My name is Rolf Schmalz. I am 57 years old and have completed many training and further education courses in my life. I have also worked in a wide variety of industries. Since 2017, I have been an entrepreneur with my own school, Art of Formation - Weiterbildung WBA. What started with 18 students now has 160 students. I now supervise a good 35 lecturers. We offer further training in business administration with specializations in HR, retail, specialist retail, sales, marketing, logistics, technical sales and leadership.
The Business Economist HF is a very good course for people who are already working in the administrative field (office) or service sector (banking and insurance) and would like to develop their business management skills in order to gain an overall entrepreneurial focus. You learn how to interlink the various fields of business management.
Anyone wishing to study for a degree in Business Administration HF must already have three years of basic vocational training or a baccalaureate and two to three years of professional experience. Only in this way can the knowledge acquired in theory be put into practice. An English placement test is often required.
Business administration graduates have a clear focus on a career in management - whether as a department head, branch manager or managing director. The focus here is on implementing the overall strategy at department or team level in line with objectives and adapting organizational structures, business processes and support processes.
If you want to study business administration at a university of applied sciences, you must have a customer-oriented mindset. This means that people who work in areas where there is no competition on the market lack an understanding of customer-oriented action. In my opinion, however, this is an important prerequisite for the HF Business Administration course and also a strength of the graduates.
The HF in Business Administration can be studied full-time or part-time. The full-time course at the university of applied sciences only takes around two years, while the part-time option takes at least three years. This allows the knowledge to be acquired in a concentrated manner, but you have to be able to do without financial income. The longer form naturally increases the risk of knowledge being forgotten. Studying part-time to become a business economist HF means a double burden over a longer period of time, but you can benefit from the proximity to practice. This means that theoretical knowledge can be put into practice on an ongoing basis in everyday working life.
The examination for the federally recognized degree course in Business Administration HF usually takes place in regular, practice-oriented examinations as proof of the professional, social and methodological skills acquired at the respective school. The examination content is therefore determined and examined by the educational institute. Various forms of examination can be used, such as written assignments, group work or traditional examinations, depending on the extent and degree of interlinking of the learning content of the HF Business Administration course. In the final year of the course, a diploma examination in the form of a written assignment and an oral examination is used to test and verify all the skills acquired.
Anyone who has completed a degree in Business Administration HF has the opportunity to make a name for themselves in the workplace with their diploma degree or to add a Bachelor's degree at a university of applied sciences. This can be completed in a shortened form of one year. This secures access to a Master's degree.