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+--- Thread: Winthrop CBE BSBA, AACSB, Optional Accounting & Financial Management Concentration (/Thread-Winthrop-CBE-BSBA-AACSB-Optional-Accounting-Financial-Management-Concentration)
Winthrop CBE BSBA, AACSB, Optional Accounting & Financial Management Concentration - Jonathan Whatley - 05-25-2026
Winthrop University, a public university in Rock Hill, South Carolina, is launching the second current competency-based education degree program to hold AACSB accreditation, pending state approval.
The Winthrop Elevate CBE platform is set to offer the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with the choice of a General Business concentration or an Accounting and Financial Management concentration. The BSBA will be granted by Winthrop’s AACSB-accredited College of Business and Technology.
Winthrop Elevate already offers the Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) in concentrations including Organizational Leadership or Organizational Operations, but the BPS is outside of the College of Business and Technology and thus outside of AACSB accreditation.
BSBA applicants must “Be at least 23 years old with some college experience and work experience, or be an experienced member of the military.”
Some of the following comes from an FAQ section written for the BPS program, which will hopefully also apply to the BSBA program:
Regionally accredited credit, foreign credit with an accepted external evaluation, CLEP, ACE National Guide recommended alternative credit including from “organizations like Sophia Learning and StraghterLine,” and military credit via Joint Services Transcript, are accepted. Students can receive up to 15 credits from Prior Learning Assessment portfolios corresponding with courses offered at Winthrop, with fees to be determined. At least 30 credits in the degree must be earned from Winthrop.
Courses uncompleted at the end of one subscription period can receive a grade of “in progress” and be completed in the next subscription period. The number of credits in such courses will contribute to the credit load you pay for in the next term.
In the BPS, courses are graded, and each 3-credit course is divided into six modules which can be completed in any order.
Each subscription period is 14 weeks. Currently, for a $1750 part-time subscription, a student may take no more than 11 credits. For a $3600 full-time subscription, they may take 12 or more credits. Students can only switch subscription types in between periods and only once per year.
Federal financial aid and veteran’s benefits are not currently available but arrangements to offer them are in progress. The South Carolina senior citizen tuition benefit is not available for Winthrop Elevate.
Winthrop University was founded in 1886 as a normal school. Its location in Rock Hill, South Carolina is part of the Charlotte, North Carolina census metropolitan area. Winthrop currently has about 5500 students, and US News ranks it #20 in the category Regional Universities South.
This prior DF thread about Winthrop Elevate’s BPS provides some context.
The incumbent CBE program with AACSB accreditation is the BSBA from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside via Wisconsin Flex. UW-Parkside doesn’t get much attention here at DF largely because it doesn’t accept ACE alternative credit. A few universities with an AACSB-accredited business school offer programs by CBE that are related to business but outside the business school, so those programs themselves are not AACSB-accredited.
RE: Winthrop CBE BSBA, AACSB, Optional Accounting & Financial Management Concentration - Mint Berry Crunch - 05-25-2026
I wonder if I am eligible for this program; I'd be willing to give it a shot!
RE: Winthrop CBE BSBA, AACSB, Optional Accounting & Financial Management Concentration - ss20ts - 05-26-2026
A public RA university that doesn't accept federal financial aid? That's so weird!
RE: Winthrop CBE BSBA, AACSB, Optional Accounting & Financial Management Concentration - Jonathan Whatley - 05-26-2026
Winthrop University accepts federal financial aid, but it takes extra paperwork to set up federal financial aid for subscription-based tuition!
RE: Winthrop CBE BSBA, AACSB, Optional Accounting & Financial Management Concentration - ss20ts - 05-26-2026
(05-26-2026, 11:32 AM)Jonathan Whatley Wrote: Winthrop University accepts federal financial aid, but it takes extra paperwork to set up federal financial aid for subscription-based tuition!
They've already been offering a subscription based program for awhile though so it's weird that they aren't accepting federal financial aid.