Business Department Expands with Banking

By Matt Weafer
The Broadcast

The flock of banks that has migrated to Owensboro in the past few years will soon be stocked with Brescia-trained bankers.

Fall 2005 — Brescia began offering two banking courses a semester as night or weekend classes. Sally Asefa, chair of the William H. Thompson School of Business, was approached by representatives of Independence Bank in May 2005 to start a banking program designed for two different populations of students. One population is banking professionals interested in furthering their education. The other is for business students interested in the banking field.

Both populations take the same courses and adhere to the same course requirements. However, business students may pursue a banking emphasis with their major, which only requires 21 credit hours, and non-students may pursue a Certificate in Banking, which requires 48 credit hours.

Both the certificate and emphasis are recognized by the American Institute of Banking (AIB).

According to Asefa, faculty members send class syllabi to the AIB for approval.
Last semester fifteen students attended the two courses. Fifteen students attend this semester. About ninety percent of those are banking professionals and the other ten percent are Brescia students.

Asefa attributed the low percentage of Brescians to the fact that the program is new and business advisors have not had the opportunity to work the classes into students’ schedules before pre-registration.

“I’m glad we were given the opportunity to serve the community,” Asefa said.
She recommends the courses to any student “fairly sure they’re going in to banking.”