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With its lock-step, technology-enabled, customized curriculum, the BBA+ gives students who have associate of arts degrees and are majoring in either management or international business the chance to earn a business degree conveniently and quickly. BBA+ Sunrise can be finished in as little as eighteen months. BBA + Weekend takes just seven twelve-week sessions to complete. What a difference a day—or two—makes! On Wednesday morning, April 27, 2004, between 7:15 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., Linet Crichlow-Blondet was laboring in her usual spot: her BBA+ class at the FIU Pines Center in Pembroke Pines. On Friday morning, April, 29, she was laboring in a different location as she delivered her daughter, Briana. After Briana's birth, she missed a mere three weeks of school, and thanks to the program's blended course structure (part on-site, part online), she was able to keep up with her work. "As a full-time executive assistant to a car dealership owner, I was only able to take a class here and there and I couldn't see the end," said Crichlow-Blondet. "When the dealership changed hands, I used the opportunity to make a change." She landed a part-time position as an assistant in the training program at Wendy's International for overseas operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, and was enthusiastic about the BBA+ Sunrise because it enabled her to get her class time in before work. Also, the program made it possible for her to get a double major—a perfect fit for her career aspirations. "I joined the program to get a management degree. Some of my classmates wanted a double major in international business and the program was gracious enough to offer it," she said. "The combination goes hand-in-hand with what I want to do now and in the future." In addition, she liked the value-added components. "I didn't have to go to campus to register; I knew what would be taught when; I got my books ahead of time, and I was automatically enrolled," she said. "Also, when you've been out in the world, it's hard to sit in a traditional classroom. This was a more mature learning environment because the cohort members were older than traditional students." Since completing her undergraduate degree work in January, 2005, she has started to look ahead to a master's degree that offers the same kind of speed and flexibility. And while she had her "number one fan and supporter" in her husband during her BBA work, next time she'll have her daughter cheering her on, too. From the high seas to a high GPA After getting his associate of arts degree, Timothy Laczynski took to the seas. For three years, he worked for Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) in immigration, customs, documentation, and finance. When the company brought him to Miami, housing him on a ship, he worked in accounting, finance, and then operations. And when his mentor, the CFO, told him to "ramp up" his education, this NCL veteran looked online for a flexible option. His search led him to the BBA+ Weekend program. "As a financial analyst, I was interested in marketing or finance," he said, "but I realized that I could focus on something else when the CFO explained that his undergraduate degree was in engineering, and the president told me that he had majored in psychology." The weekend program fit his schedule best. "I work-full-time, from 9:00 a.m. till late," he said. "The BBA+ Weekend was the most flexible alternative I found since I was in class only on Saturdays, from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m." He transferred in with a 4.0 in his AA degree work; was the first person ever to complete the BBA+ Weekend program with a 4.0 GPA, and graduated summa cum laude. Another benefit from his perspective: the constant presence of the faculty members and the small class size, making it possible for cohort members to get to know each other and their teachers. "Having the ability to work with the same people over time provides a better mirror of the real world," said Laczynski, who graduated in May and currently is manager of onboard revenue for NCL. Even though he is satisfied in his job and looks ahead to getting a master's degree eventually, he feels the business degree already makes him more marketable. "My career will follow the path of opportunity," he said. "Employers look for ways to weed out applications, and not having the right degree is one of the first things they look at."
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