The BAS is a Bachelor's degree completion program for students who have graduated with Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees. AAS degrees have traditionally been considered to be non-transferable to B.S. or B.A. degrees, and individuals wishing to attain a baccalaureate degree often lost most of their credits. The BAS degree provides a pathway for these individuals to attain a bachelor's degree in two years (56-60 credit hours).

This degree aligns well with the missions of the regional campuses of Indiana University: to promote educational attainment and economic development in our regions. By providing a pathway to a high-quality bachelor's degree for an underserved population-AAS degree holders who wish to earn a bachelor's degree to advance their careers-this degree promotes educational attainment and economic development in our regions. The degree is designed to articulate seamlessly, in a 2+2 model, with a variety of AAS degrees from Ivy Tech Community College, Jefferson Community and Technical Colleges, and Vincennes University.

The BAS degree is proposed as a joint degree program by all five IU-managed regional campuses. By design, this joint program provides efficiencies of scale while maintaining the unique characteristics of the regional campuses.

The BAS is a nationally-recognized degree which is available in many states. Some public institutions which offer this degree include the University of Minnesota, Arizona State University, Missouri State University, and the University of Texas- San Antonio.

The BAS degree can be oriented toward several specific career fields, such as hospital administration, general supervision or entry-level management, and some human resources functions. Because of this degree's flexibility, it tracks into approximately 34 occupations that can be grouped into three occupational clusters-a specialty business cluster, a supervisory cluster, and a management cluster.

This degree is not intended to prepare students for graduate study. The purpose of this degree is to enable AAS degree-holders to earn a bachelor's degree, in a reasonable amount of time that builds on their technical background and provides the knowledge and skills needed to advance in their careers.

This BAS degree has three tracks: Health Care Management, Sustainability, and Individualized. Students in the Health Care track might be employed, for example, as a Medical and Health Services Manager. Students in the Individualized Track are expected to pursue advancement with their current employers, or to seek employment in the specialty business, supervisory, or management occupations. Students in the Sustainability Track are interested in a career in areas such as environmental planning and coordination, environmental education and communications, sustainability coordination or consulting in the private or public sector, green design, environmental law or public affairs, or graduate study.

The BAS degree is a 2 + 2 degree, articulating with AAS degrees granted by Ivy Tech and other two year institutions. Students may apply 60-64 credits from their Ivy Tech AAS degrees to the BAS degree. Students will take 60 credit hours in the BAS at Indiana University: 30 credit hours of general education, 18 hours in the BAS Core, and 12 hours in a specialty track (Health Management or Individualized).

This is a joint degree to be offered by all five regional campuses of IU. A faculty team, with representation from each campus, developed the shared curricular framework for this degree. The joint degree format permits the campuses to share faculty resources and thereby provide educational opportunities to students in their regions that those students might not otherwise have. Students may take BAS courses from any of the five campuses and have those courses apply to their BAS degree at their home campus.

Credit Hours Required/Time to Complete

This is a 120 credit hour program. Students entering the program will transfer in 60-64 credit hours from their AAS degrees. Therefore, full-time students are expected to complete the degree in two academic years (four semesters).

BAS Core (required) - 18 hours

BAS Track (one required) - 12 hours

Students must select one of the following tracks: Health Care Management, Sustainability, or Individualized.

The Health Care Management track is designed to appeal to individuals who hold an AAS degree in one of the many health care fields (such as Medical Assisting, Health Care Support, Paramedic Science, and Medical Laboratory Technology).

In this track, students take courses that meet three of the first four learning outcomes (3 courses/9 credit hours), plus the capstone course for a total of 4 courses/12 credit hours. The capstone course meets all five learning outcomes in this track. Students may use either of the two listed courses to satisfy the capstone requirement.

1. Compare and contrast the U.S. health-care system, including reimbursement, with other systems around the world.

2. Demonstrate an understanding of the ethical, legal, financial, and political factors that influence the provision of health services in the U.S.

3. Evaluate access to and cost of US health care, including reimbursement practices, for different types of care

4. Effectively assess and implement improvements in clinical care, customer service, and human resource planning in a health care setting.

5. (Capstone) Integrate knowledge and skills and apply to health management issues or challenges.

The study of sustainability bridges the arts and humanities, social science, and the physical and life sciences. The Sustainability track will provide you with a broad introduction to the complex system-scale challenges of sustainability, as well as the tools needed to address problems that transcend solely social or environmental domains.

The Sustainability track attracts students from a variety of backgrounds and interests. They typically have some of the following qualities:

• Interest in sustainability, human-environment interaction, sustainable food systems, and/or environmental ethics.
• Desire to take courses from the arts and humanities, social sciences, and phyusical and life sciences.
• Interest in a career in areas such as environmenmental planning and coordination, environmental education and communications, sustainability coordination and consulting int he private or public sector, green design, environmental law or public affairs, or graduate study.
• Desire to help make the world a better place.

The Sustainability Studies faculty strongly recommends that studentes take SUST-S 201 Foundations of Sustainability (online) before they begin this track.

Students must take three courses from Category 1, with at least one course from "A. Sciences" and one from "B. Social sciences, Humanities, and Other" designations. Students must also take one course from Category 2.

Category 1: Sustainability Courses

A. Sciences

B. Social Sciences, Humanities, and Other

Category 2: Capstone Experience

The Individualized track is a highly flexible track designed to meet the needs of many different AAS degree holders. For example, a student with an AAS in Criminal Justice who wants to advance his or her career in criminal justice might design a track to include upper-division courses in Criminal Justice, Public Affairs, or (if he or she works with youth offenders and their families) Sociology and Psychology. A student with an AAS in Design Technology who wishes to change careers might select courses in web development and graphic design. A student with an AAS in Advanced Manufacturing who has a goal of becoming a supervisor or manager might choose courses emphasizing human resource development, communication, and other management skills.

In this track, students select 12 hours of courses based on their individual interests, backgrounds, and needs. One of these courses will be a required capstone course. The learning outcomes for this track are as follows:

1. Demonstrate the ability to think critically in the fields studied.
2. Effectively present central ideas, issues, and methods of inquiry specific to the fields studied.
3. Apply knowledge and skills from general education, the BAS core, and the Individualized Track to issues or challenges in their area of technical expertise.

In this track, students select 12 hours of courses based on their individual interests, backgrounds, and needs. One of these courses will be a required capstone course.

Electives

Courses counted toward the concentration must be taken for a letter grade. Students must maintain an overall GPA of 2.0 or higher. As per IU campus policy, at least 30 hours must be at the 300 level or higher.

Please contact the School of Arts and Letters Academic Advising Office or Advisors for more information and/or a personal one-on-one visit!