Starting this fall, the University of Lynchburg will offer three new undergraduate degrees exclusively to adult learners, or Access students: a Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies, a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Diversity Strategies, and a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Community and Nonprofit Leadership.
Lynchburg will also lower its tuition rate for all Access students to $500 per credit hour, effective with the Fall 2022 semester.
“These degrees open up a variety of opportunities for adults in the workforce or for those looking to reexamine career options,” said Associate Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Dr. Roger Jones, who also leads the University of Lynchburg’s Doctor of Education in Leadership Studies program and co-directs the Center for Leadership.
Courses will be offered during the early mornings, late afternoons, evenings, weekends, J-Term, and during the summer. They will include a variety of delivery methods, including face-to-face, synchronous online, asynchronous online, and hybrid.
Just like traditional students at Lynchburg, Access students will need 124 credit hours to graduate, and they’re required to complete the DELL curriculum — the University’s general education curriculum.
There’s only one small difference: Access students earning one of the three new degrees are no longer required to take a foreign language. Instead, they may cover those six credits with the two-part class Access Intercultural Competence Pathway Option.
“While we want to help students earn a degree as efficiently as possible, it’s important that their Lynchburg education is built on a solid liberal arts foundation that includes a global perspective and intercultural competencies,” Jones said.
Access students may choose any of the University’s 50+ majors, but there are marked advantages to picking a degree custom-made for them, Jones says.
“First, the schedule is built around the busy day of a working adult,” Jones said. “Then, we have also made sure that what Access students are learning is exactly what employers want — and what employees, or entrepreneurs, need to know at this point in their professional lives.”
When coming up with the professional studies degrees and curricula, Jones and his task force relied not just on the University’s faculty and surveys of current and former Access students, but also on data provided through survey feedback from business, nonprofit, and community leaders.
As a result, both degrees include a number of courses that teach skills in high demand by employers, such as Working with Groups and Communities, Psychology of Diversity, or Human Resource Management.
“We are excited to offer these three new programs for adults in Central Virginia,” Jones said. “The University of Lynchburg is an anchor institution in the city and in the region, and our vision is to provide opportunities for adults to grow and develop into the leaders of the future.”
For more information, visit the Access Program website or contact Susan Hogg, director of admissions, at [email protected]. To apply, visit lynchburg.edu/apply.
Major requirements for new Access degrees
Bachelor of Professional Studies in Community and Nonprofit Leadership (42 credit hours):
- COMM 341 — Professional and Organizational Communication (PR*: COMM 101, 112, or 114)
- ENGL 210 — Writing in the Workplace (PR: ENGL 123W)
- HMSV 201 — The Science and Art of Meeting Human Need
- HMSV 220 — Working with Groups and Communities
or - MGMT 262W — Human Resource Management (PR: ENGL 123W)
- HMSV 285 — Research with Diverse Populations: Community-Based Participatory Research (PR: HMSV 201)
- MKTG 200 — Social Media Marketing
- PSYC 243 — Psychology of Diversity
- SOCI 222 — Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
- COMM 412 — Digital Leadership and Influencer Communication
- HP 210 — Health Disparities, Equity, and Advocacy
- BPS 302 — Nonprofit Leadership
- BPS 301 — Nonprofit Fundraising, Grant Writing, and Finance
- BPS 303 — Leadership in the Community
- BPS 400 — Capstone in the Major
Bachelor of Professional Studies in Diversity Strategies (42 credit hours):
- AFRS 101 — Introduction to Africana Studies
- COMM 112 — Interpersonal Communication
- INTL 101 — Global Politics
- HMSV 220 — Working with Groups and Communities
- SOCI 222 — Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
- HMSV 285 — Research with Diverse Populations: Community-Based Participatory Action Research (PR: Permission of Instructor)
or - CRIM 275 — Research Methods (PR: CRIM 201)
- PSYC 243 — Psychology of Diversity
- RELG 205W — Religions of Asia
or - RELG 206W — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
- HIST 343 — South African History
or - HIST 348 — Racism and Empire in the American Context
or - HIST 375 — History of Love and Sex in Latin America
or - HIST 347 — Slavery and Race in the Early Americas
- SOCI 363 — Sociology of the City
- INTL 320 — African Diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean
- ENGL 323 — Modern Multicultural Literature (PR: ENGL 123W)
or - ENGL 337 — American Multi-Ethnic Literature (PR: ENGL 123W)
- BPS 321 — Service Learning
- BPS 400 — Capstone in the Major
Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies (48 credit hours):
- ACCT 201 — Accounting I
- ACCT 202 — Accounting II (PR: ACCT 201, C- or better)
- BUAD 205 — Quantitative Applications in Business
- ECON 201 — Micro Economics
- ECON 202 — Macro Economics
- MKTG 209 — Principles of Marketing
- MGMT 244 — Operations Management (PR: BUAD 205 for ACCESS Students)
- MGMT 260 — Principles of Management
- MGMT 262W — Human Resource Management (PR: ENGL 123W, C- or better)
- MGMT 303 — Management across Boundaries (PR: MGMT 260)
or - COMM 251 — Intercultural Communication (PR: COMM 101, 112, or 114)
- MGMT 310 — Information Systems (PR: MGMT 260)
- FIN 317 — Finance (PR: ACCT 201, ECON 201, and DELL MATH)
- BUAD 322 — Business Law
- BUAD 441W — Strategy capstone (PR: ECON 201-202, FIN 317, MGMT 244, MGMT 260,
MKTG 209, ENGL 123W, C- or higher) - ELECTIVES — 6 hours (MGMT 399 Internship is strongly encouraged)
*prerequisites
