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Organizational Leadership (BAAS)

Competency-Based

Embark on a transformative journey to become the dynamic leader every industry craves! Elevate your career seamlessly alongside your current job through our engaging fully online program, where every seven-week course propels you toward innovation and success.

Online Online Competency-Based

2 year average

120 credit hours

No foreign language credits required

LEAD WITH CONFIDENCE

Become an effective and innovative leader with a competency-based program that prepares you for an impactful career in an increasingly technological, diverse and global society. Designed for working professionals, this program offers fully online coursework so you can plan your studies around your busy life. Receive credit for what you know and can do, then accelerate your degree completion and job promotion opportunities.

Is this Program a Good Fit for You?

Organizational leadership students are typically interested in:

Solving workplace leadership challenges
Promoting job satisfaction and productivity
Cultivating effective leadership skills
Developing strategic decision-making proficiency
Fostering team collaboration strategies

See Yourself Succeed With a Degree in Organizational Leadership

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Hands-on Training

Whether it's a full year in the classroom or practicum courses and internships, you will engage in practical, real-world learning experiences that build confidence and skill.

Accomplished Faculty

Enjoy small classes, guidance and mentorship with a world-class faculty who are respected researchers in their fields.

a professor showing something on a monitor during class

Career Readiness

Regardless of your chosen field, partake in excellence-driven programs that prepare you for the transformational challenges of a complex digital environment and global society through the promotion of instructional engagement, responsive research, quality service and active partnerships.

Pride Pathway

Earn Teacher Certification

Ready to teach the next generation and shape the future? Our Pride Pathway program offers a competency-based path to teaching that fits your busy life.

If you are a current ISD employee and do not currently hold a bachelor’s degree, this pathway is perfect for you. You will begin by completing your competency-based bachelor’s in organizational leadership. You will then obtain your teacher certification through our alternative certification program. This program can take approximately two years depending on your college and professional experience.

Pride Pathway

Terms

All competency-based programs in the College of Innovation and Design are offered in two seven-week terms per traditional semester with a break between each term.

2024

Semester	Term 1	Break	Term 2
Spring	Jan. 16 – March 1	March 4- 15	March 18 – May 3
Summer	May 13- June 28	July 1- 5	July 8 – Aug. 23
Fall	Sept. 3 – Oct. 18	Oct. 21 – 25	Oct. 28 – Dec. 13

STUDENT SUPPORT

Academic Advising Specialist

Close up happy young african american businesswoman using laptop with laughing female mentor in coworking boardroom at meeting. Smiling diverse woman managers talking about new business concept.

Student Career Preparedness

Financial Aid

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

A degree in organizational leadership offers the opportunity to:

Examine ethics in the workplace and the role organizational leaders play in fostering ethical behavior.
Learn to communicate effectively, motivate teams, improve operational efficiency and solve problems.
Discover issues related to organizational leadership, plus the characteristics and behaviors of leaders and the varying contexts under which they perform.
Get a leg up in a wide range of fields such as business, government, technology and human resources.

Careers

Career Possibilities and Current Median Salaries

Compliance Officer

$76,980

Management Analyst

$93,000

Human Resources Manager

$126,230

Training and Development Manager

$120,130

General and Operations Manager

$122,860

US DOL Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2022

Internship opportunities

Internship experience provides the foundation employers are seeking. Internships are offered as optional credit for this program and can be an important part of your educational experience. These are just a few of the companies that partner with Student Career Preparedness and offer opportunities for organizational leadership students.

What You Will Learn

You will acquire in-depth knowledge of leadership skills, including instruction in organizational planning, dynamics of leadership, finance, team building, conflict resolution and mediation, communication, and other managerial skills.

You will also develop practical workplace competencies that meet current and future challenges in a variety of fields through real-world coursework.

As a current working professional, you will be required to use problem-solving skills to analyze, evaluate and recommend an implementation plan addressing an organizational leadership issue. Your performance in this hands-on exercise features input from multiple stakeholders, including employers and faculty.

