Online Business FAQ’s
What is the Pathways Program for On-line Business?
What is the title of the bachelor's degree program that an on-line business student will complete at WSU?
What is the admission process for students seeking the bachelor's degree in Business Management?
How do Students apply for On-line Admission?
How do I apply as a student in traditional classroom attendance?
Whom is this program intended to serve?
What transcripts are required?
Why is program-to-program articulation important?
What special benefits does Westfield State University award to students who enroll with 1990 Commonwealth Transfer Compact status?
Will students enrolling in the on-line Business Program administered by our Division of Graduate and Continuing Education (DGCE) be eligible for benefits of the Joint Admissions and Tuition Advantage Programs (TAP)?
What is the application fee?
What is the cost per credit of the exclusively on-line bachelor's degree-completion program?
If students don't complete the designated Business/ Transfer Compact associate's degree program, or if they complete a different associate's degree program before transferring, will they still be considered for admission to the on-line bachelor's degree-completion program?
What if a student completes the designated Business/ Transfer Compact associates degree program, but does not follow the program-to-program articulation curriculum?
How will Business on-line students be advised; in other words, how will they know where they stand in terms of degree completion at WSU?
How do students get information about this program?
What is the application deadline? Applicants to the On-line Business Program?
What is the application deadline? Applicants to the full-time day Admission Office
Students applying to the full-time day Admission Office are not guaranteed on-campus housing as part of this agreement.
1. What is the Pathways Program for On-line Business?
It's an opportunity for graduates of a MA community college to complete years three and four of a bachelor's degree program in Business Management via an exclusively on-line format. This initiative is sponsored by Massachusetts Colleges On-line and coordinated by Westfield State University.
However, students who wish to complete years three and four of the Business Management degree program as traditional classroom students, or by combining traditional classrooms with on-line course offerings also may apply for admission. Program-to-program articulation agreements with participating Massachusetts community colleges will pertain to all students enrolled in the Business Management degree program with the Management concentration at Westfield State University. Back to top.
2. What is the title of the bachelor's degree program that an on-line business student will complete at WSU?
For Fall 2008, the on-line format is available for the Bachelor of Science in Business Management degree with a concentration in Management. Current plans include adding the Marketing concentration on-line in Spring 2009 and the Finance concentration on-line in Fall 2009. Future plans include offering the Accounting concentration on-line.
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3. What is the admission process for students seeking the bachelor's degree in Business Management?
Applicants will be directed to the appropriate application form and administrative department by selecting the Admission link on the College's website at http://www.westfield.ma.edu/onlinebusiness. Back to top.
4. Students applying for On-line Admission:
Applicants who wish to complete the bachelor's degree exclusively on-line as either a part-time or full-time students apply by selecting the link http://www.westfield.ma.edu/onlinebusiness and then the tab for admission. Applicants to the exclusively on-line bachelor's degree-completion program for either part-time or full-time enrollment will apply for admission on-line or by printing the application and submission to the address listed on the application. Back to top.
5. Students applying for traditional classroom attendance and/or on-campus housing at WSU:
Applicants seeking traditional classroom attendance at and/or on-campus housing at WSU as full-time day students will continue to apply through the Admission Office; full-time status requires a minimum of 12 credit hours completed per term. Students who apply to the full-time day Admission Office will have limited or restricted access to on-line courses, and will apply as any other business major, using the major code, BUSM.
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6. Whom is this program intended to serve?
The on-line degree-completion program has been designed for community college graduates with 1990 Commonwealth Transfer Compact status. Students should complete an associate's degree curriculum designated specifically for the On-line Business bachelor's degree completion program and earn a minimum cumulative QPA of 2.30 before transferring to WSU.
