B.S. in Human Resource Management (Online)

The Human Resource Management degree program is an executive format non-traditional bachelor’s degree program designed specifically for the working adult student. Individuals seeking admission to the program are generally expected to be above 23 years of age and to have completed two years of college study with a minimum GPA of 2.0 on suggested entrance competencies. The HRM program is focused on the working adult’s professional and educational goals. It is intended to provide an introduction to, and an overview of, the field of human resource management. The program will benefit individuals in fields such as insurance, banking, law enforcement, sales, government, general administration, or military service.

The program is designed to be completed in one (1) year and will fit into the working adult’s busy schedule. Classes are held completely online.

Classes are structured to combine theory with application, thus allowing adult students to learn from one another.

The student will participate in fifteen courses which address pertinent issues and ideas related to the student’s success. These sessions provide hands-on, immediate practice on the job. Detailed course descriptions are given later in this catalog. An emphasis on effective interpersonal communications permeates the program. Forty-five semester hours are earned by completing the HRM courses.

Program Highlights

In addition to facilitating professional growth and development in a multitude of ways, the HRM program, being totally structured with two modules in each semester, has the following advantages:

1. Credit for prior undergraduate work at accredited institutions.
2. All courses delivered completely online.
3. Six entry points per year.
4. Completion within 12 months.
5. All classes taken with other motivated and dedicated adults.
6. Moderate tuition package with choice of individualized tuition plans for the working adult.

Program Objectives

1. Facilitate professional growth by exposure to organizational culture and development of conceptual and diagnostic skills via a curriculum designed and structured for executive education.
2. Focus on organizational behavior and the managerial dimensions of attitudes, personality, perception, learning, roles, norms, and techniques for managing work groups.
3. Enhance the students’ knowledge and understanding of the current issues and theories of human resource management.
4. To describe concepts and approaches underlying human resource management.
5. Recognize various elements that constitute an organization’s external and internal environments and their possible impact upon management.
6. Identify demographic, cultural, and ethical differences occurring within a society, and their implications for management.
7. Appreciate the major laws and court decisions affecting equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.
8. Explain various factors that must be taken into account when designing a job and how these factors motivate employees.
9. Explain the role of communication in management; identify barriers to communication and cite requisites for effective communication.
10. Familiarize students with concepts of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling.
11. Improve the students’ capacity for effective decision making in organizations.
12. Provide a practical understanding of the total enterprise and promote abstract thinking.
13. Emphasize objective setting, strategic planning, operational planning, and time-management concepts.
14. Review multiple organizational structures and designs, job designs, and authority relationships.
15. Promote development of interpersonal relationships and effective oral and written communications.
16. Encourage integration of Christian perspectives and biblical doctrines with value systems, in business, professional relationships, and management’s code of conduct.

Admission to HRM

Applicants must meet the following requirements to qualify for admission:

1. Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 on all previous college coursework.
2. Completion of entrance competencies as listed for a total of 66 hours of core credit. 
3. Minimum 23 years of age.

Conditional/provisional admission status may be granted by the HRM Program Director. Such admission exception must be in writing prior to enrollment. No waivers are intended to be granted by the Director for any student who has less than the minimum 66 hours required for entrance competency.

The HRM Program consists of a total of 120 semester credit hours. This includes the minimum 66 hours as an entrance requirement, plus 54 hours in the one-year modular program. A student must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 in order to be awarded the Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management degree.

Students enrolled in Faulkner University’s one-year degree completion programs will not be granted permission to simultaneously take core courses. Transfer credit for core requirements will not be accepted from other schools if taken while enrolled in any of Faulkner University’s one-year degree completion programs.

Academic Criteria for HRM

The Human Resource Management program is an accelerated degree completion program designed to adhere to the liberal arts core curriculum required by Faulkner University, yet be flexible enough to provide the adult student with the academic foundation to meet the challenges and problems of business or organization management.

The program will provide students with an understanding of business and organizational structure and functioning, increase effectiveness in communication and interpersonal relationships, and identify and describe significant life experiences and lessons learned from these experiences.

Adults enrolled in the program are required to take the following two courses, which are worth a total of six (6) hours: Management and the Family and Business Ethics and Values. These courses, by emphasizing biblical principles and studying biblical passages, are to provide a sense of professional ethics by enabling professionals to acquire the ability to reach conclusions on a carefully reasoned basis, to act with integrity in the face of social and organizational pressure, to work constructively with others, and to appreciate Christian family life.

Faulkner University’s executive format programs, which include the BSB and HRM, are offered primarily as degree completion programs. Students graduating successfully from such programs are eligible to apply for admission to graduate programs in the Harris College of Business & Executive Education of Faulkner University. Certain graduate Business programs offered by Faulkner University might require additional prerequisites.

Students must satisfy the above requirements, pass the courses in the HRM program and maintain a 2.0 grade point average on all work attempted.

