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The last day to file for the Winter 2026 Graduation is Saturday, December 13, 2025.  For more information about Graduation, please visit our Graduation Info page. Winter & Spring Graduation will be on Thursday, May 21, 2026.        

The last day to file for the Fall 2025 Graduation is Saturday, September 20, 2025.  For more information about Graduation, please visit our Graduation Info page. Summer & Fall 2025 Graduation will be on Friday, November 21, 2025.        

The last day to file for the Summer 2025 Graduation is Saturday, June 21, 2025.  For more information about Graduation, please visit our Graduation Info page. Summer & Fall 2025 Graduation will be on Friday, November 21, 2025.      

Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy

Working through school and getting to graduation day is no easy task. It can be incredibly daunting, and keeping sight of your goal is paramount to perseverance. The essential things in life aren't easy; they're earned with blood, sweat, and tears. Balancing student life as a working adult is challenging enough—so what practices will protect your sanity when college isn’t easy?

1. Stay in Contact with Your Professor

It’s essential to build a professional relationship and rapport with your instructors. They genuinely care about your educational and professional success; a strong connection with them can be invaluable. Make sure you communicate throughout the semester. If you’re struggling with an idea or principle, ask questions. Seek clarification not just to benefit your grade in the course but to gain knowledge and insight you can fall back on once you're applying your education in the workforce. Your instructors want you to take as much from their courses as possible.

2. Remember Why You’re in School

It’s important not to lose sight of the opportunities you are living out as you travel through your educational journey. While graduation is the goal, the lessons and teachings are what make the degree hold weight. You are in school to learn and earn your degree, not to stress yourself out and be miserable. Stress is temporary, and its memory fades with time. Embrace positivity and focus on the steps you must take to reach the finish line.

3. Take a Break

When you’re feeling burned out and overwhelmed, make time for yourself. This cannot be emphasized enough. Mental well-being is vital to being your best and producing the best work possible. Studies show that taking a step back from work improves overall brain function and increases the quality of work produced. Take the break you need, whether that looks like a 10-minute coffee break while studying or a weekend camping trip during a school-and-work marathon. When you can find balance in your relationships, mindset, and habits, you'll get more than an education you can use—you'll earn an education and live out an experience you genuinely appreciate.

Is an MBA Worth It for Career Growth?

There are a few magical letters in the world. Everyone loves to hear Y-E-S. In baseball, it’s all about RBI. The military implements an endless catalog of acronyms. However, when it comes to business, and open doors to leadership opportunities. An often-asked question: What are the advantages of doing an MBA? That answer isn’t as simple as yes or no. To answer it for yourself, you must measure your goals and circumstances.

How an MBA Shapes Your Career Path

A career is a long-term endeavor to which you can expect to commit roughly 45 years of your life. Along that journey, you’ll find substantial opportunities for growth. You’ll develop skills, enjoy numerous promotions, and increase your responsibility and impact on your workplace. Investments in your education, training, and network take time to mature and reap benefits. It’s a journey, not just one step. The important part is finding the courage to start!

The Key Advantages of Doing an MBA

An MBA Demonstrates Work Ethic and Dedication While an MBA may not earn you an immediate promotion, it does make an undeniable statement about who you are. An MBA degree highlights your commitment to professional growth, leadership, and business expertise. It communicates to others how you’ll function in the workplace—you’re driven, knowledgeable, a finisher, and dedicated to success. An MBA Expands Career Flexibility and Business Knowledge Having an MBA also provides flexibility. One can enter various industries by building upon the foundational disciplines of economics, finance, management, and marketing. Best practices can be translated to other fields and shared with high-level executives, offering new career pathways and business leadership roles. An MBA Unlocks Leadership and Entrepreneurial Opportunities An MBA will help you achieve your goals if you are entrepreneurial or aspire to a leadership role within a corporation. Having an MBA isn’t a backstage pass to perpetual recognition in your career. But it can transform the opportunities that lie before you, open doors that would have otherwise remained sealed, and develop you into a capable and self-confident professional leading in today’s workplace and shaping tomorrow’s economy.

Start Your MBA Journey Today

If you have questions about how �Ӱɴ�ý’s MBA program can work for you, please contact our advising staff today!

Making Moves in College

On its surface, returning to school may seem like continuing your education and pursuing your degree. But don’t be tempted to overlook the other aspects of the college experience that add value and help you advance. School is where you gather tools and give yourself the opportunity to have a professional leg up.

Cultivate Your Professional Network

As a working adult student, you know the importance of having a professional network. Developing and maintaining peer relationships will help you to have allies within your chosen profession. There will come a time when you’ll need them, and they’ll need you.

It will never be easier to build professional relationships than while you’re enrolled in college. When you’re engaged in a rigorous environment and working toward similar goals, developing camaraderie is natural, and it’s built to last.

Develop Or Clean Up Your Online Presence

This point shouldn’t surprise anyone. You may even wonder why bring it up, but if you’ve spent time around an HR department, you’ll know how much online behaviors impact the workplace.

If you’re behaving poorly online, stop it–it’s costing you, whether you see the impact or not. So, how should you use social platforms to your advantage?

Do you have a LinkedIn profile? Is it up-to-date? Are you connecting with your peers and actively using it? Use this educational period to work on your online presence. Take advantage of the added value!

There’s more to your professional online presence than just LinkedIn. X (Twitter) can be leveraged professionally, too. In any industry, there are influencers and motivators on X. Follow and engage with them and their followers to bolster your network.

Consider it research - what information or best practices can you glean from these individuals? Like any tool or technology, it’s all about utilizing it for good. The internet and social media are the same.

