Northern Michigan University’s College of Business will offer a new bachelor’s of applied science in management degree, beginning in fall 2018. The BAS program will be delivered primarily online. It is designed for non-traditional students and returning adult learners who have completed associate of applied science degrees in technical fields. NMU will help them gain added expertise and develop skills to advance to prospective leadership roles in their chosen fields.

Because students can apply their technical AAS credits to the program, they will have to complete only 60 credit hours at NMU to earn the bachelor’s degree.

The program will target working professionals with associate degrees in Michigan and northeast Wisconsin. According to the proposal, there were more than 24,000 associate degrees granted in Michigan alone in 2015-16.

“Many of these graduates will discover that in order to be competitive within their industries and advance in responsibility and position, they will need to go back to school,” said David Rayome, dean of NMU’s College of Business. “Most will have to do that while working full time, in the evenings and on the weekends. This program offers the convenience of online and hybrid courses. There is value in continuing education beyond an associate degree for both the individuals and the communities they live in.”

Rayome said research by the Milken Institute found that a region’s economic fortunes are closely tied to the quality of its workforce, demonstrated through educational attainment. Adding one year of schooling among employed workers who have completed 12 or more years of school is associated with a “17.4 percent increase in GDP per capita and a 17.8 percent increase in real wagers per worker.”

The NMU College of Business will admit 30 students per year into the BAS program. For more information, contact business@nmu.edu or 906-227-2900.