Baker College is a private non-profit career college with a mission of offering excellent higher education and training that enables individuals to pursue rewarding and challenging careers. It believes that college education should enable individuals to directly enter into the workforce. Baker College prides itself on the fact that generally more than 97% of graduates are employed. It offers more than 150 programs at the certificate, associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degree levels. Baker College plans all aspects of the educational experience such as design of curricula and student services, with the goal of focusing on students and potential employers. It takes a business-type approach and employs established business values. It continuously creates new educational programs and innovative instruction techniques.
Baker College Online is one of the largest online educational programs in the country. It offers high quality courses and programs that are accessible in an asynchronous format 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Students are able to complete course assignments and examinations and in discussions anytime it is convenient for them. All courses require students to take an active part in discussions. Before enrolling in any program courses, all students are required to take a three-week orientation course to enable them to get a feel for the virtual environment and review the necessary requirements and expectations of online learners.
Baker College Online utilizes the Blackboard delivery format. It allows students to send and receive information from instructors, the learning environment, and fellow classmates. The format includes the virtual classroom, a common meeting place for all students enrolled in a particular online course. All virtual classrooms have unique names that are provides to students prior to the beginning of the course. To ensure privacy of the group of students in a certain course, only students taking that class will have access to the virtual classroom. All online courses are divided into equal components called seminars. Generally there is a seminar for each week of class and instructors send weekly topics, lectures, and reminders of assignments. Instructors usually send discussion questions at the end of each lecture. Instructors also grade assignments and provide feedback on a weekly basis. In general, online courses are six weeks long. Online programs include computer programming, human resource management, business administration, information systems, nursing, criminal justice, psychology, and occupational therapy.
Baker College provides access to an online library that features various online resources such as online databases and journal articles. It also offers numerous services to assist students with research. The Employment Services help students search for jobs during and after their academic career. It features job searching methods, job postings, interview questions, resume and cover less assistance, and relocation tips.
Eldon E. Baker founded Baker College in 1911 as Baker Business University. The college became Baker Junior College in 1974 and was authorized to award the associate of business degree. The college became non-profit in 1977. Throughout the 1980s, the college continued to expand and it received regional accreditation from the North Central Associations of Colleges and Schools. It changed its name to Baker College of Flint in 1986. During the 1990s the college acquired various campuses and it launched its online division in 1996. Baker College Online enrolled more than 4,000 students in 2001. Since 2000, Baker College has continuously expanded and added new programs. The Higher Learning Commission accepted it in 2006. Today the college educates more than 43,000 students throughout its 12 campuses, five branch locations, and online. It is also Michigan’s largest private college.
Accreditation
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) accredits Baker College.
Scholarships Offered
Baker College Offers a variety of scholarships including Adult Transfer Scholarship, American Association of University Women Scholarship, Baker College Admissions Scholarship, Baker College Career Scholarship, DECA Scholarship, George W. Hoddy Scholarship, Michigan Army/National Guard, Native American Scholarship, Phi Theta Kappa, STRIVE Scholarship, and Urban Pride Scholarship.
Financing Options
Baker College offers various types of financial aid to help students pay for their education including grants and loans. Grants include Federal Pell Grants, Jewell Educational Fund, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Michigan Competitive Scholarship, and Michigan Tuition Grant. Examples of loans include Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan, Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, Federal PLUS Loans, and Federal Graduate PLUS Loans. It also offers the Federal Work Study Program and a tuition payment plan.
Credit Earning Options
Baker College accepts previous coursework completed at another accredited higher learning institution. All transfer courses must have earned a grade of a C or better and fit into the student’s chosen program. Students who have received satisfactory on national examination programs such as CLEP and DANTES can earn course credits. In addition, the college grants credits for work and life experiences that are carefully documented through a portfolio. Waiver testing is also available for various courses.