Lipscomb Online

Lipscomb Online is an innovative fully online undergraduate degree. Through this program, the college addresses current workforce needs by offering professional, continuing and interdisciplinary studies. Several undergraduate certificates address workforce needs, and “stack” toward Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Professional Studies degrees. Electronic badges, certificates, and degrees are awarded by the college.

Lipscomb Online offers competency-based learning experiences. Two “paces” of work are offered to meet the needs of busy working professionals. The first, FlexPACE, is a 6 month subscription that allows students to take undergraduate courses at their own pace. The second SetPACE, provides curriculum condensed into 8 week blocks for undergraduate and graduate students. Both programs provide a state of the art online learning experience with transparent, consistent learning targets and rich feedback from instructors.

Undergraduate majors in Integrated Studies and Organizational Leadership are offered. Integrated Studies allows students to choose two concentrations that would work together to support their professional goals. This major includes required courses emphasizing integrated thought, vocation, personal development, career planning, global skills and other key topics. Organizational Leadership focuses on leadership in one academic area. Students are required to demonstrate six competencies research indicates are correlated to success as a leader. Using their competency assessment as a baseline, they work in online learning modules, simulations, and real world settings to hone these skills. A performance coach serves as the faculty member guiding them in this professional and personal growth. These skills are then applied in their field of concentration and in an authentic capstone project.

Degree Programs

Bachelor of Science

Integrated Studies B.A., B.P.S., B.S.

Bachelor of Arts

Integrated Studies B.A., B.P.S., B.S.

Bachelor of Professional Studies

Institutional merit scholarships (academic transfer scholarships), merit and need-based aid, and veterans’ benefits are available for degree-seeking students Lipscomb Online Program who qualify. See the Financial Aid section of this catalog for more information.

Prior Learning Assessment through Portfolio Evaluation

Lipscomb University acknowledges certain learners come to the university with a significant body of professional or voluntary experience that may have equipped them with knowledge and learning that can be demonstrated through the portfolio process. Therefore, the mission of prior learning assessment through portfolio evaluation is to recognize and grant undergraduate academic credit for demonstrated achievement of higher learning objectives.

The College of Professional Studies will administer the self-evaluation process and supply the students with a copy of the learning outcomes for the course(s) for which they desire to seek credit through the portfolio process. Students who demonstrate strong potential for the portfolio process will be invited to register for INST 2000 Portfolio Workshop. A new self-evaluation form is required for each individual portfolio.
INST 2000 Portfolio Workshop will be required as a prerequisite to submitting a portfolio for credit; the course itself is non-credit and will run online for four weeks in Aug. and Jan., respectively. A prerequisite for INST 2000 will be at least a “C” in Composition I or Lipscomb Experience. Students will pay $750 for the course, with one portfolio review included in the fee. Students will not be guaranteed portfolio-based credit simply for completing the portfolio preparation course. Students must complete all the assignments associated with the PLA course in order to continue with the portfolio process. Students who do not successfully complete the course within the allotted four weeks but wish to pursue the portfolio process must re-enroll and pay the fee to re-take it.
The portfolio will be completed to meet the learning outcomes of the particular course for which the student is seeking credit and submitted to the College of Professional Studies. Fall and spring portfolios are due by the last day of ADP Term I for that respective semester, and summer portfolios are due by the end of Junemester. Students not submitting their portfolio by the end of the semester for which they completed a self-evaluation must update their form with the College of Professional Studies. For each course a student is seeking credit, a separate portfolio must be created. Each portfolio yields either no credit or the number of credits of the course being challenged.
Courses generally deemed ineligible for portfolio credit include practicum or field study, internships, travel, senior projects, major capstones and 4000-level courses. Courses that are subject to credit by examination or challenge by examination are typically not good choices for portfolio credit. Please discuss with your advisor.
The first portfolio is included in the cost of the PLA preparatory course. Students will pay a $300 review fee for each subsequent portfolio. The $300 will be charged to the student’s account.
Students may earn up to 30 nontraditional credit hours through portfolio evaluation in combination with credit-by-exam, CLEP and DSST but must abide by academic program and graduation requirements as stated in the Undergraduate Catalog including number of credits required to be earned at Lipscomb University.
If the student does not receive an “S” for satisfactory, but the assessor identifies corrections, the portfolio will be returned to the student with noted areas to improve. The student will have two calendar weeks from the date of return in which to make the corrections and resubmit. The assessor will reevaluate and rescore the portfolio within two calendar weeks of its resubmission. If the student is not granted credit after the edit process, that student must enroll in the course itself in order to satisfy that course requirement. The student may submit a separate portfolio seeking credit for a different course. Assessors reserve the right to return a portfolio with the grade of “U” for unsatisfactory without noting areas for improvement.
If the student receives credit for the course for which the portfolio was compiled, a Credit By Portfolio form (similar to the Credit By Special Examination Form) will be completed, which will require signatures from the faculty assessor, department chair, dean of the college, provost and registrar. The student will pay a $70 transcription fee (the same amount currently charged for transcribing credit-by-exam, CLEP, or DSST-[DANTES]) and the course will appear with a “CBC” grade to indicate it has been satisfactorily completed by competency.