INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — People with an associate’s degree or lingering college credits can now get a bachelor’s degree online from Butler University in as little as 18 months.

The new program encourages anyone with at least 60 college credits to earn a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership in 18-24 months. 

Jacob Moss, the associate director of digital enrollment initiatives at Butler, joined Daybreak to explain what this program is.

“It’s a great program for people looking to complete their education, and advance their career all while kind of continuing on with life as normal,” Moss said. “We’re looking for individuals who have that two-year degree or something comparable – 60 credit hours and we’re able to then capture those and capitalize on that. And really encourage people to finish out to that Bachelor’s degree.” 

Moss says almost 900,000 people in Indiana have earned some college credit, but have not completed their bachelor’s degree. That includes more than 424,000 people who currently hold an associate’s degree. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that, on average, bachelor’s degree holders make $22,204 more annually than people with an associate’s degree.

“We saw value in that undergrad degree, but we wanted to make sure it was very accessible for students – both with price point as well as just the eligibility into the program. So, we really see value in it because students can capitalize or take advantage of those credits that they already hold. We’re trying to reduce the amount of hoops students have to jump through to get into our program and then get that bachelor’s degree,” Moss said.

Butler officials say that the online Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Leadership curriculum “prepares graduates for a wide variety of leadership careers, including operations managers, business operations specialists, sales managers, and marketing managers among others.”

“The curriculum itself was built with a lot of incredible assets. It focuses on people skills, business skills, and digital building blocks. And so – that kind of mix that we’ve built into the curriculum was built with industry partners – with Tech Point, with Ivy Tech, with local leaders to really ensure that the degree is what industry, the state, the region, the nation is looking for in a Bachelor’s program right now,” Moss said.

Butler and Ivy Tech have signed an articulation agreement guaranteeing Ivy Tech graduates holding Associate of Arts or Associate of Applied Science degrees, with a minimum 2.0 GPA, admission into Butler’s online B.S. in Organizational Leadership program.

Tuition is $550 per credit hour, and financial aid is available for those who qualify. For 60 hours at Butler, the program would cost around $33,000.

“A full-time student might be in two, occasionally, three classes per eight weeks. Working in the evenings, weekends, between soccer, between other commitments, and so 10 to 20 hours a week, probably — depending on the course, depending on their experience. But the curriculum itself was really designed to support distance education learners and adult learners,” Moss said.

Butler is currently accepting applications for fall 2024 enrollment. For more information and to apply, you can go to Butler University’s website here.