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Business Administration department was formed in 1986, when the AS Business Administration Degree was approved for all campuses in the district. The initial program was offered at the Ankeny campus with an approximate enrollment of 75 students. The degree was soon made available at all DMACC campus locations.
By 2000, the Business Administration degree had the largest enrollment of any program at DMACC, with the exception of the AA Liberal Arts degree. Verlyn Noring was appointed the first Business Department Chair in 1986 and served as District Business Administration Department Chair until his retirement in 2004. Susan Mitchell has served as District Business Administration Chair since 2004.
The purpose of the degree was to provide an AS degree that could offer students both a career end option, as well as a college transfer option in business. The career option also offered an emphasis of study in various business related career paths, such as general business, insurance and entrepreneurship.
In the 1980s, "2+2" programs were developed with surrounding colleges such as Simpson, Drake and Grand View. This provided students with enough transferable general education and business classes at DMACC so that the transferring student could enter the four year institution and have two years of their four year degree completed.
By 2000, Business Administration included the areas of entrepreneurship, economics, business law, insurance, banking and all related business classes. As the demand for more flexibility in college transfer students grew, the AS degree changed its requirements to reflect this need by allowing students more opportunities to articulate their program with four year colleges. Students could design their Business Administration degree to include more liberal arts selections, as well as business classes. By 2011, the Business Administration department added an AA degree in Business Administration to help satisfy this need.
Phi Beta Lambda has been the main student organization associated with the Business Administration program with chapters on the Ankeny, Boone and Urban campuses.
The Business Administration AS degree was the first degree program offered at DMACC that could be completed entirely on-line.