P.W. Sims Business Program

Our career program in Accounting and Management Technology was named to honour a well-respected Quebec City businessman, P.W. Sims, whose legacy finances activities to enrich students' learning experience.

Our program

Why choose a 3-year program in the PW Sims Accounting and Management Technology Program?

  • First, students study business in-depth while at CEGEP involving more than 20 business-related courses in such areas as accounting, marketing, human resources management and international business. The practical focus includes classroom use of laptops (required at the start of first year), an information technology course each year, contact with local businesses, as well as two internships: one at the end of second year (for three weeks) and one at the end of third year (for six weeks). Students who would prefer to study many non-business fields before beginning business studies at university should consider the Commerce Profile of our Social Science Program.

  • Second, graduates have many options upon completing their Diploma of College Studies (DEC). They can enter the workforce directly in a variety of business-related careers or they can continue their studies at university. Employers often contact the college to hire graduates who can work in English and French. St. Lawrence has DEC-BAC arrangements with several universities, so that graduates with strong academic results from their DEC program can complete a bachelor’s degree at university more quickly.

PROGRESSION STARTING FALL 2024

Starting in Fall 2024, there will be three parallel course sequences for each program and profile.

If you are eligible to attend English school under the Charter of the French language and are in possession of a certificate granted by the Ministry of Education, you are considered a Certificate Holder. Your course sequence will then be determined by your results in the high school French course (1-2 or 3-4). For more information about Certificates, please consult the Ministry of Education’s website.

If you are not eligible, you must follow the course sequence that prepares students for l'Épreuve uniforme de français (EUF - French minesterial language evalution).

 

For a brief overview of the changes to course sequences following Law 14, consult this document.

Click here to consult full course sequences for the Business Program.

 

If you started your studies at St. Lawrence in Fall 2023 or earlier, please consult the course sequences below.

 

 

 

OUR PROFILES

Your choice of profile depends on whether you are considering university studies or wish to directly enter the workforce upon graduating. We have a profile for both situations: the University Profile and the Workforce Profile.

The following descriptions and course sequences are only correct if you began your studies in Fall 2023 or earlier. The same profiles continue to be offered, but course sequences will differ slightly starting in Fall 2024. Please see the first section on this page for more information and full course sequences for Fall 2024 and beyond.

University Profile (with Math): Consult Courses

Students who are considering business studies at university should opt for our University Profile. The University Profile includes two complementary math courses to meet university admission requirements in business. St. Lawrence students can see the Guidance Counsellor about the math requirements for a particular university's business program, or about requirements for other university programs.

For students with strong academic results, we have arrangements with a number of universities to recognize courses from our program:

  • A DEC-BAC agreement with Université Laval to obtain a DEC and a Bachelor in Business Administration degree in five years (three years at St. Lawrence and two years at university)
  • Similar recognition at Bishop’s University and at the Lévis campus of Université du Québec à Rimouski, assessed on a case-by-case basis
  • Course recognition arrangements with Concordia University, which recognizes several courses as pre-requisites or for advanced standing in business
  • An agreement with Griffith University, located on the Gold Coast of Australia, to obtain a DEC and a Bachelor of International Business or a Bachelor of Commerce degree in four years (three years at St. Lawrence and one year at Griffith University)

Workforce Profile: Consult Courses

Students who want to begin their career immediately after graduating can opt for our Workforce Profile, although all our graduates can enter the workforce directly. In the Workforce Profile, students choose two complementary courses other than university math prerequisites.

 PW Sims Business Program Presentation

OUR GRADUATES

All college programs in Québec have a graduate profile. This describes their graduates' competencies. In addition, there is a comprehensive assessment (CA) which evaluates whether students have met the expectations of the graduate profile. In some programs, the comprehensive assessment is linked to a course with an integrative activity (IA), building on what was learned in past courses.

YOUR FUTURE

Your studies can lead to a wide range of careers, such as these below. Be sure to check employer expectations or university pre-requisites, since they may vary. St. Lawrence students can see a Guidance Counsellor to discuss these options further.

  • Accounting
  • Auditing
  • Communications
  • Entrepreneurship, Business Start-Up
  • Event Management
  • Finance
  • Human Resource Management
  • Industrial Relations
  • International Business
  • Law (e.g. Commercial Law)
  • Marketing
  • Operations Management
  • Sales
  • Tourism

 

APPLYING

Students must satisfy the college general admission requirements. If you choose the Workforce Profile, the prerequisites are TS 4 Math, SN 4 Math or (beginning in Fall 2017) CST 5 Math. It you choose the University Profile (with Math), the prerequisites are TS 5 or SN 5 Math.