Other transfer students also may apply to the exclusively on-line bachelor's degree-completion program. The minimum cumulative QPA required for admission consideration is 2.30 for students with 24 or more transferable credit hours earned at the time of enrollment. Students who wish to transfer with fewer than 24 credits earned at the time of enrollment must earn a minimum cumulative QPA of 2.5. Transfer students who have not earned an associate's degree from a Massachusetts community college also are required to submit an official high school transcript; some students also are required to submit SAT-I scores. The amount of weight given to the quality of the high school transcript and SAT-I scores, if required, is dependent upon the number of transferable credits earned and the distribution of high school and transfer courses completed across required academic disciplines as determined by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (BHE) and Westfield State University. Back to top.
7. What transcripts are required?
Students who complete any MA community college associate's degree generally are required to submit only official original transcripts from colleges attended. Students who do not earn a MA community college degree before transferring also are required to submit a final official high school transcript; students who have earned a GED are required to submit their high school transcript and an official GED test score report. Back to top.
8. Why is program-to-program articulation important?
Program-to-program articulation will be in place for each community college that desires participation prior to fall 2008. These articulation documents may be used as advising sheets for ALL transfer applicants and facilitate the planning of courses at the community college that will transfer to the WSU Business Management degree program with the Management concentration.
Articulation documents will meet requirements of the 1990 Commonwealth Transfer Compact, and will be designated as Joint Admissions (and TAP-eligible) programs.
Admission will be guaranteed to qualified students enrolled in designated associate's degree programs with a cumulative 2.30 QPA, provided they complete their application files by the Joint Admissions priority-filing dates for each semester and earn the associate's degree before transferring. Back to top.
9. What special benefits does Westfield State University award to students who enroll with 1990 Commonwealth Transfer Compact status?
Beyond those benefits afforded students as part of the 1990 Transfer Compact by the BHE, students whom Westfield determines to have met all requirements for the 1990 Transfer Compact will have all outstanding general education core courses waived, unless individual courses are required to complete requirements for the Business Management major. Back to top.
10. Will students enrolling in the on-line Business Program administered by our Division of Graduate and Continuing Education (DGCE) be eligible for benefits of the Joint Admissions and Tuition Advantage Programs (TAP)?
At Westfield State University, the full-time day college and DGCE are funded by two different sources: the day college is funded by the Commonwealth; DGCE is self-supporting. Since Joint Admissions and TAP are state-supported programs, DGCE is unable to use state resources to fund Joint Admissions application fee waivers or the TAP tuition reduction.
However, DGCE will honor the intention of the Joint Admissions program by guaranteeing admission to Massachusetts community college graduates in designated programs with 1990 Transfer Compact status and a 2.30 cumulative QPA, provided they complete their application files by each semester's priority filing date. Applicants to the exclusively on-line degree-completion program will file a free online application for On-line Business. Additionally, DGCE will build into its fee structure for ALL qualified community college graduates the TAP tuition benefit ($320 per year), provided they enroll as full-time on-line students (12 semester hours of credit or more). Back to top.
11. What is the application fee?
The application fee is waived for MA community college graduates applying for the exclusively on-line bachelor's degree-completion program in Business Management. For all other students, the DGCE application fee is $30. Effective for 2009 enrollment, the fee is waived for applicants to the full-time day Admission Office with any MA community college associate's degree earned before transferring. Applicants to the full-time day Admission Office without the associate's degree earned prior to transfer will be charged a fee of $35 for in-state residents and $50 for out-of-state residents. Back to top.
12. What is the cost per credit of the exclusively on-line bachelor's degree-completion program?
Full-time students (10 courses per year) in the on-line program pay tuition and fees totaling $5840 per year.*
The cost per credit is as detailed below:
One 3-credit course $ 700
Two 3-credit courses $1,255
Three 3-credit courses $1,810
Four 3-credit courses $2,365
Five 3-credit courses $2,920
The out-of-state rate is $345 per credit (in-state is $85 per credit): One course costing $1,480.
Students pay for their education at the time of registration and third party (employer payments) can be arranged on an individual basis.
