“I am doing this for bucket-list reasons,” Ivey said. “Not finishing my degree was one of my biggest regrets.”
The BIS program is designed for working adults and offers a UVA-quality education online to part-time adult students who have some college but no degree. The new BIS students range in age from only a few years out of high school to retirees, and they are drawn from across the commonwealth and beyond.
The 111 students starting in fall 2020 and spring 2021 make up the largest class ever for the program, which began more than 20 years ago. The class also marks progress in the University’s strategic plan, the 2030 Plan put together by President Jim Ryan, which says UVA will “scale our bachelor’s completion program and provide a high-quality, easily accessible, and affordable education.”
“The working adults in our online degree completion programs at UVA are part of the University’s strength, and I’m thrilled that the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program is making a UVA education possible for more people, wherever they are in the country or in life,” Ryan said.
Alex Hernandez, dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, said the record enrollment year shows that education can transform lives, regardless of age or life circumstances.
“The bachelor’s is the mightiest of all the degrees. And our adult learners are using BIS as a pathway to opportunity, whether it is earning a promotion, starting a new venture, or attending graduate school,” Hernandez said.