Courses to Prepare for Your Career

Required courses include Issues in Organizational Leadership, Leadership Theory and a capstone course where you will apply workplace experience.
General education courses and professional development electives are based on your chosen field.

Featured Courses

Organizational Ethics ORGL 3322

You will examine ethics in the workplace and the role of organizational leaders in fostering ethical behavior. Case studies, discussion, self-assessment exercises and reading assignments explore the basic frameworks of ethical dealings and moral leadership. You will demonstrate a competency in critical thinking skills to both identify and remedy ethical issues typically encountered in organizational settings and interactions.

Data Driven Decision Making ORGL 3331

You will examine the role of quantitative data in managerial and entrepreneurial decision making. You will draw upon quantitative tools and analyses from several disciplines, especially statistics, economics, accounting and finance. You will demonstrate the usefulness of these tools and analyses in providing optimal technical options in decision-making situations. Emphasis is placed on the interpretation and translation of data into information for the benefit of internal and external consumers.

Leading Change ORGL 4343

This course offers you an in-depth analysis of prevalent issues related to organizational change. Upon completion of this course, you will recognize and describe organizational change in varied organizations, explain and demonstrate behaviors and characteristics to establish credibility and legitimacy as a change agent, and recognize the current dynamic social, political and cultural environment for change and its potential impact on contemporary organizations.

View Full Curriculum In The University Catalog

Course Delivery and Resources

Course Delivery and Resources Organizational Leadership (BAAS)

There are three components to the 120-credit-hour degree

General Education/Core Curriculum (42 semester credit hours)
You have the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of general education competencies without needlessly sitting through introductory courses.
Professional Development Electives (48 semester credit hours)
You are able to demonstrate competency in a variety of related fields.
Upper Division Applied Coursework (30 semester credit hours)
You will build on and apply work-related skills in four mastery areas.

Through competency-based education, you begin each term by registering for up to two courses. When you complete all of your current courses before the end of a term, you have the opportunity to take and complete another course by the end of the term. You can accelerate an unlimited number of times in a given term. Using this method, you are able to shorten your time to degree completion. You are not allowed to add courses during the final week of the term.

Did you miss the registration window? Don’t worry! You have two available registration opportunities each semester! For specific dates, email our advising office at [email protected].

Degree Guide

Admission

Steps to Apply :: Competency-Based CBE

College is the next big step in your academic journey! Let’s connect! Complete a request for information to receive important updates!

Consider the field of study and degree program you want to pursue at A&M-Commerce. Take some time to review our competency-based degree programs and learn more about how competency-based education works!

Our onboarding specialists are eager to help you learn about A&M-Commerce and guide your academic journey! Once you have filled out a request for information, an onboarding specialist will contact you.

A&M-Commerce is committed to making the transfer process as smooth as possible.

To meet automatic admission requirements as a transfer student, you must have:

At least 12 transferable hours, excluding developmental coursework.
A 2.0 or higher grade point average (GPA) on all transferable coursework.

Applicants who do not meet the standards for full admission may be considered through the multi-tiered admission review process.

Automatic admission to A&M-Commerce is based on the Foundation High School Program with at least one endorsement. You are strongly recommended to complete one or more available endorsement(s) that include Algebra II or its equivalent and one science course from biology, chemistry or physics. Students applying for top 10% automatic admission must complete the foundation curriculum with a distinguished level of achievement.

Standards for full admission to A&M-Commerce are based on the required high school curriculum (Foundation Plan). Entering freshmen must have successfully completed the following courses in high school:

English Language Arts (4 credits)
Mathematics (3 credits)
Science (3 credits)
Social Studies (3 credits)
Language other than English (2 credits)

Any one of the following:

Rank in the top 30% of graduating class or
If submitting scores, use the A&M-Commerce codes 4088 (ACT) and 6188 (SAT) from encoura.org or collegeboard.org.

Study and take as many competency-based courses as you like each term for as low as $750. Because these programs are fully online, you can plan your study schedule around the rest of your day to complete the coursework.

Apply

Nursing (RN-to-BSN) applicants: use the undergraduate application.
Alternative Teacher Certification applicants: use the graduate ApplyTexas application.

