The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education have approved four new bachelor’s degrees to be offered by Rogers State University.
The State Regents approved the bachelor’s degrees on Friday, Feb. 18, at its regular monthly meeting.
“We are very pleased that the State Regents have placed their stamp of approval on our proposed new four-year bachelor’s degrees,” said RSU President Joe Wiley.
Approval by the State Regents will allow RSU to begin offering classes toward the new degrees this fall, pending accreditation as a four-year baccalaureate degree-granting institution by the North Central Association for Colleges and Schools (NCA).
The proposed bachelor’s degrees will be offered in Business Information Technology, Applied Technology, Liberal Arts, and Social Sciences.
In April, NCA officials will visit the RSU campus as a final step in the accreditation of RSU as a four-year institution.
NCA is the nation’s primary accrediting agency for universities in the central U.S. Currently, RSU is accredited by the Commission on the Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools as a two-year associate’s degree-granting institution.
“We fully expect to receive accreditation as a four-year institution,” Wiley said. “By all measures, we are presently on track to begin enrolling students this spring in junior and senior-level classes for the fall semester.”
Last summer, RSU hired 10 faculty members with doctoral degrees who will be teaching classes leading toward the bachelor’s degrees. The university plans to hire more doctorally qualified faculty this fall, Wiley said.
“RSU faculty members and administrators have been working diligently during the past year to develop requirements and curricula for the new bachelor’s degrees,” Wiley said.
The development of the new bachelor’s degrees was based on surveys of current RSU students and residents of Northeast Oklahoma, regional and national employment and demographic data and the university’s traditional academic strengths.
A grant of $325,000 received by eCollege — a leading national firm that allows colleges and universities to offer classes and programs online — will enable RSU to offer classes toward its bachelor’s degrees in Business Information Technology, Applied Technology and Liberal Arts via the Internet, pending NCA accreditation.
The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Business Information Technology is designed to meet the fast-growing regional and national demand for information technology specialists. This degree is an extension of RSU’s Associate of Science degree in Computer Science.
The Bachelor of Applied Technology (B.T.) is an innovative degree program designed to provide a solid educational foundation in the arts and sciences for students who have received an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree.
The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Liberal Arts will offer area students a broad-based general education and multi-disciplinary foundation. Program requirements will include classes in written communication, English, fine arts, history, languages and international and cultural communications.
The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Social Sciences is a multi-disciplinary degree that stresses competence in written and oral communication, scientific reasoning and thinking skills. Students pursuing this degree may choose from options in history and political science, or psychology and sociology.
RSU is widely recognized for its high-quality academic programs, distance learning options and high-technology learning environment. The university has campuses in Claremore, Bartlesville and Pryor, and offers classes and three associate’s degree programs entirely via the Internet through its RSU Online program.
For more information on RSU, call (918) 343-7777 or 1-800-256-7511.