USU resolves business-program problem

Bart Brighton can see light at the end of the tunnel. After weeks of serious stress, the Utah State University Uinta Basin business administration major and brand new father won't have to choose between his full-time job and pulling up stakes to move to USU's Logan campus to complete his bachelor's degree.

"It's real good news," said 24-year-old Brighton. "I've got a real good job now, something I plan on doing for the rest of my life. But I have always wanted a degree. I would have had to choose between quitting work here and becoming a full-time student, which would pretty much kill me."

Brighton is not alone. An estimated one-third of about 200 students enrolled in USU Uinta Basin's business programs in Vernal and Roosevelt could have been affected by changes made in standards set by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The association accredits USU's business administration program.

The changes meant that USU's College of Business would have had to distance itself from Uinta Basin's fast-growing business program in order to receive the elite accreditation status. The alternative was to find a way for the branch campuses to comply with the rigorous, but highly sought-after, accreditation.

Thanks to innovative planning, the issue is resolved, pending official approval of the State Board of Regents during its June 10 meeting. The solution involves a new way to offer business degrees for USU Distance Education students.

"We have two issues," said Noelle Cockett, USU's interim provost. "We have a commitment to the students currently in the Continuing Education business program to help them finish as they were set up. And we have to set up a new program with new business degrees."

The general bachelor's of business degree that will soon be offered at USU Uinta Basin is not new to the Logan campus, but it is new off campus, said Caryn Beck-Dudley, dean of the USU College of Business. The degree will provide greater flexibility for students by minimizing prerequisites and restrictions. "It will also be fully AACSB-accredited and is comparable to the business administration degree we have offered for years," she said.

The new bachelor's of science business degree will have "special topic classes" including entrepreneurism, human resources, management and accounting, said Beck-Dudley. And it will offer off-campus business students a greater amount of flexibility when it comes to course selection.