientific aspects of daily life, and to evaluate the quality of scientific information based on its source and the methods used for its generation.
Choose One Human Behavior & Social Institutions Course (3 Credits):
A survey of the science of psychology, including an overview of human behavior in various areas such as physiopsychology, development, learning social psychology, personality and abnormal behavior.
A study of human groups, culture, the self, and human interaction. The course focuses on contemporary American society and the influence of culture on our actions and beliefs, with the goal of fostering critical thinking about our social environment.
Provides a comprehensive analysis of the fundamentals of substantive criminal law. Students will learn the essential elements of crimes and the rationale underlying criminal law. The nature of jurisdiction, the criminal act, the criminal state of mind and matters affecting responsibility for criminal conduct are included.
This course focuses on the rules and procedures governing how the American criminal justice system must process individuals suspected, accused, and convicted of law violations.
This course provides students with a broad overview of the history, theory, and fundamentals of criminal investigation. Students are introduced to the basic responsibilities of investigators and protocols for report writing, evidence collection, and preparation of cases for trial. They also learn specific investigative techniques for different types of crimes, such as crimes involving violence and property, terrorism, and hate crimes, and, where appropriate, compare investigative protocols from other legal cultures.
Prerequisites
Take CRIM-120, CRIM-121.
Principles of Economics introduces the fundamental concepts of economics - the study of how people manage resources, and how they react to scarcity. This course focuses on both microeconomics (the behavior of consumers and companies) and macroeconomics (large-scale economic factors such as employment and interest rates), so that you'll gain a broad understanding of how a modern market economy functions, how decisions in business settings are informed by economics, and how economics applies to your everyday life.
Graduates of the business management associate online program will demonstrate the following skills, knowledge, and competencies:
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Interpret strengths-based approaches to management and leadership and how they support organizational success.
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Comprehend how successful communications and interactions in organizations are achieved through timely, purposeful, clear, respectful, and confident written and verbal means.
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Translate financial and economic information and understand its role in informing business decisions.
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Use technology to capture, analyze, and share organizational data in order to support the creation of business value.
Champlain College Online's business management faculty, led by Program Director Dr. Albert Orbinati, are expert practitioners in the field. Their industry expertise ensures that our business management curriculum is aligned with the needs of employers, and reflects the skills today’s business professionals need for success. Classes led by our seasoned experts will give you real-world insight into the business world, and create a rich community of career-focused learning.
Alumni of the Champlain College Online associate in business management program work in corporations, small businesses, government organizations, and non-profits nationwide, including:
- Comcast Communications
- Defense Travel Management Office
- Forrester Research
- Fresh Tracks Capital
- IBM Corporation
- Keurig Dr. Pepper
- Liberty Mutual
- UVM Health Network Home Health & Hospice
Titles our alumni hold include:
- Assistant Manager, Receivables
- Bookkeeper
- Client Success Specialist
- HR Business Partner
- Officer Manager
- Practice Supervisor
- Production Coordinator
- Resource Specialist
Tuition & Costs
Online Undergraduate Tuition Fall '22 - Summer '23
*Based on a 3-credit course; cost will vary if course is a different number of credits
Affordability
Cost shouldn't be a barrier to going back to school. We provide a number of options to make your online education affordable.
Upcoming Information Session
Meet the Program Director

Albert Orbinati
PhD- Business (A.S., B.S., Certificates)
- Economic Crime Investigation (B.S.)
About
Albert Orbinati, PhD, is Assistant Professor and Program Director for the undergraduate business administration programs at Champlain College Online.
He has worked in various roles within the higher education and military arenas for over 15 years. Prior to Champlain, Dr. Orbinati's roles have included Assistant Vice President of Online Learning and Continuing Education at Medaille College in Buffalo, NY, Dean of the School of Professional and Continuing Education at The Sage Colleges in Albany, NY, and Director of Online and Non-Traditional Programs at Utica College in Utica, NY. He has also been an adjunct professor for the past eight years in Utica College's cybersecurity program.
In addition to his career in higher education, Dr. Orbinati is a member of the U.S. military, and currently holds the rank of Major in the Vermont Air National Guard and is the lead for marketing efforts in the State of Vermont.
Dr. Orbinati holds a B.A. in Urban Planning from Binghamton University, an M.A. in Adult Education from Central Michigan University, an M.B.A from Champlain College, and a Ph.D. in Adult Education from Capella University.
Why Champlain

Affordability & Flexibility
"The affordability and flexibility I found at Champlain made obtaining my degree an achievable goal. The programs are rigorous, and the combination of the educational material with soft skills was invaluable and directly applicable to my workplace."
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