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

Executive Summary
This application to PEQAB is for a Bachelor of Commerce (Digital Marketing) program that is one of a
cluster of four Bachelor of Commerce programs proposed for the Lawrence Kinlin School of Business at
Fanshawe College.
The Bachelor of Commerce (Digital Marketing) program is designed to provide students with a wellrounded,
four‐year undergraduate education through an inter‐disciplinary mix of courses in Marketing,
Accounting, Economics, Operations, and Management. The latter two years will be focused on
developing marketing competency through a combination of “strategic” marketing courses combined
with hands‐on skill development in digital marketing.
In the cluster of Bachelor of Commerce programs under development, the other three areas of
specialization complementing the Digital Marketing specialization are Accounting, Human Resources
Management, and Leadership and Management. These four areas of study represent the four largest
program areas in the Lawrence Kinlin School of Business (LKSB). The College has a strong complement of
full‐time and adjunct faculty members in these areas, including PhD and Masters level professors, and
has committed to hiring several more terminal degree professors in 2012‐14.
With the required faculty, resources, and policies and procedures in place to support learning and
student success, the College clearly has the capacity to deliver these Bachelor of Commerce programs in
a manner that will meet or exceed PEQAB’s expectations. The LKSB has developed significant strength
and market presence for delivering post‐secondary education in business diplomas, advanced diplomas,
and post‐graduate certificates. Fanshawe is the sixth largest college in Ontario, with over 17,000 postsecondary
enrolments annually, and the Lawrence Kinlin School of Business is the largest academic
division within Fanshawe College.
Especially pertinent to this program proposal, Fanshawe has developed specific competence and
industry presence in digital marketing through its advanced diploma and graduate certificate marketing
programs.
The Lawrence Kinlin School of Business engaged Academica Group Inc. to help with establishing,
through primary and secondary research, the feasibility of developing the Bachelor of Commerce
programs, and further to help determine the focus for each of the programs. The research report is
included as Appendix A.
Academica strongly endorsed the economic need for and viability of the Bachelor of Commerce (Digital
Marketing) program. In this relatively new and exceptionally vibrant industry, the demand for digital
marketing specialists was found to be very strong. In its competitive scan, Academica determined that
colleges and universities in Ontario have made little attempt to address this labour market shortage.
Humber College offers a degree program in e‐Business Marketing that is similar in scope, but more
focused on e‐Business than on digital marketing. Although several university programs are offered with
specialization in marketing, none have any significant content related to digital marketing. The digital
Bachelor of Commerce (Digital Marketing)
ix