Safety and Health (BAAS)
Competency-Based
Foster secure and thriving work environments by blending your passion for well-being with the crucial skills needed to safeguard lives and promote occupational health.
PROMOTE SAFETY, MANAGE WORKPLACE RISKS
Become an effective and innovative leader with a competency-based program that prepares you for a rewarding and impactful career in the field of safety and health. 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?
Safety and health students are typically interested in:
- Controlling and preventing environmental and occupational hazards.
- Gaining the knowledge and skills to become leaders in the field.
- Analyzing data and identifying potential risks to prevent accidents and injuries.
- Making a positive impact on the lives of others.
- Solving complex challenges related to workplace safety and health.
See Yourself Succeed With a Degree in Safety and Health
Innovation and Discovery
Take on our mission to build a better Texas as you prepare to compete in an interconnected world with creativity, ethical leadership and imagination. We don’t just discover the future; we make it.
Career Readiness
In the College of Innovation and Design, you will gain applied skills, not just theories. As a working adult, you can apply what you learn to your existing position and prepare to move up the career ladder or take on a new career!
Accomplished Faculty
Our faculty is ready to guide you through your coursework. We are on your team and dedicated to your success!
Student Support
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 |
Affordable, flexible program designed for the working professional
- Transfer up to 84 credit hours*
- Earn up to 19 hours of transfer credit with your Certified Safety and Health Official certification.
- Accelerate through coursework by leveraging your current knowledge in a competency-based education format
- Program is 100% online, featuring two seven-week terms per traditional semester.
*Maximum amount of transfer credit cannot exceed 90 hours from other higher education institutions, WECM credits, military credits and CSHO certification.
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.)
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
A degree in safety and health offers the opportunity to:
- Examine ethics and legal issues in safety and health and the role leaders play in influencing behaviors.
- Develop effective strategies for workplace analysis and hazard prevention and control processes.
- Analyze data to effectively manage projects and find optimal solutions to problems.
- Communicate effectively and professionally with peers, managers and other stakeholders.
Careers
A BAAS degree offers many opportunities in the job market. The possibilities are limitless from education to computer science or sociology to biology! These are just a few jobs for which a BAAS degree can eventually qualify you.
Career Possibilities and Current Median Salaries
US DOL Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2022
Glassdoor.com, 2021
What You Will Learn
Gain a broad overview of the safety and health field, including instruction in legal issues, ethics, communication, problem-solving, OSHA requirements and risk assessment. You will have the opportunity to develop practical workplace competencies to meet current and future challenges in a variety of settings.
Courses to Prepare for Your Career
Required courses include Technical Writing and Communication in Safety and Health, Legal Aspects of Safety and Health, and Human Factors in Occupational Safety. General education courses and professional development electives are designed to complement the required courses and provide a well-rounded, in-depth preparation for work in the field.
Featured Courses
Course Delivery and Resources
Three components make up 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.
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 can take and complete another course by the end of the term.
- You can accelerate an unlimited number of times in each term.
- Using this method, you can 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.
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.
- 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 75429-3011We 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.
Faculty and Staff
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.
Back to menuContact Us
- College of Innovation and Design
- 903.468.6074
- [email protected]
- P.O. Box 3011
- Commerce, TX 75429-3011