Revamped business technology programs begin in fall

  POPLARVILLE – Pearl River Community College students can enroll now for a new business management technology program at the Forrest County Center in Hattiesburg as well as on the Poplarville campus.
  The program incorporates elements of the current office systems technology program which will be phased out when current students graduate in 2017, said Debbie Ferrill, department chair at the Forrest County Center.
  The current health care data technology program will undergo a name change to medical billing and coding and will also be available at both campuses.
  Courses in the new business management technology program will include introduction to business management, introduction to marketing, social media management, payroll accounting, entrepreneurial problem solving and human resource management.
  The courses can be taken completely online or in traditional classroom settings or a combination of both. Students can receive a 30-hour Career Certificate or a 60-hour Associate in Applied Science degree in business management technology.
  Approximately two-thirds of the medical billing and coding program is also available online. However, six courses during the last two semesters have to be taken in the traditional classroom setting.
  “We look at each student individually and try to design a class schedule that will fit their lifestyle,” Ferrill said. “Whether they work full time, have a family with children, lack transportation and/or child care, we will do what we can to provide a schedule that will help them earn a degree as soon as possible so they can secure a better job and a career that they will enjoy.” 
  Two new courses will be added to the medical billing and coding curriculum – Principles of Anatomy and Physiology I and electronic health records, Ferrill said.   Students completing the program will earn the 60-hour AAS degree.
  The courses in both programs will be available on both campuses, starting with the fall 2016 semester. Some courses at the Forrest County Center may be taught by instructors in Poplarville using a Polycom system which allows for two-way video communication.
  For more information about the programs, call Debbie Ferrill at 601 554-5512 at the Forrest County Center or Sonya Hunt at 601 403-1101 on the Poplarville campus.