School Business Management Certificate Program

This program is designed for aspiring and current educational leaders. Participants will develop the 13 competencies identified by the Association of School Business Officers (ASBO) as essential to leading a business operation in a K-12 school district or charter organization.

Sponsored by Fiscal Crisis and Management Assessment Team (FCMAT), School Services of California (SSC) and Alliance of Schools for Cooperative Insurance Programs (ASCIP).

Curriculum

This program is delivered approximately 15% in-person and 85% online. The program is designed to simulate a year in the life of a K-12 school district business office. You will be solving real world problems through over 40 different activities and assignments, some done in groups and some done individually. The assessment of your work is mapped on to a set of 13 competencies defined by the American School Business Officer (ASBO) organization’s Standards and Ethics for School Business Officers. You will be part of a cohort of no more than 40 students and will stay with the same cohort for the full extent of the program.

Coursework

The School Business Management coursework is divided into four quarters bookended by a Bootcamp to kick start your learning and a Leadership Capstone session to bring the program to closure. The sequence of learning activities are partially dictated by the policies and procedures of budget management and oversight in the state of California. Other simulations appear sporadically as they would in real life. The overall goal of the program is to give participants a laboratory to apply leadership and management principles in the context of K-12 public education.

Application

Applications for SBMCP for 2025-2026 will open March 1, 2025.
*The window will open on 2/28/2025 at 5:00 p.m since 3/1 falls on a Saturday/non- business day.

All applicants are asked to complete an online application form. There is a $25 non-refundable fee to open your application account.

The online application consists of:

$25 non-refundable and non-transferable application fee
Your current professional resume
Two professional references with their email addresses and phone numbers and listed.
Zoom interviews will be coordinated upon receipt of your application.

*Please note*

The 2025-2026 SBMCP Program start date will be July 24, 2025 (in person).

I entered the USC School Business Management Certification Program to gain more fiscal knowledge to apply within my position of Director of Student Services. I exited the program the following year and began a position as a CBO and used the knowledge, connections, and strategies that I learned through USC. I was well prepared to "hit the ground running" in my new position. Thank you USC!