Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of seven articles written by students who were enrolled in Dr. Jennifer Bloom's course, Developmental Academic Advising in Higher Education, at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign during the 1999 summer semester. For an overview of the course, along with a description of all seven articles, please refer to Dr. Bloom's article, “Developmental Academic Advising in Higher Education: The Class.”
Can you imagine this? In East Central Illinois, in the middle of the corn and bean fields, there is a bachelor's degree program that has been established to meet the unique developmental needs of the adult student. This program is alive and flourishing. Eastern Illinois University's Board of Trustees (BOT) program offers a fully-accredited bachelor of arts degree that takes into consideration the population it serves in every facet of the program, from the classes it offers to the meticulous service it provides to these students. This article will look at the history of the BOT program, the demand for the program, and the reasons behind the great successes of the program.
In 1972, Dr. Robert Pringle, then vice chancellor for academic affairs of the Illinois Board of Governors (BOG) Universities (which at that time consisted of Western Illinois University, Chicago State University, North Eastern Illinois University, and Eastern Illinois University), made a visionary decision to launch a quality adult education program named The Board of Governors' Degree Program. This non-traditional degree program was established to make available to the adult student, age 25 or older, the opportunity to complete an accredited bachelor of arts degree while taking into consideration the constraints the adult learner faces.
When the governor of Illinois dismantled the Board of Governors University system in 1997, each of the BOG universities was given its own individual board of trustees. At that time, Eastern Illinois University changed the name of its version of the Board of Governors Degree Program to the Board of Trustees (BOT) Program and placed the program under the umbrella of the School of Adult and Continuing Education and under the leadership of its current director, Dr. Kaye Woodward.
There is clearly a demand for this type of adult learning degree program. The BOT program is presently the largest single degree program at Eastern Illinois University and is the third largest non-traditional program in the United States. There are currently 1,500 students in the program and an average of 180-200 who graduate each year. The total number of BOT graduates from EIU since this program's inception is 2,657. The numbers certainly speak for themselves!
In today's competitive and high-tech employment market, a bachelor's degree is becoming a must for employees who want to advance their careers. Dr. Woodward notes that, “Most BOT graduates are not seeking new employment, but rather seeking the ability to advance within their current career” (personal communication, July 22, 1999). However, a side benefit is that BOT graduates are so enthusiastic about the learning process that many of them continue their education beyond the bachelor's degree level. More than 50% of the graduates are admitted to graduate school, and approximately 20% have completed advanced study (with an additional 21% in the process of earning an advanced degree). Within this group, 95% have completed a master's level degree, seven have completed law degrees, and one has graduated from medical school. Several BOT graduates have earned Ph.D.s and are teaching at major universities. A recent survey of BOT graduates showed that 85% of the students were employed full time, and an additional 9% were employed part time while enrolled in the program.
So you may be wondering what makes this program so unique? First of all, it might help if we look at the requirements of this non-traditional degree.
Before a student is admitted to the BOT program, his/her post-secondary transcript is evaluated. All passing grades from any regionally-accredited college or university are accepted. This equates to not punishing the adult student for taking a technical course that other degree programs might not accept. Upon a student's admission, only grades of C and above are recognized and calculated into his/her grade-point average.
To complete a BOT bachelor of arts degree, a student must earn 120 semester hours of credits including 12 semester hours in humanities, 12 hours in the social sciences, and 12 hours in math/science. In addition, 40 hours of junior/senior level work are required, although only 15 of the 120 hours must be taken at EIU or another approved institution. These may be earned through campus classes or at conveniently located off-campus classes. Most of the time, these classes are held at locations close to the students' homes. In fact, it is possible for a BOT student not to step onto the EIU campus in Charleston until graduation. Students are also given credit for transfer hours, proficiency tests, military credit, and/or credit via portfolio evaluation. The portfolio option allows the student an opportunity to earn credit for knowledge and skills acquired outside of the classroom (e.g., through aviation classes,certifiable training sessions via on-the-job training, and/or life experiences).
The times that BOT classes are offered are also very important to the success of this program. The classes are offered in the evenings and even on weekends which is more convenient for the typical adult student who works full time.
Another reason for the success of this program is a dedicated staff that is committed to the adult student. The staff includes a full-time director, a full-time academic adviser, one half-time admissions/records officer, and one full-time secretary. The administrative staff is steadfastly committed to meeting the developmental needs of students as set forth in the five steps in O'Banion's academic advising model (O'Banion, 1994). Exploration of life goals (step 1) and exploration of vocational goals (step 2) are emphasized throughout this entire process for the adult student, beginning with the application process in which the prospective students convey through written statements why they want to pursue higher education and identify their goals for the future. In addition, the program director and academic adviser are always available to make sure that students' course choices (step 4) and scheduling choices (step 5) are in alignment with their career and life goals.
A recent increase in the number of staff members has allowed the BOT program to continue to deliver its top-notch customer service approach while increasing the number of students in the program. Since its origin, the BOT program has not really had to market the program widely to prospective students. Most of the marketing for the program has been done by satisfied students recommending it to family, friends, colleagues, and/or associates. In 1972, Dr. Pringle had originally hoped that each participating university would enroll 5 students for a total of 25 throughout the BOG system. Within five days after the program was announced, 25 students had enrolled at each university for a total of 125 students.
Dr. Woodward testifies that the success of the BOT program is due mainly to these four things: (1) the close contact and advising that are maintained with the adult student; (2) one-stop shopping service for the student who does not have time to run around from office to office; (3) off-campus classes that provide the adult student the opportunity to obtain a quality education close to home; and (4) the portfolio option which gives students the opportunity to earn credit for their prior learning experiences.
To learn more about this amazing degree program, please check the Board of Trustees website at http://www.eiu.edu~adulted/.