Term Effective: Spring 2012

The requirements for this program of study are effective beginning the semester shown above. If you began working on this program before the effective semester, you may not be affected by the changes. Consult with the program contact person or the department chair to determine your eligibility to complete the program under previous requirements.

Description:

The Virtual Assistant: Administrative Assistant Skills Certificate prepares the student to develop a business as a virtual assistant. This is a fairly new and emerging administrative profession where individuals work from their homes as independent contractors.

Virtual assistants are small office/home office owners who provide support and services to clientele, using technology to support their clients from their own office location. Service provided to clients is predominantly administrative support; however, bookkeeping, desktop publishing, and development of promotional and marketing materials are also popular services. This certificate program emphasizes a variety of general office, software application, and administrative support aspects of the job.

A unique feature of this certificate is that all of the core and elective courses are offered online, providing more accessibility for busy, working adults and for individuals with various personal commitments and/or challenges.

Many new virtual assistants continue working in their regular employment while building their virtual practices. It is recommended that individuals interested in this field acquire office experience before deciding to work on their own as a virtual assistant. More information about virtual assistants can be obtained from the International Virtual Assistant Association, http://www.ivaa.org

More information about the Business Administration programs can be found at the Business Administration Department website.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this certificate, the student will be able to:

1. Assess individual viability for successfully working in a virtual career;
2. design a virtual office for efficiency and comfort; and
3. develop various marketing strategies for the virtual world.

Course Prerequisites and Advisories:

Courses in a program of study may have prerequisites or advisories; that is, courses that must or should be completed before taking that course. Please check for prerequisites or advisories by clicking on the course numbers in the Program Requirements section.

It is important that students who are completing an Associate Degree and desire to transfer to a four-year institution meet with a counselor to plan their lower division coursework. While many majors at SRJC are intended to align with lower division major preparation required by California public universities, specific lower-division major requirements vary among individual campuses. See a counselor, visit the Transfer Center, and check Guides For Transfer in Specific Majors, and ASSIST to review transfer preparation guides for specific schools and majors.

Notes:

It is recommended that the first course students enroll in to begin this certificate is BOT59.5 Creating the Virtual Office, followed by BOT59.6 Marketing Yourself As a VA.

BOT 99.4I May be used for up to 2.0 units to fulfill Elective Requirement

CS 60.11A was BOT 73.12A, CS 61.11A was BOT 73.13A, CS 61.11B was BOT 73.13B, CS 62.11A was BOT 73.13A, , CS 63.11A was BOT 73.14A, CS 72.91A was BOT 73.16A, CS 50.11A was CIS 58.51A, CS 50.11B was CIS 58.81B