100-percent online degree program is being offered through Stephen F. Austin State University’s Nelson Rusche College of Business to help students complete a general business degree. The online Bachelor of Business Administration Completion Program launched in fall 2011 and currently has 76 students working toward degrees.
According to Dr. Ann Wilson, SFA professor and chair of the Department of Business Communication and Legal Studies, the completer program typically enrolls students who began college and finished their core and lower-level business foundation courses but, due to various life circumstances, have not yet completed their upper-level business foundation and general business major requirements.
“Today, many college students find themselves unable to complete their education in a traditional classroom setting,” Wilson said. “Obligations to family, work and other time restraints have made it impossible to travel to campus and finish their degree. This program allows the student to receive the same quality education while still being able to meet other responsibilities.”
Courses are offered on a rotating schedule each semester, and, depending on the student’s schedule, he or she can select to enroll in as few as three credit hours or as many as 15.
“The majority of students in this program are already in the workforce,” Dr. Susan Jennings, SFA professor of business communication and B.B.A. online completion program coordinator, said. “They are completing their degree because of a personal goal, in hopes of a promotion, or to move to a new career focus. Because of the flexibility of this program, each student can personalize his or her degree to help in moving toward the student’s extended career goals.”
Jennings points out that the program’s main advantages include: the degree is fully online, allowing fulltime workers to continue their employment while reaching their education goals; students receive the same degree taught by the same faculty members as face-to-face SFA business classes; and the program prepares students for a wide range of business-related careers and promotion opportunities.
“This program is fully customizable to the student’s schedule and focus of his or her career goals,” Wilson said. “With the ever-increasing use of technology to support higher education, this program helps make it possible for students who otherwise would not have the opportunity to spend hours commuting and sitting in a traditional classroom to still achieve their dream of receiving a college diploma.”
