Winthrop University, a public university in Rock Hill, South Carolina, is launching the second current competency-based education degree program to hold AACSB accreditation, pending state approval.

The Winthrop Elevate CBE platform is set to offer the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with the choice of a General Business concentration or an Accounting and Financial Management concentration. The BSBA will be granted by Winthrop’s AACSB-accredited College of Business and Technology.

Winthrop Elevate already offers the Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) in concentrations including Organizational Leadership or Organizational Operations, but the BPS is outside of the College of Business and Technology and thus outside of AACSB accreditation.

BSBA applicants must “Be at least 23 years old with some college experience and work experience, or be an experienced member of the military.”

Some of the following comes from an FAQ section written for the BPS program, which will hopefully also apply to the BSBA program:

Regionally accredited credit, foreign credit with an accepted external evaluation, CLEP, ACE National Guide recommended alternative credit including from “organizations like Sophia Learning and StraghterLine,” and military credit via Joint Services Transcript, are accepted. Students can receive up to 15 credits from Prior Learning Assessment portfolios corresponding with courses offered at Winthrop, with fees to be determined. At least 30 credits in the degree must be earned from Winthrop.

Courses uncompleted at the end of one subscription period can receive a grade of “in progress” and be completed in the next subscription period. The number of credits in such courses will contribute to the credit load you pay for in the next term.

In the BPS, courses are graded, and each 3-credit course is divided into six modules which can be completed in any order.

Each subscription period is 14 weeks. Currently, for a $1750 part-time subscription, a student may take no more than 11 credits. For a $3600 full-time subscription, they may take 12 or more credits. Students can only switch subscription types in between periods and only once per year.

Federal financial aid and veteran’s benefits are not currently available but arrangements to offer them are in progress. The South Carolina senior citizen tuition benefit is not available for Winthrop Elevate.

Winthrop University was founded in 1886 as a normal school. Its location in Rock Hill, South Carolina is part of the Charlotte, North Carolina census metropolitan area. Winthrop currently has about 5500 students, and US News ranks it #20 in the category Regional Universities South.

This prior DF thread about Winthrop Elevate’s BPS provides some context.

The incumbent CBE program with AACSB accreditation is the BSBA from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside via Wisconsin Flex. UW-Parkside doesn’t get much attention here at DF largely because it doesn’t accept ACE alternative credit. A few universities with an AACSB-accredited business school offer programs by CBE that are related to business but outside the business school, so those programs themselves are not AACSB-accredited.

Any distance-learning Bachelor 's-to-Doctoral programs without a master's degree (direct entry)? Any field except nursing?

Hi guys! I finished my masters in management earlier this year and am currently exploring 100% online DBA options.

I talked to the advisor from Capital College regarding their DBA offer with Westcliff, and this was the cost breakdown if you enter with the Qualifi Level 8 Diploma:

$50 Application
$200 Enrollment
6x $25 = $150 registration fee assuming a 2 year timeframe (3 semesters per year)
6x $125 = $750 tech fee (for 2 years, 3 semesters per year)
30x $200 = $6000 tuition fees

So approx. $7150 for the DBA top-up if you enter with the Level 8 Diploma and only need 30 more credits.

The Level 8 Diploma costs about $1500 (1100 GBP at Trinity Open Learning, which is an official Qualifi learning center), so in total this entire DBA from an ACBSP accredited, regionally accredited institution with several on-site programs and campuses in the US, will be somewhere around $8650 if you manage to complete the dissertation stage within 2 years.

Am I missing something here or is this an amazing offer? I feel ready to start this pathway and am curious to hear your thoughts.

Greetings everyone,

Just out of curiosity, has anyone completed an MBA via HAU or Walden? Has anyone been to both universities? What are the courses like? Seriously considering these 2 next (and yes, I've been to WGU, not a fan of their service).

Greetings, Everyone,

I am in a unique situation. My Assistant Director abrutly resigned. I have to cover their position as the Acting Assistant Director and my position until a replacement has been identified. The position requires a master's degree and I won't be finished with my dual degree until May 2027. Is there a master's degree in Management, Human Resources, or Leadership that I can get quickly in the next few months. I anticipate that our HR department will have the position advertised by October at the latest, and I want to apply for it. I have placed the addendum below.

***BREAK****

Location: Tennessee
Your Age: 35
What kind of degree do you want?: Master's Degree in Management, Leadership or Human Resources. I am certain any kind of Master's Degree will suffice because my Bachelor's was in Healthcare Management and I still got hired for an entry level role in a human resources job.

