Kent State Announces New Bachelor’s Degree in Insurance Studies

Ohio’s Kent State University announced it will offer a bachelor’s degree in insurance studies.

The Ohio Board of Regents recently approved the new degree, which will initially be offered only at Kent State University at Salem. Interested students may begin enrolling immediately, the university said.

Kent State President Lester A. Lefton said the new degree would provide students with expanded employment and career opportunities.

The degree program is a combined effort of both the insurance industry and the university. The first classes will be held this fall, with the degree’s main courses being completed online.

Kent State is the only private or public university in Northeast Ohio offering a degree that directly links to Ohio’s growing insurance sector, according to the announcement.

By 2016, Ohio’s insurance industry workforce is projected to grow by 7.1 percent. Additional employment opportunities also become available as an estimated 25 percent of the industry workforce plan on retiring by 2016.

The insurance industry currently employs more than 100,000 people in Ohio.

In addition to various insurance companies, the program also is supported by a $20,000 donation from the Independent Insurance Agents of Ohio, the group’s first charitable donation to a higher education institution.

Source: Kent State University

Topics Ohio Education Market Universities