Cooperative Education

Cooperative Education is a college experience in which students work part-time, acquire academic credit along with on-the-job training, and are paid for the work they do. Occasionally, students are allowed to volunteer their time where the experience is considered valuable and the sponsor is unable to pay the students. For career students, Cooperative Education offers an opportunity to gain experience in their chosen field and to audition for a potential full-time employer. Cooperative Education courses are available in the following business programs: Accounting Business Management Criminal Justice Golf Management International Business Law Enforcement Marketing Paralegal Studies

         Articulated Credit

RVCC has three high school outreach programs available: 1) Senior Year Option / Dual Enrollment – qualified high school seniors enroll in and take courses at RVCC as part of their high school load; students pay $25 application fee (if it is their first time applying to RVCC) and a $150 course fee; additional courses are at full tuition 2) High School Scholars / Early Credits – qualified high school students, could be juniors or seniors, enroll in and take courses at RVCC outside of their high school course load students pay $25 application fee (if it is their first time applying to RVCC) and a $150 course fee; additional courses are at full tuition 3) Concurrent Enrollment – qualified high school juniors or seniors enroll in RVCC courses that get held at the high school as part of the high school day. students pay $25 application fee (if it is their first time applying to RVCC) and the full course tuition; all other fees are waived In each case, students must meet both their high school’s and RVCC’s definition of “qualified,” and so they must obtain the signature of their high school guidance counselor and an RVCC academic advisor before enrolling in class. They must register as a non-matriculated part-time student; and they may apply these credits to a degree program at RVCC or transfer the credits to another institution.

   Service Learning

Service Learning at Raritan Valley Community College gives students the opportunity to serve the community as part of their academic course work. The faculty in certain courses offer students the option of volunteering at a community site as a course assignment or as an extra-credit project. In community-based courses, all enrolled students do volunteer work as one of the course requirements. The faculty member sets the specific requirements, but in courses in which Service Learning is an option, most students perform about 30 hours of volunteer work during the semester. Students also reflect and report on their experience in a journal, papers, and/or classroom discussions. Some past Service Learning volunteer activities in the Business Administration Department include: Accounting services; Alternative Dispute Resolution assistance; Marketing surveys and data collection; Assistance in formation of business and marketing plans; Assistance in simplifying statutory language for brochures.

Honors Program

An Honors course enriches and challenges students beyond a course's regular scope and curriculum. Depending on the discipline, many courses are conducted in seminar fashion, and all provide individualized attention. Honors courses offer sophisticated use of research; introduce intellectually stimulating reading and critical perspectives; promote a higher level of discussion and written work; and encourage independent study and critical thinking. An Honors course is a privileged domain, where creativity and the free exchange of ideas are nurtured among other like-minded students. The Business & Public Service Department participates in the Honors program by providing the following courses: Accounting Using Microcomputers (ACCT 225) - Honors Option The Honors Option student will participate in the Enhanced Learning program of the college. In this program, the student works on a project with a small business (under the auspices of the Small Business Development Center). The project, in line with the subject matter of the course, will relate in some way to the use of QuickBooks in the small business. This may take the form of setting up the business to use QuickBooks; instructing the small business owner in the use of QuickBooks or interpretation of its reports; customizing an existing installation of QuickBooks; or some combination of the preceding. Business Law II (BUSI 132) - Honors Option The Honors Option for this course is designed to enrich and challenge students beyond the regular scope of the course. The honors project will require a student to, in consultation with the instructor, develop a research project in an area of law that holds special interest for the student (this project is not done by non-honors students in the class). Since Business Law II is a survey course, the content provides the student with many options for in depth study. At the culmination of the project, the student will produce a research paper on an emerging topic in the area of law of their choosing. In addition, they will conduct an information discussion with the class about their research and their findings.  Entrepreneurship and Beyond (BUSI225) - Honors Option The honors option for this course will enhance the working knowledge required to manage a small business emphasizing the real-world financing of entrepreneurship, mergers and acquisitions, while introducing the academic rigor and prior demonstrated excellence in the discipline that is characteristic of Honors courses. The Honors Option for this course requires a) specialized research (in the areas of merger and acquisitions), b) a study project that assesses economic feasibility in a global context, and c) face-to-face interaction with entrepreneurs (in an interview and a lecture evaluation). Honors Macroeconomics (ECON101H) Like the regular introduction to Macroeconomics, this course introduces students to the foundations of economic theory and will cover issues such as unemployment, economic growth, and inflation. This Honors course, however, will also examine such topics as the macroeconomic effects of international trade in more detail than the regular course. Moreover, it will look into the cutting edge idea that continual economic growth might not only be unfeasible, but also intrinsically undesirable; that is, the class will examine the possibilities for stopping economic growth and at the same time improving material well-being even by conventional standards. Macroeconomics (ECON 101) - Honors Option The Honors Option for this course is designed to enrich and challenge students beyond the regular scope of the course. The honors project will require a student to, in consultation with the instructor, develop a research project in an area of macroeconomics that holds special interest for the student (this project is not done by non-honors students in the class). Since Macroeconomics is a survey course, the content provides the student with many options for in depth study. At the culmination of the project, the student will produce a research paper on a topic in the area of their choosing. Microeconomics (ECON 102) - Honors Option The Honors Option for this course is designed to enrich and challenge students beyond the regular scope of the course. The honors project will require a student to, in consultation with the instructor, develop a research project in an area of macroeconomics that holds special interest for the student (this project is not done by non-honors students in the class). Since Microeconomics is a survey course, the content provides the student with many options for in depth study. At the culmination of the project, the student will produce a research paper on a topic in the area of their choosing. Marketing I (MRKT101) - Honors Option In addition to the basic requirements of the course, students registering for the Honors Option will be required to do an additional project related to a marketing issue. The topic will be chosen by the student with approval of the instructor. The projects can involve a “real life” project with the Enhanced or Service Learning programs, or an in-depth study/research paper on a marketing topic. Students must meet the requirements of the Honors program to enroll in these classes, generally a minimum GPA of 3.5 and completion of at least two credit-bearing courses (6 credits), earned either at RVCC or at another institution of higher learning. Visit Raritan Valley Community College's Honors Program Web Page for more information.

 

Business Simulation Seminar

Prerequisites: ACCT 104 Managerial Accounting, BUSI 111 Introduction to Business Administration, BUSI 131 Business Law I, ECON 101 Macroeconomics and Sophomore Standing. This course is designed to be a capstone course for the AAS degree programs in Accounting, Accounting Information Systems, Business Management, Financial Services, International Business, and Marketing. The course will give students a comprehensive view of business strategies by integrating knowledge and skills acquired from the various business disciplines into one class. An online business simulation program will be used as the basis of the course. Working in groups, students will manage a mock business, and compete against each other to run the most efficient business possible. This course is designed to enhance student awareness of both internal and external factors that influence strategic decision making in organizations.

RVCC Business & Public Service Department