Apply for Admission

St. Lawrence P.W. Sims Business Program graduate should be

  • professional,
  • enterprising,
  • open to learning,
  • versatile and autonomous,
  • creative and innovative,
  • discerning, and
  • conscientious.

They should be able to apply appropriate principles and methods to support

  • the accounting function,
  • the management of human, financial and material resources, and
  • other areas of business, including marketing, information and communication technologies, international business and entrepreneurship.

Graduates should also be able to

  • plan, organize, implement and control projects,
  • identify problems and find, analyse and synthesize relevant information for their solution,
  • adapt to various and changing work environments induced by globalization, technological changes and work environment changes including work mobility,
  • use appropriate technologies to complete work-related requirements and to communicate,
  • communicate both orally and in writing in English and French,
  • organize their time efficiently and work with others as a team member, leader or liaison person,
  • manage professional and personal responsibilities and development in the context of a healthy lifestyle, and
  • demonstrate ethical behavior in both professional and personal situations.

What will be assessed?

You must complete a comprehensive assessment after the Internship II course, in order to qualify for graduation. Internship II is a practical work-experience course designed to help students integrate into the job market. The course is

  • In the winter semester at the end of the program
  • To be taken by students who will have graduated no later than December of the same calendar year
  • Not to be taken at the same time as any 15-week course on campus

Internship II students are on campus eleven (11) weeks for other Business courses and evaluations, work six weeks and then return for the comprehensive assessment.

The comprehensive assessment has two components.

1)   The first component is a portfolio. The portfolio is to be prepared by you individually and is due before the assessment interview (component 2 described below). The portfolio will be assessed by the two members of the business faculty who conduct the assessment interview. The portfolio is to include the elements below.

  • a) An up-to-date résumé in English and French
  • b) Work samples, from all years and a variety of areas of the program, demonstrating your achievements and progress
  • c) Your evaluation from your Internship I employer and a statement by you on actions resulting from the evaluation
  • d) Your evaluation from your Internship II employer - The employer evaluation will be based on the graduate profile, but some areas may not be applicable for some internships. This evaluation will not be used to determine whether you receive a grade of pass or fail in the comprehensive assessment. However, any weaknesses identified by the employer can be further assessed in the assessment interview (component 2 below).
  • e) A report on skills needed in the workplace, as seen during the Internship II experience - The report should identify the relevant skills, give examples of how they were applied in the work place and explain when (or whether) you learned these skills in the program. You should find out how the employer handles any areas in the P.W. Sims Business Graduate Profile that were not involved in your duties. You should also include specific reference to relevant skills from each general education discipline, based on the General Education Graduate Profile. The report should be written in English in a professional manner and be approximately 1000 words in length.
  • f) A report with constructive comments on how the time spent in the program could be made more enjoyable and productive - The report must be written in French in a professional manner and be approximately 250 words in length.

2)   The second component is an interview with two members of the business faculty. The faculty members will use a discussion of the portfolio in order to assess whether you demonstrate comprehension and attainment of the program objectives outlined in the graduate profile. As noted earlier, any weaknesses identified by employers can be further evaluated during the assessment interview. Discussion of the first report (1 e) is to be carried out in English and discussion of the second report (1 f) is to be carried out in French. You must display a comportment that reflects the maturity expected of an individual leaving college for the next step in his or her career. 

How will it be assessed?

Each component will be assessed as pass or fail by two faculty members. The portfolio must be complete before it is assessed. The assessment will reflect how you have demonstrated comprehension and attainment of the areas in the graduate profile.

You must pass both components to pass the assessment. If you are not successful, you will be required to redo the portfolio, the interview or both.

The first component, the portfolio, prepared individually over recent semesters, will have been last updated at the start of the prior semester. Its final version, submitted for the comprehensive assessment, must be up to date with recent Internship II information. The portfolio will be assessed by the two members of the business faculty who conduct the assessment interview.

The interview will take approximately 30 minutes and will be held during the week following the internship period.

If you are not graduating immediately after Internship II, credit for the comprehensive assessment will not be given until you complete the portfolio with an up-to-date résumé prepared at the end of the program.

Business Student resources

Current students in the Business program can access many online resources using the link below

PW Sims business student resources