A partnership agreement creating a new pathway for many recipients of the Regents Bachelor of Arts degree to enroll in the Executive MBA program has been established at West Virginia University.

The agreement was struck between the University College and the College of Business and Economics, and was signed by Dr. Elizabeth Dooley, Dean of the University College, and Jose ‘Zito’ Sartarelli, B&E Milan Puskar Dean. Both said the agreement provides a seamless plan for students to continue their higher education path.

“Through the RBA-EMBA partnership, WVU is creating a pathway to enhanced futures,” said Dooley. “Students choose to stop out of college for a variety of reasons. Realizing one can still pursue a bachelor’s and a professional degree through a defined pathway promotes the concept of lifelong learning, academic engagement and career placement.”

The Regents Bachelor of Arts degree is an innovative baccalaureate designed to be a foundational bachelor’s degree for adult students. The RBA degree program assumes that adults have different needs and goals than traditional undergraduates. Therefore, time, space and program requirements are designed to meet the special needs of the adult learner. The program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive general education without the requirement of a specific major. It differs from other bachelor’s degrees in that Regents students may earn “College-Equivalent Credit” for selected work and life experiences, which can be equated to college courses.

“We are encouraging RBA students to think beyond the Bachelors and look at the possibilities for graduate education,” said Dr. Kristi Wood-Turner, director of the RBA Program. “We want people to re-imagine the RBA as an intentional and focused degree that allows adult learners to build skill sets they need for the next step in their journey.”

Sartarelli said RBA students have a wide variety of backgrounds and work experience that would lend themselves to continuing on in the Executive MBA program.

“RBA students often want to complete their undergraduate degree in the most concise way possible so that they can move on to other pursuits, which often involves a graduate degree,” said Sartarelli. “This pathway agreement provides students with a plan of study so that they can build a foundation with undergraduate courses to facilitate a smooth transition into the Executive MBA program, a program that is ranked #23 by U.S. News & World Report.”

Next steps in the partnership include a targeted webinar to the more than 400 active RBA students at WVU to educate them about the pathway.

Go to universitycollege.wvu.edu for information on WVU’s University College. For further information on the WVU College of Business and Economics, visit be.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

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CONTACT: Kristi Wood-Turner, WVU University College
304.293.8343, kwood@wvu.edu

Elizabeth Vitullo, WVU College of Business and Economics
304.293.7811, Elizabeth.Vitullo@mail.wvu.edu

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