A Faulkner transcript will show both a Faulkner grade point average (GPA), and an Overall GPA that includes any transfer credit as authorized by the Registrar’s Office. However, the final GPA, which will be considered for honors at graduation, will include all Registrar approved credit from all accredited schools attended (technical and academic) in addition to credit awarded by Faulkner University.

Students with an Overall GPA of 3.75 or higher will graduate with honors.

All requirements of the HRM degree must be completed within four (4) years of the initial enrollment to the program. Prior to re-entry/re-enrollment, students who withdraw from the program must satisfy the requirements based on the current curriculum/catalog including completion/satisfaction of any core requirement deficiencies.

Academic Advising for HRM

Students should recognize that they have the primary responsibility in planning their own academic program, given the fact that this is a structured degree completion program. All students entering the University’s executive format programs will be given an official evaluation of transcripts, military school and training, etc. Any student lacking in core requirements has a variety of options available to satisfy these deficiencies: CLEP, additional coursework, etc. The Transcript Evaluator in the Registrar’s Office will provide the student with detailed information on these options, and specific courses needed to satisfy core. While the Dean of the College of Business and the Vice President for Academic Affairs may make recommendations, the Transcript Evaluator has the responsibility and authority on the evaluation of any and all credit transferred to Faulkner.

The Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean of the College of Business, and the Program Director stand ready to help with special situations.

Academic Appeal for HRM

If a student has reason to question the decision of an instructor with regard to course content or to a grade received, the student should follow the below protocol. A written appeal must be made within seven (7) weeks of the completion of the course in question. The academic appeal process generally takes four (4) weeks, which includes convening the appropriate committee when necessary.

1. The appeal is first made to the instructor of the course.
2. If the student has further concerns, he/she may appeal (in writing) to the HRM Program Director. The Director will investigate the student’s concerns and respond.
3. If further appeal is required, the appeal should be made to the Dean of the Harris College of Business and Executive Education.
4. Only after steps 1 - 3 have been completed, if the student so desires, the appeal can next be taken to the Vice President of Academic Affairs. Please be informed that the Vice President of Academic Affairs represents the final academic appeal for Faulkner University.

Academic Misconduct in HRM

Academic misconduct includes but is not limited to plagiarism, falsification on tests and/or assignments, attempting to take credit for another’s work (including AI-generated work), and abuse or inappropriate behavior toward an instructor, student, staff member, or administrator. Inappropriate behavior includes disrespect for an instructor/administrator’s authority, calling members of the administration at home with complaints, or any non-professional behavior during an academic session. Aggressive and/or offensive verbal communications with instructors, staff, administrators and/or fellow students will not be tolerated. Please refer to the HRM Student handbook for additional details.

Faulkner University reserves the right to dis-enroll a student at any time for any academic or behavior- related cause as deemed necessary by the Academic Department or Administration of Faulkner University. Depending upon the circumstances, a tuition refund for that term may not be granted.

Attendance for HRM

Regular online participation is expected of all students and is essential for academic development. Class interaction through discussion board threads and individual participation are such vital parts of the course objectives that a lack of participation negates the value of the course. The following policies and procedures are to be followed in regard to all courses:

1. Each online course will be divided into seven weekly “sessions” that correspond with the HRM Online Program Calendar. Please note that each

1. individual instructor may have specific deadlines within each session.
2. Per University policy, any student who does not participate in any online course within the first 14 days (the first 2 sessions) will be automatically dropped from the course. A student who participates then misses three total sessions of any course will receive an automatic “FA” in the course.
3. At the close of each scheduled HRM online “session,” the instructor will look at Canvas usage logs to monitor attendance. The instructor will determine whether or not the student has completed all assigned tasks for that session and then mark the student as either present or absent for that session.
4. Students are required to regularly participate in all scheduled online activities, assignments, exams, etc. as specified in the course syllabus and/or on Canvas. Partial participation is unacceptable and may be counted as an absence at the discretion of the instructor.
5. A required assignment or discussion board contribution may not be submitted before the timeframe begins (is opened and available on Canvas) nor submitted after the timeframe ends (is closed and unavailable on Canvas). No make-up work is allowed after an exam, assignment, discussion board contribution, etc. has closed and is no longer available in Canvas. Because of this, instructors will allow students to drop the lowest set of weekly grades. Any missed weekly “session” will count toward the dropped grade first.

Please refer to the HRM Student Handbook for additional details.

Students Contemplating Graduate or Transfer work, Additional Discipline Specific Study, Licensure or Specialized Certification

All students contemplating graduate or transfer work must consult with the educational institution at which such graduate work is to be undertaken or to which such work is to be transferred; the same is true for students seeking to undertake additional discipline specific study at Faulkner or another educational institution. Different institutions have different requirements and it is the sole responsibility of the students to ensure that their specific course work at Faulkner will be accepted for transfer or as an appropriate foundation for entry into graduate study or as an appropriate basis for further discipline specific study.

Students seeking licensure or specialized certification must consult in advance with the organization awarding such licensure or certification to ensure that their specific course work at Faulkner will be accepted in satisfaction of the organization’s requirements.