Associate's Degree: AS in Liberal Arts (2019, Excelsior)
Bachelor's Degree: BS in Healthcare Managment (2024 Excelsior)

[b]Study.com Credits: 6[/b]
Applied Marketing (MAR308)
Psychology of Motivation (PSY315)

Sophia Credits: 78
Ancient Greek Philosophers
Art History I
Art History II
Business Law
Calculus I
College Algebra
Conflict Resolution 
Developing Effective Teams
Environmental Science
Essentials of Managing Conflict
Financial Accounting 
Human Biology
Introduction to Business
Introduction to Chemistry
Introduction to Ethics
Introduction to Information Technology
Introduction to Nutrition
Introduction to Statistics
Introduction to Web Development
Managerial Accounting
Principles of Finance
Principles of Management
Project Management
Spanish I
U.S. Government
U.S. History I
Visual Communications

University of Memphis Credits: 24 (Masters Level)
HADM 7101 Day One (0 credit hours)
HADM 7102 Healthcare Law
HADM 7105 Health Policy & the Org. of Health Services
HADM 7116 Administration of Health Services Orgs
HADM 7204 Healthcare Quality & Outcomes Mgmt.
HADM 7108 Health Care Finance I
HADM 7208 Health Care Finance II
HADM 7209 Quantitative Methods in Health Services
HADM 7605 Human Resources Administration

Summer Courses: (Currently Enrolled)
HADM 7190 Practicum/Field Experience (MHA Internship)
ECON 7100 Economics for the Global Executive 
FIR 7155 Global Financial Management
MKTG 7140, Global Strategic Marketing
SCMS 7313, Supply Chain Operations Management


Budget: Need something cheap
Commitments: I currently work full-time.
Dedicated time to study: A few hours in the morning and a few after work. I can also utilize my weekends to study. I can balance it with my dual degree.

Timeline: Trying to finish in the next four months. I can handle the stress of doing this and completing my dual degree.
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Tuition Assistance and Financial Aid

Thank you in advance for your time.

Did anyone get a bachelors degree in Business Administration in Operations Management? Did it help you in your career?

I've been seeing that sophia classes/TESU don't mix well. Im trying to see which platform I can use to get all my core classes done for this degree in a reasonable amount of time and max credits transfered.

Any suggestions how I can find out the correct classes I should be taking on sophia/study to satisfy TESU class requirements? 

Thank you !

APEI traces its roots back to 1991 with the founding of American Military University (AMU), an institution established to provide flexible distance-learning opportunities for military officers pursuing advanced education in military studies. The university was designed specifically for active-duty service members who often faced challenges attending traditional campuses due to deployments and relocations. Over time, AMU broadened its academic offerings beyond military-focused studies and evolved into the American Public University System (APUS), which now serves tens of thousands of students globally through online education programs.

As demand for online education accelerated, the company expanded well beyond its military origins. APEI strategically entered the healthcare education market through the acquisitions of Rasmussen University and Hondros College of Nursing. These institutions significantly strengthened the company’s presence in nursing and health sciences education through both campus-based and online programs. This diversification allowed APEI to capitalize on growing healthcare workforce shortages while continuing to serve adult learners and working professionals across the country.

https://www.citybiz.co/article/848970/american-public-education-positioned-for-strong-long-term-growth/

Good morning from the UK, this is my first post here so hello everyone. I'm hoping you can help me find an appropriate masters degree to apply for. 

I want to do an online/distance learning masters in conservation that isn't expensive. Loosely, my aim here is to learn about the operations of conservation as well as the business of conservation, so not only how to protect and conserve species but also how to practically run a modern conservation project successfully and all that entails in terms of fundraising/finances/trade. 

The problem is there are so many different terms for conservation that it is hard to filter and the conservation masters I know about (Kent Durrell and Edinburgh) are both very expensive. I know there are plenty of European and global universities that offer masters degrees for low thousands or even for free. I am working so this needs to be something I can study part time.  

I would be very grateful for some assistance here! Thank you.

It is sad news for our community that Dr. John Bear has passed away.

He created the Bear’s Guide series of student guides to nontraditional higher education from College Degrees by Mail: A Comprehensive Guide to Nontraditional Degree Programs in 1975 to its 16th edition, Bear's Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning, in 2006.

His one of a kind, friendly, radically student-centered guides documented nontraditional colleges and credit providers as the field developed from correspondence courses and a Universities Without Walls era of innovations like self-designed study, prior learning portfolios, and credit by examination, through technological innovations like videotape and television courses and early online services, to the Internet era of online learning.

In 1990s editions Dr. Bear pointed readers to an early Internet discussion group about distance learning whose community moved to our sister forum DegreeInfo.com, where he continued to participate.

This forum DegreeForum.net, later created and sponsored by InstantCert, is a branch of the tree Dr. Bear planted over fifty years ago.

Dr. John Bear has passed away (DegreeInfo thread)

Obituary for John Bear (Rose City Funeral Home, publication pending)

I just got an email from Chegg, not the most reputable organziation in the first place, advertising their new "Masters in Artificial Intelligence"  and they are claiming "global accreditation." 

The organization WOOLF claims that degrees "Awarded by Woolf using the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)" are "accepted in 60+ countries"

https://www.chegg.com/skills/our-program...elligence/

Anyone ever heard of this?