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Belmont Abbey College

The Catholic College of the South

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New Social Media and Digital Communications Minor

Author: Dr. Erin Jensen (Crusader Faculty Advisor), Associate Professor of English

The Social Media and Digital Communications minor just started this semester. Please contact erinjensen@bac.edu if you are interested in this minor.

The Social Media and Digital Communication minor is an interdisciplinary minor focused on providing students with increased understanding of and practical experience with using social media and digital communication. Students will have options for classes in English, Business, Digital Humanities, Computer Science, and Digital Art. As part of the coursework, students will create and run social media campaigns and engage in application assignments within their various classes. Upon completion of the courses necessary for this minor, students will have the skills necessary to find jobs in a variety of positions, including social media writing, social media management, graphic design, digital design, content creation, content strategy, digital communication, and many others. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this minor, students from all majors would be welcome and would find that the minor complements their major studies and increases their employment opportunities.

Minor in Social Media and Digital Communication: 15 credits
Students will complete five courses (15 credits), including one required course (EN 361) and four additional courses.
Required for all students:

  • EN 361 Writing for Social Media (3 credits) (Taught Spring 2023 and Summer 2023)

Students will choose any four of the following courses:

  • EN 106: Introduction to Digital Art and Multimedia Art
  • CS 110: Introduction to Video Game (3 credits)
  • CS 243: Web Site Development (3 credits)
  • DH 301: Introduction to Digital Humanities (3 credits)
  • DH 400: Methods in the Digital Humanities (3 credits)
  • EN 363: Professional and Technical Writing (3 credits)
  • BU 315W: Business Communication (3 credits)
  • BU 319: Advertising and Promotion (3 credits)
  • Digital Communication (to be added)
  • EN 453 Internship or Department Internship class (3 credits)
  • Additional social media and digital communication-based courses as they are added to individual departments

This article was originally posted in the Fall 2022, Issue 1 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue.

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New Minors in Accounting

Author: Toni Berbick, Associate Professor of Accounting

Belmont Abbey College has approved two new Accounting Minors to compliment the revised Accounting Program Curriculum: The Cyber Audit Minor and the Fraud Minor.

The new curriculum reflects the new format and content of the CPA exam and is based on the ACIPA’s Evolution Module Curriculum and the content on the CPA exam effective 2024. The first minor is in Cyber Audit Risk and Compliance (Cyber Audit) and the second is Fraud and Forensic Investigations Minor (Fraud Minor). In addition to providing students with the skills and competencies required of a newly licensed CPA, both minors address the global skills gap in these two areas. These two new minors complement existing minors available to Accounting Majors including a Minor in Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Information Security, Cyber Security, Criminal Justice and Pre-Law.

The Cyber Audit Minor is designed for Business and Accounting students who want to complement their major by adding the valuable and highly sought-after skill set of IT Audit. The Cyber Audit Minor compliments the existing Cyber Security Minor offered by the Computer Science Department at the Abbey. While the existing Cyber Security Minor focuses on data risk from and technical perspective, the Cyber Audit minor focuses on operating and control risk based on a foundation of Accounting Information Systems. This was a joint effort between the Accounting and Computer Science Departments.
The Cyber Audit minor was developed with the guidance and support from members of the Charlotte Chapter of ISACA, including Mr. Steve Spittler, CPA, CISA – Senior Audit at LPL Financial and Charlotte ISACA Academic Relations Committee Chair; Ted Wolff, CISA – IT Audit and Risk Management Professional, recently retired from a position as a Senior Leader in Vanguard’s Global IT Risk & Control; and, Kyle Conn, CPA, CISA – IT Divisional Risk Advisor at Vanguard. Their experience and insight were invaluable and I am most grateful for their time and support.

The Fraud Minor is designed for Criminal Justice and Accounting majors interested in pursuing a career in Risk Assurance, Compliance, Internal Audit, Criminal Investigations, and Anti-Money Laundering. Students will learn the skills necessary to identify financial fraud, how to assess and mitigate the risk of fraud and understanding the criminal investigative procedures. The required coursework is designed to meet the hiring demands of accounting, banking, investment and insurance institutions as well as federal and state regulatory agencies and law enforcement authorities.

The Fraud Minor was developed with collective guidance from members of the Charlotte Institute of Internal Auditors, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, federal, state and regional law enforcement agencies and major banking, investment and insurance firms in the region. This minor was a joint effort between the Accounting and Criminal Justice Departments at Belmont Abbey College.

I am grateful for the support and guidance from Dr. David Williams, Vice Provost and for the vote of confidence from Dr. Travis Feezel, Provost, Dr. Brad Frazier, Dr. Julie Beeman, Mr. Gupta, and Dr. Alessandro Rovati. It is truly a pleasure to work in a such a collegial and empowering environment.

This article was originally posted in the Fall 2022, Issue 1 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue.

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Motorsports Program Makes Strides and Speeds Towards Success

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer, Alex Mullin

The brightest minds have come from across the country and the world to study an ever-expanding world of fast cars and big money, Motorsports, both national and international. The Belmont Abbey Motorsports Program has seen a lot of change over these past couple years. The program has opened new avenues and career opportunities for both upperclassmen and underclassmen who are looking to forge a career path in Motorsports.

To start off, there are a lot of different ways one may involve themselves in Motorsports. In the first semester of freshman year, the first course in the program is Intro to Motorsports at Sacred Heart Campus in Mercedes Hall to get a good introduction to the many classes that are taught within the program. From there, there are options to choose from in pursuing a Motorsports Management Major, which includes classes like History of Motorsports, Sports Broadcasting, and many more. Some of the esteemed faculty involved in the program include, but are not limited to: Professor Quinn Beekwilder, Professor Trey Cunningham, and Professor Matt Yocum just to name a few.

The program has recently produced some great talent in graduating classes in this past decade that have gone on to work for or own a professional NASCAR team, and the current group of upperclassmen look to continue that trend. Recently, the Motorsports Program made trips to Ford Performance Racing School, and both zMAX Dragway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway, giving students an opportunity to be more hands-on in learning about how the world of motorsports brings people together out of a pure desire to go fast and have fun.

Other than the main classes in Motorsports available at the Abbey, you can also join the Motorsports Club. There are many events they are currently organizing as the Motorsports scene slows down in off-seasons for organizations such as NASCAR and IndyCar, and the more people that are involved, the better. It is a great learning experience for learning about the world of Motorsports from local short track racing to international escapades of speed and sound. The club typically meets Thursdays at 6:30 P.M. in Student Commons unless noted otherwise.

This article was originally posted in the Fall 2022, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue.

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