This fall the College of Charleston will offer the first courses in a new bachelor’s degree completion program that was developed specifically to meet the needs of adult learners in South Carolina.

The Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) program will combine online and on-site classes in an effort to accommodate the busy lives of working professionals.  Classes will be offered in the evenings and during the day on weekends.

“There are a lot of people in this area who have been sitting on college credits for a long time and need to complete their degree in order to further their career,” says Godfrey Gibbison, the Dean of the College of Charleston North Campus.  “This new program will allow them to accomplish that goal.”

The program allows adults to use previous college credits to advance toward the new BPS degree. There are two BPS degree concentrations: Organizational Leadership and Management or Communication and Information Systems.

Nationwide, the demand for college-educated workers is expected to grow by 16 percent, while the demand for non-degreed workers will remain stagnant, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2009 workers who were 25 years and older with a bachelor’s degree had median earnings that were 77% higher than the median earnings of workers with a high school degree alone. South Carolina is among the bottom 25% of states for native born population with a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“The College of Charleston is committed to providing students of all ages with a highly personalized education and the new Bachelor of Professional Studies program will help the College continue this tradition of academic excellence into the future” said George Hynd, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.

All of the classes will be offered at the College of Charleston North Campus located at 5300 International Boulevard near the Charleston International Airport.

For more information, contact the College of Charleston North Campus at 843.953.6684 or bps@cofc.edu.