The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences offers an innovative bachelor’s degree designed for adult students. The Regents BA degree differs from other baccalaureate degrees in many respects. Credit for selected work and life experiences that can be equated with college courses can count toward the BA. Students write portfolios to obtain such credit. The program is designed to provide a comprehensive general education without the requirement of a major. Students design a course of study that best fits their own needs. Time, location, and program requirements are designed to meet the special needs of the adult learner. As no specific courses are required for graduation, the program provides considerable flexibility in how, when, and where course requirements are met. Students may earn credit through regular college courses; TV, satellite, and Internet courses; correspondence courses; credit by exam; and/or writing portfolios. There is no time limit for completing the degree requirements. Almost all credits earned in the past from regionally accredited institutions can be transferred, although no more than 72 hours of lower-division credit from two-year community and junior colleges can count toward the bachelor’s degree. RBA Areas of Emphasis The current list of 27 AOEs is bulleted below, by academic discipline and specialty areas. Advertising and Public Relations Business Administration Child Development Communication Studies  Economics English • Creative Writing • Literature Foreign Language • French • German • Russian • Spanish • Linguistics Geology and Geography • Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing • Geography (general) • Geology (general) History International Relations • Africa and the Middle East • Asia • The Americas • Europe • Development Studies Philosophy Political Science • General Political Science • Law and Legal Studies • International and World Affairs Psychology Sociology • Sociology (general) • Crime and Social Control Women’s Studies For more information, contact: Regents Bachelor of Arts Coordinator, Carol Hando at: 304-293-5441, or by e-mail at: Carol.Hando@mail.wvu.edu Visit us online at: http://rba.as.wvu.edu

The WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most diverse academic unit within West Virginia University. A faculty of 450 and a staff of 125 are involved in educating and supporting the efforts of more than 6,700 students (nearly one-fourth of the WVU student body) who are majoring in one or more of 63 undergraduate and graduate programs offered by the College’s 16 academic departments and divisions. The College’s academic units and research facilities are housed in 14 buildings on the WVU campus. The Dean’s Office is in historic Woodburn Hall. The College and its Department of Biology also maintain the Core Arboretum, a 75-acre wooded tract adjacent to the Monongahela River.

The College provides the majority of the curriculum for all WVU undergraduates and a wide variety of required and elective courses for the entire student body. Regents BA students must take 36 hours of general education course work, most of which is offered through the Eberly College.

Eberly College undergraduate degree programs prepare students for many specific professions, while also providing a broad-based education that will remain relevant beyond the first job after graduation. Many Eberly College alumni, including Regents BA graduates, go on to complete graduate and professional degrees. By providing students with analytic and communication skills, reasoning abilities, and a broad knowledge of the humanities and the behavioral and natural sciences, the Eberly College equips graduates for lifelong learning and prepares them to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world and an increasingly volatile job market.

Admission
Admission to the Regents BA Program is open only to students who graduated from high school four or more years ago. For those passing a high school equivalency test, admission must be at least four years after their class graduated from high school. Students who possess a baccalaureate degree or are enrolled in another BA program are ineligible.

Curriculum
Degree requirements include a total of 128 credits, 40 upper-division credits, and 36 general education credits (at least six hours each in communication skills, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, and three hours in mathematical sciences). Students have the option of pursuing one or more areas of emphasis, which will be noted on their transcripts. The Regents BA Program has no major.

Residency
The residency requirement is only 24 credit hours. Students are permitted to take courses at any of the public higher education institutions in the state to meet the residency requirements. At least three credits must be earned at WVU. Portfolio credit and credit by exam cannot be used to meet this requirement.

Scholarships and Fees
Regents students are eligible for financial aid, scholarships, awards, and use of University facilities on the same basis as other students. Students also are eligible to compete for Arts and Sciences scholarships.

Tuition and fees are the same as for other undergraduate programs; those seeking college equivalent credit must pay a $300 portfolio fee (regardless of the amount of credit requested) every semester in which portfolios are submitted. Starting July 1, 2005, a portfolio posting fee of $10 per credit hour for faculty-evaluated portfolio credit will be charged. This fee does not apply to standardized awards for ACE Guide credits. Students may choose not to post “extra” portfolio credits not needed for degree completion.

Accreditation
West Virginia University is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Graduate School Opportunities
Students graduating with a Regents BA degree are eligible to seek admission into graduate and professional programs. Students take the specific courses needed for admission to such programs as part of their Regents BA.

Salary Range
According to the fall 2003 National Association of Colleges and Employers Salary Survey, the average starting salary for an employee with a bachelor’s degree in fields typically entered by people with liberal arts degrees was $28,973.

Areas of Emphasis
Regents students have the option of earning an area of emphasis (AOE) in one or more subject fields in which they have done advanced study. All AOEs require 15 hours of upper-division graded course work with grades of C or better. (Independent study and field experience courses cannot be used.) Earned AOEs are reported on students’ transcripts.
The AOEs are determined by department faculty and vary considerably in the specificity of the requirements. Some AOEs have lower-division prerequisites, some specify one or more of the upper-division courses, some provide a list from which courses must be selected, and some AOEs leave course choice up to the student. The complete list of AOEs and the specific requirements for each is on the RBA Web site.