Program Outline
This outline covers all four semesters of your at-home degree program. You will receive credit for previous college course work if you meet Penn Foster College standards. If you wish to receive credit for previous course work, contact the college you attended and ask that your official transcripts be forwarded to Penn Foster College for evaluation. All previous college work must have been completed with a grade of "C" or better, and as much as 75% of the required credits may be transferred. We will also credit your tuition for all the courses that are acceptable.
System Requirements
You will need access to a Microsoft® Windows®-based computer to complete this program. Penn Foster recommends the following as minimum specifications: Pentium® II or better processor, using Microsoft® Windows® XP or later. You will also need access to the Internet and Microsoft® Office 2007 to complete portions of this program.
Online Library and Librarian
Students at Penn Foster College have
access to an online library during
their college studies. Students can
use the library to do the required
course research or for general reference
and links to valuable resources. The
library contains helpful research assistance,
articles, databases, books, and Web
links. A librarian is available to
answer questions on general research-related
topics via email and will assist students
in research activities.
SEMESTER ONE |
Basic Skills Assessment
All degree applicants are required to complete two Basic Skills Assessments, one in reading and one in math, to determine the level of readiness for beginning their selected program. Additional studies may be required.
BUS100 – Business Orientation (1 credit)
Introduction to distance learning; study skills and techniques; reading textbooks and study guides; reviewing for examinations. Four basic life goals; individual life goals and steps needed to fulfill them; similarities between personal financial goals and business goals; determining personal financial goals; setting up a budget; researching, planning, starting up, and maintaining a business.
ENG103 – Information Literacy (1 credit)
Teaches students to become effective in finding and utilizing information at libraries and other information centers, and through electronic resources available in libraries and on the World Wide Web.
BUS101 – Introduction to Business (3 credits)
Business in a global environment; starting and growing a business; human resources; marketing; information and technology; finances. (Required textbook provided with the course.)
BUS110 – Principles of Management (3 credits)
The business environment; planning; organizing; leading and controlling. (Required textbook provided with the course.)
MAT106 – Math for Business and Finance (3 credits)
Percentages; discounts; interest; present worth; sinking funds; installment buying; pricing; depreciation; investments; insurance; use of symbols and their applications, equations and formulas; importance of statistics. (Required textbook provided with the course.)
General Education Elective (Choose one):
- HUM102 - Art Appreciation (3 credits)
Artistic media; historical periods and artistic movements; roles of the artist and the viewer; art criticism.
- HUM104 - Music Appreciation (3 credits)
Appreciating music; roles of composer and listener; principles of music theory and instrumentation; historical periods; varying styles of music.
Proctored Examination*
|
SEMESTER TWO
MKT301 - Marketing
The marketing environment; planning, information, and segmentation; consumer and business buyer behavior; product and distribution strategy; promotion and pricing strategy. (Required textbook provided with this course.)
CSC104 - Computer Applications
Hardware and software; computer networks; information systems; personal computer systems; legal and ethical dilemmas. Software applications include creating a resume, spreadsheet, and slide presentation.
ENG100 - English Composition
Writing difficulties; grammar review (sentences, parts of speech, punctuation marks, and paragraphs); defining unfamiliar terms; finding ideas through free writing and brainstorming; organizing ideas; principles of revising and editing; figures of speech; writing for the senses; getting the readers' attention; descriptive writing; first-person narratives; reflective and persuasive essays; thesis statements. (Required textbook provided with the course.)
SSC130 - Essentials of Psychology (3 credits)
Biology and behavior; consciousness; memory; thought and language; intelligence; personality and gender; stress; community influences.
BUS121 - Economics I (3 credits)
Macroeconomics; the cost of living; monetary systems; international factors; short-run economic fluctuations.
INT114 - Internet Marketing and E-Commerce (3 credits)
Provides a concise introduction to electronic commerce with balanced coverage of both technology and business topics; contains a comprehensive online companion that links the concepts in the book to real online examples; security, implementation, ethics, and legal issues in electronic commerce; case studies of real businesses.
Proctored Examination*
SEMESTER THREE
MAT120 - College Algebra (3 credits)
This course introduces students to basic algebraic concepts. Topics covered include the real number system, exponents, scientific notation, equation of lines, graphing, inequalities, absolute values, polynomials, factoring polynomials, and rational expressions.
ENG121 - Business and Technical Writing (3 credits)
Writing styles; ABC method of organizing material; grammar (parts of speech, active and passive voice, complete sentences vs. sentence fragments; parallel construction); using action verbs; constructing paragraphs; writing memos, business letters, and e-mails; organizing material; conducting research; documenting sources; outlining; providing illustrations; writing reports, proposals, descriptions, instructions, articles, and manuals.
ACC111 - Financial Accounting (3 credits)
Analyzing transactions; completing the accounting cycle; merchandising businesses; inventories, assets, and liabilities; and corporations, stocks, bonds, and cash flow.
MKT320 - Consumer Behavior (3 credits)
Influencing consumer behavior; consumer decision-making; effects on research and marketing; environmental influences; ethical responsibility.
MAT210 - Business Statistics (3 credits)
Presentation of data; frequency distribution; averages; dispersion and skewness; index numbers; time series analysis; correlation and forecasting; the theory of probability and statistical inference.
Proctored Examination*
SEMESTER FOUR
MKT340 - Retail Management (3 credits)
Organization of retail stores; basics of retailing; management of a successful retail business; merchandising principles.
BUS310 - Merchandising Planning and Buying (3 credits)
The goal of supply chain management is to develop a corporate team, consisting of suppliers, producers, and retailers, all working together for the common goal of profitability. Supply chain management teaches competitive strategies, customer fulfillment strategies, product development processes, cost management, how to design a global supply chain, and relationship management.
MKT260 - Marketing Research (3 credits)
Nature and scope of marketing research; sampling and sampling methods; primary and secondary data sources; questionnaire scales; data analysis; development of summary statistics.
General Education Elective (Choose one):
- SCI140 - Nutrition (3 credits)
Personal decision-making about nutrition; nutrition science; water; exercise; human growth and aging; safety of the food supply; the global view.
- SCI110 - Earth Science (3 credits)
Surveys a broad range of topics within the fields of geology, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy.
- SCI120 - Introduction to Biology (3 credits)
An introductory course that explains the origin of life and the relationships between all living things. It describes how a significant number of organisms are structured and how they work, in order to enable students to discuss intelligently the various forms of life and their processes.
BUS220 - Supply Chain Management (3 credits)
Merchandising and retail buying involve domestic as well as global markets, various ethnicities, in addition to the everyday tasks of working with wholesalers and the consumer market. This course covers topics such as buying for off-price and off-site retail operations, the buyer’s role, buying for various retail operations, multiculturalism, merchandising policies, making the purchase, foreign market purchasing, business etiquette when traveling abroad, purchasing on the Internet, negotiating the purchase price and amount of products.
Proctored Examination*
We reserve the right to change program content and materials when it becomes necessary.
* As a degree candidate, you will take a proctored examination at the end of each semester on selected courses within that semester. We make it easy because you pick the location and the person you want to supervise the exam, as long as Penn Foster College's established policy and qualifications are met. Complete information packets with procedures will be provided well in advance, before completion of final semester coursework.
Note: Advanced standing student shipments may vary from the above schedule.
A High School Diploma or GED is required to enroll in this degree program.
Although this outline covers all four semesters of the Retail Management Degree Program, you receive lesson materials for each semester as you enroll.
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