The University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies introduced a new asynchronous pathway for its Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree with classes that will begin in January. The degree completion program began in 1999 and is designed for working adults, career changers and non-traditional students. The BIS degree program offers a flexible way to earn a degree while considering adult life and busy schedules, according to Joshua Katz, senior associate of communications at SCPS.
More than one million adult Virginians have some college credit but no postsecondary degree, according to Glenn DuBois, chancellor of the Virginia Community College system. According to Melissa Lubin, dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, the BIS degree program helps students with some college credit build on what they have already earned.
According to David Corlett, director of undergraduate degree programs and assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies, the BIS degree program has 13 concentrations, including psychology, history, cybersecurity and public safety management. The program currently has 350 students enrolled, and students must begin the program with 36-60 college credits from elsewhere, such as from a community college.
The BIS degree program began in an in-person format, meeting one night per week for about three hours. According to Corlett, the program moved to a synchronous online format in 2017. The move to a virtual format was driven largely by student demand and SCPS’s commitment to serving adult learners more effectively. Lubin said online learning allowed the program to meet students where they are — physically, geographically and logistically. Still, the fixed weekly meeting time format can be a barrier for adults balancing work and family, particularly those with shift work or unpredictable hours such as health care and public safety workers, said Lubin.
According to Corlett, the new asynchronous pathway aims to combat timing challenges by providing a format in which students complete coursework within weekly deadlines rather than attending scheduled class sessions.
“[The asynchronous pathway within BIS] allows for people to complete work over the course of a week in all the various interactions, largely on their time,” Corlett said. “I don't mean it's whatever they want, because there are deadlines that they have to meet every week ... But they're able to do it … whenever it suits their time.”
Since the asynchronous program was announced, Corlett reported a significant rise in inquiries, applications and completions. 60 percent of enrolled students indicated interest in the asynchronous pathway, Corlett said.
The new asynchronous program emphasizes interactive and collaborative assignments, while also maintaining a small class size average of about 20 students, Corlett said. Instead of recording a three-hour class, instructors in the asynchronous program break material into short video segments, then ask students to apply it through discussion forums or tools like Hypothesis — a platform on which small groups of students can annotate articles, videos and images together online.
“Any asynchronous class is still going to have the same professor and small group of students, or that more intimate, immediate experience between faculty and student and between peers,” Corlett said. “Unlike other places, we are not scaling by one professor [with] 200 students. We're doing it by adding more sections and more instructors.”
According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, only 20 percent of exclusively part-time students nationwide completed a degree within six years as of June 2023. The University’s BIS degree program has averaged a 73 percent graduation rate since 2020, according to Corlett. Lubin added that the University’s BIS degree program has excelled in metrics such as graduation and retention.
“[For retention rates,] we look from fall to fall, so if you stay a full year and begin the next fall, then we have retained you as a student, and our retention rate is at 88 percent, which is really high compared to the national average,” Lubin said. “It’s important to know that our numbers, both for retention and for graduation … [are] over twice the national average.”
Additionally, because SCPS charges a range of $499-$1,683 per credit hour — the rate varies by course type and in-state or out-of-state status, rather than a flat rate per semester where students pay only for the courses they take and can move at their own pace. According to Lubin, for students who are in their mid-30s and mid-career, finishing sooner means the return on their investment will show up in their jobs in real time.
“[The asynchronous pathway] allows [students] to really make a difference in their career by earning [their] degree faster,” Lubin said. “That is the right thing to do for adult learners and this will help speed that up a bit.”
Applications for the asynchronous pathway are open now for the Spring 2027 semester with a Nov. 1 deadline. Lubin said she hopes the pathway will increase not only the number of applicants, but also how efficiently adult learners reach their goals.
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