*For comparison, a full-time student (enrolled in 12 or more credits per term) attending WSU pays $5,889 after the TAP benefit ($320) is applied, excluding room and board.
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13. If students don't complete the designated Business/Transfer Compact associate's degree program, or if they complete a different associate's degree program before transferring, will they still be considered for admission to the on-line bachelor's degree-completion program?
Yes. However, students who transfer without completing the associate's degree curriculum designated for the on-line bachelor's degree-completion program under terms of the 1990 Commonwealth Transfer Compact will be subject to WSU policies for completion of outstanding course requirements for the major, the general education core, and general electives to complete the bachelor's degree. In these circumstances, students may not be able to complete the bachelor's degree exclusively on-line at Westfield, although Massachusetts Colleges On-line may offer equivalents of some outstanding required courses, pending WSU approval. The same conditions may apply to students who do complete the designated associate's degree curriculum for the On-line Business program, but do not follow the course selections specified on the program-to-program articulation sheet for their respective community colleges Students in these situations must seek academic advising at WSU to develop a personalized plan of study. It is likely that under these conditions, even full-time transfer students completing 15 credits per semester will not be able to complete the bachelor's degree in two years.
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14. What if a student completes the designated Business/ Transfer Compact associate's degree program, but does not follow the program-to-program articulation curriculum?
Students in this situation still can be admitted to the program, but their transcripts must to be reviewed closely by an academic advisor to develop a personalized plan of study. These students will need to meet one-on-one with an academic advisor for the purpose of evaluating their transfer credits for placement in the major and to determine outstanding degree requirements. This meeting can be conducted in a virtual environment via the internet for students' convenience. All other criteria, such as costs and document processing, remain the same. Back to top.
15. How will Business on-line students be advised; in other words, how will they know where they stand in terms of degree completion at WSU?
Students will have access to an advisor that is appointed specifically to the on-line Business bachelor's degree-completion program either by phone or a virtual on-line environment. The advisor for this program can be reached by calling (413) 572-8020 and specifying an interest in the on-line Business Management program; or by submitting an inquiry through the link provided for On-line Business at www.westfield.ma.edu/onlinebusinss. Students also have the option of traveling to WSU for advising, if they wish to do so.
Additionally, students who plan to complete the associate's degree for the designated on-line business program will have access to the full program-to-program articulation agreement for their respective community college to use as an advising tool. Articulation agreements will be available at the community college transfer offices or on the community college's website and will be posted on the WSU web page for the On-line Business program at www.westfield.ma.edu/onlinebusiness. Students who are not enrolled in the On-line Business Program will continue to have academic advisors available to them through established College practices. Back to top.
16. How do students get information about this program?
Students with general questions about the on-line business program may call Division of Graduate and Continuing Education (DGCE) at (413) 572-8022 or fill out the questionnaire for more information that is attached to the On-line Business Management link on the opening page of our website at www.westfield.ma.edu/onlinebusiness.
As the program develops, additional student information will be added to this website.
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What is the application deadline?
17. Applicants to the On-line Business Program:
Priority consideration filing dates for the exclusively on-line bachelor's degree-completion program are October 15 for January (spring) enrollment and March 1 for September (fall) enrollment. Students who are eligible for admission and complete their application files by the priority filing dates will be guaranteed admission for the requested enrollment term. Application files completed after these dates will be accommodated on a space-available basis.
Students applying to the exclusively on-line program are not eligible for on-campus housing placement. Back to top.
What is the application deadline?
18. Applicants to the full-time day Admission Office:
Priority consideration filing dates for both full-time days and DGCE are October 15 for January (spring) enrollment and March 1 for September (fall) enrollment. Students who are eligible for admission and complete their application files by the priority filing dates will be guaranteed admission for the requested enrollment term. Application files completed after these dates will be accommodated on a space-available basis.
Students applying to the full-time day Admission Office are not guaranteed on-campus housing as part of this agreement. Back to top.