U North Texas Launches Fully Online Bachelor's Degree on Coursera

The University of North Texas is giving non-traditional students a pathway to complete a bachelor's degree online. The Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) program will launch on Coursera beginning in fall 2020 — making it the first bachelor's degree from a United States university on the platform.

Designed for students who have prior college or military credit, the BAAS allows students to transfer up to 90 credit hours toward the 120-credit degree (students are required to transfer a minimum of 60 credit hours). From there they can pursue concentrations in administration, organizational supervision, social services, hospitality, media innovation, consumer behavior or information technology.

In addition, students who have completed Coursera's Google IT Support Professional Certificate can earn credit toward the BAAS's information technology concentration.

Cost for the BAAS program is $330 per credit hour (scholarships will be available). Applicants are assigned a pre-adviser to "help create a customized degree plan based on their goals and previously earned credits," according to a news announcement; students continue to receive guidance from the advising team throughout the program.

"By bringing our BAAS program to Coursera, we're offering non-traditional students everywhere the opportunity to thrive in a high-quality academic environment," said Jennifer Cowley, provost and vice president for academic affairs at UNT, in a statement. "The program will offer students the same engaging support, personal interaction and career services as our on-campus BAAS program to ensure they are set up for success post-graduation."

"At UNT, we recognize that not everyone can take the traditional path to a bachelor's degree and strive to help students of all backgrounds and experiences succeed," commented Adam Fein, vice president of digital strategy and innovation at UNT. "We're excited to bring our successful BAAS program to Coursera and offer students around the world the opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree and take advantage of the vast career opportunities this credential offers."

For more information, visit the BAAS site on Coursera.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • white clouds in the sky overlaid with glowing network nodes, circuits, and AI symbols

    AWS, Microsoft, Google, Others Make DeepSeek-R1 AI Model Available on Their Platforms

    Leading cloud service providers are now making the open source DeepSeek-R1 reasoning model available on their platforms, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.

  • illustration with geometric shapes, digital circuitry, and subtle icons of an open book, graduation cap, and lightbulb

    University of Michigan Launches Agentic AI Virtual Teaching Assistant

    At the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business, a new Virtual Teaching Assistant pilot program is utilizing agentic AI to provide students with 24/7 access to support and self-directed learning.

  • robot waving

    Copilot Updates Aim to Make AI More Personal

    Microsoft has unveiled a range of updates to its Copilot platform, marking a new phase in its effort to deliver what it calls a "true AI companion" that adapts to individual users' needs, preferences and routines.

  • modern college building with circuit and brain motifs

    Anthropic Launches Claude for Education

    Anthropic has announced a version of its Claude AI assistant tailored for higher education institutions. Claude for Education "gives academic institutions secure, reliable AI access for their entire community," the company said, to enable colleges and universities to develop and implement AI-enabled approaches across teaching, learning, and administration.