You may also apply for any of our programs through ApplyTexas.

Send your school transcript via our secure document upload or request that your official high school transcript and transcripts for any college credit you have completed be sent to [email protected].

If your institution is unable to submit a digital copy, hard copies may be mailed to:

Texas A&M University-Commerce
Attn: College of Innovation and Design
PO Box 3011
Commerce, Texas 75429-3011

We will need official/original documents.

ACT or SAT scores are optional for admission. If submitting scores, use the A&M-Commerce codes 4088 (ACT) and 6188 (SAT) from encoura.org or collegeboard.org.

Your myLEO username is your CWID and your default password is your date of birth beginning with the three-letter abbreviated month (MonDDYYYY). You may refer to our guide for first-time login instructions.

Username: CWID
Password: Date of Birth (MonDDYYYY)

Within myLeo, check out the APPS tab for LeoMail, LeoPay and D2L Brightspace, where you will access your online classes, and more.
Check out the Student Resources tab for student information, including Undergrad DegreeWorks, your interactive degree audit, class schedules, financial aid status and awards, and more.

When you sign in to myLEO, the Financial Agreement will pop up. You’ll need to read over the agreement, select the checkbox and select “Continue.”

If you missed it or accidentally closed the window, you can get the agreement to pop up again by following these steps.

Sign in to myLEO.
Go to the Student Resources Tab.
Scroll to Student Information,
Click on Registration Menu. If you have not already completed the Financial Responsibility, it will appear here.

If you are not a self-pay student, you may qualify for financial aid to help pay for your classes.

Apply for financial aid by submitting a FAFSA and sending it to school code 003565.

You do not have to complete the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) if you have met one of the following:

Met minimum college readiness standard on the SAT or ACT
Obtained the minimum required score(s) on the statewide high school STAAR EOCs Algebra II and English III exams (these are optional for high schools)
Met a veteran or active military waiver (must meet specific requirements for each category)
Received exemption based on earning a prior degree
Received a transfer exemption (declaration by another institution)
Completed prior college-level coursework

Students are responsible for providing proof of exemption and will be considered assessment required until documentation is provided of state exemption. For more information, please contact the Testing Center at [email protected].

To access your Undergrad DegreeWorks online degree plan:

Log into myLEO.
Select the Student Resources tab from the home screen.
Scroll to Student Information
Select Undergrad DegreeWorks.

Program Costs

Earning a degree is more affordable than ever. Our competency-based programs offer quality education at an affordable price. These rates include online versions of required course materials.

Residency Status	Tuition Per Semester
In-State (TX resident)	$750
Bordering County. This includes: Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas	$750
Neighboring state (aka interior county: Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and Arkansas)	in-state + $30/hour
Out of state (e.g., Florida)	$1,500
Employee Scholarship	$300

Tuition exemption limited to state residents
Students can only receive ONE exemption (example: you cannot stack senior citizen and active-duty law enforcement exemptions.)

Financial Aid

Scholarships

What is Competency-Based Education?

What is Competency-Based Education

Competency-Based Education (CBE) posits that learning is best measured by students demonstrating what they know and can do rather than by the number of hours spent in a classroom. CBE is student-driven and self-paced, guided by individualized feedback from an instructor and advisor. CBE is also flexible, and offered fully online, so it works around the busy personal and professional lives of adult learners and working professionals.

Student Journey map

Learn More About CBE at A&M-Commerce

Meet our faculty and staff

April Sanders, Ph.D. Assistant Dean, College of Innovation and Design, and Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction

Beth Bailey, Ph.D. Instructor

Stefan W. Vaughn, Ed.D. Instructor

Alum George Swindell Instructor and Program Coordinator

Becky Smith Advisor for Competency-Based Education

Kathryn Johnson Academic Advising Specialist

Alum Maria Garcia-Hidalgo, M.S. Pride Pathway Coordinator

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hours should I take?

Students initially register for six hours (two courses per-term). You have the opportunity to accelerate into another course with the expectation that you will complete the coursework by the end of the term. You may continue to add courses, one at a time, through the 5th Friday of the term.