Bachelor of Commerce (Digital Marketing) - Postsecondary ...

And the competitive market is less saturated as approximately eight universities and one college in
Ontario currently offer a concentration in marketing. There are few offerings in e‐Marketing.
Laurentian University offers an e‐Business Science degree (HBcomm) that blends commerce and
computer science. And three universities offer web‐based marketing courses: Wilfrid Laurier offers a
course in e‐Business; Algoma University offers a course in Marketing on the Internet; and, Lakehead
University offers a course in Social Marketing.
Humber College is currently the only college that offers a marketing degree program with a
specialization in e‐Business. It is also the only marketing degree program (including universities) that
appears to require mandatory co‐op completion. The one cautionary note is that applications to and
enrollment numbers in the program have fluctuated over the past five years indicating moderate
success compared to other college degree offerings. First choice applications ranged from 53 to 86
and enrollments ranged from 8 to 29 in each of the past five years. The program draws 9.7% of all its
applications from western catchment areas and 6.9% from eastern areas.
The proposed specializations with most appeal among employers were Digital Marketing, followed
by Marketing Analysis and Research, and Marketing and IT. Among Students, it was Marketing and
Entrepreneurship and Digital Marketing, followed by Marketing and IT.
While half of Employers were not able to identify shortages in the future, those who did noted the
greatest shortages would be in the web‐related positions such as Digital Marketing Analyst, Search
Engine Marketing Specialist, Digital Marketing Specialist, and Search Engine Optimization Specialist.
Accounting
Accounting is a core program area in business and while there is an abundance of competitive options
for obtaining a degree in this area, applications and enrollments remain steady and among the highest
of all college business degree programs currently offered. The research indicates that there is some
potential in this offering although there is some risk of saturating the market with accounting degree
graduates.
The research indicates that the demand side exists for an Accounting program among students. A
trends analysis shows an increase or steady trend in college applications to the program area of
Accounting (including degree programs). And while Accounting students were more likely to
originally consider university as an option for pursuing a degree, likely due to professional
accreditation requirements, the proposed Accounting degree program at Fanshawe College held a
great level of appeal once Students read the description.
However, the demand side of the equation among Employers does not indicate as much need.
Approximately half of Employers interviewed believed that supply of qualified accounting candidates
would be sufficient in the next five to ten years, while a small proportion felt that supply would not
keep pace with demand (half were not able to provide any projections). Some shortage was
perceived for positions such as Taxation Specialists and Cost & Management Accounts. Overall,
however, demographic projections show that demand for accounting occupations will be based in
large part on replacement demand – almost half of Financial Auditors and Accountants in the
London‐Woodstock area were over 45 years of age based on Canada 2006 Census.
LKSB Degree Program Feasibility Study • 2011
54