Take Advantage Of The School’s Professional Resources

No one has the perfect resume. No one has impeccable interviewing skills. These things are living tools. You wouldn’t get rid of your gardening tools once the flowers bloom, so don’t neglect the tools that help shape your career.

You should always be tweaking your resume, even if you’re happy with your career and place of employment. Anything can happen at any moment in the workplace, leaving you in need of an updated resume. If you’re not maintaining your resume, your skills will become dull. Losing your edge is the biggest catastrophe.

If your professors offer to evaluate your resume, allow them to do so. If you can submit your resume to a career services center on campus, do it. The more eyes on your resume, the more polished it will become.

Interviewing is an art form. Having the self-awareness to reflect and evaluate honestly how you present yourself and communicate in an interview is challenging. We’ve all heard that practice makes perfect, but there’s a caveat. In order to improve, you need forthright feedback.

In our professional culture, hiring managers rarely provide any assessment to candidates. Do yourself a favor and participate in mock interviews. You may be surprised to find something about yourself you didn’t even recognize.

Make the Most of Your Time

Don’t allow your time in school to pass by simply checking the boxes. If you’re just turning in your assignments and taking tests, let me assure you there’s so much more! At �Ӱɴ�ý, we want to prepare you to be ready, able, and excited for the next steps in your career. We want your toolbox to overflow.

The last day to file for the Spring 2025 Graduation is Saturday, March 22, 2025.  For more information about Graduation, please visit our Graduation Info page. Winter & Spring 2025 Graduation will be on Thursday, May 22, 2025.    

Not all investments are created equal. Brand-new cars depreciate the second you pull off the lot. Stock values bounce up and down. The right education is certainly an investment. How do you determine the true value?

As you research and consider which school to enroll in, evaluate the tuition cost, faculty credentials, academic rigor, and job placement after graduation. Your education is an investment in your future, so will this institution educate you well?

Why Education is the Best Investment for Your Future

The return on your educational investment will vary depending on your location, economic uptops and downturns, and chosen career field. When you assess the categories that matter most, you’ll see why �Ӱɴ�ý is such a special university.

With any college you choose, you should expect to receive a quality education and the skills necessary to perform competently in your chosen career. You expect a degree to elevate your competitive performance in the workforce. You also expect post-graduation support. That’s what you’re paying for. And who doesn’t love a little extra attention?

At �Ӱɴ�ý, our professors show unparalleled enthusiasm for your education and success. They’re not trying to prove anything against you in the classroom; they’re genuinely rooting for your success and looking for ways to help you succeed.

“I am passionate about higher education because it puts students in a position to explore their passions, challenge their ideas, and reach their full potential, thereby allowing them to affect their families, workplaces, and communities positively.”

- Dr. Adam Guerrero, Associate Professor

As a nonprofit university, �Ӱɴ�ý focuses solely on the educational needs of the students rather than the prestige often embodied by sports programs or campus facilities–all things paid for by elevated tuition. We believe �Ӱɴ�ý only succeeds when our students do.

“You have faculty, staff, and administrators all working harmoniously together for the benefit of that ���ٳܻ��Գ�.”

- Dr. Steven Tidwell, Business Professor

�Ӱɴ�ý is a specialized institution designed to meet the specific educational needs of mature students. We tailor the schedule, experience, and curriculum for you. You can be confident that �Ӱɴ�ý is committed to the continuous transformation of the educational process by directly responding to the needs of the students and the community. We want to adapt to the ever-evolving needs of the working adult so that education and the doors it unlocks are attainable.

“The faculty has a lot of experience and years of experience in their teaching disciplines. And our students - most of them are working students when they bring workplace issues to us, we can always help them,”

- Dr. Deborah Hill, Academic Dean & Business Professor

Together, we create personal growth and transformation that will last a lifetime. That is the greatest benefit of investing in the right education for college.

By Dr. Sharon Price

All of the buzz about AI is central to every conversation these days. Even late adopters are intrigued by the possibilities in the race to implement this emerging technology in their respective fields. Accounting is no different. The consensus of how AI will impact the accounting profession may still need to be entirely determined, but changes are here for the accounting industry, and more will arise.

Students are asking great questions as they navigate the changing landscape. What accounting knowledge is still relevant to me for my future career plans? Will we even have an accounting profession? Is this technology capable of replacing the role of accounting in business?

Adapting to AI: The Future Skills for Accountants

Undoubtedly, the role of accounting is changing along with the skills necessary to be successful and relevant, but accounting remains a wonderful profession with incredible career opportunities.

The AICPA has suggested through its publication that in order to adapt to AI opportunities, accounting education must adjust its focus towards skills with the most impact in this transforming world:

• Technical skills in data analytics will require ongoing training and development.
• Business acumen will require a broader comprehension of the industry landscape and an increased understanding of strategy.
• Critical Thinking must be employed to analyze AI outputs concerning multiple stakeholders. AI is not without ethical considerations, and outputs must be reviewed regarding potential bias and fairness.
• Communication skills will continue to be a focus for those in the industry to relate complex financial information to those with less technical expertise.

Students with an accounting degree will be well prepared to add value to businesses with these skills. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the profession will continue to grow over the next ten years. At �Ӱɴ�ý, we focus on developing the professional skills to help you succeed in tomorrow's workplace. Your �Ӱɴ�ý degree or certificate is a foundation for a future of lifelong learning as you excel amidst the AI evolution and beyond.

Lost in the hustle and bustle of Christmas and the blitz to wrap up courses, there’s a little holiday called Thanksgiving. I think this day gets overlooked, and, as with many American holidays, the true meaning is skipped right over.

As Christians, we are mindful of the things we have to be grateful for. The word abundance has stuck with me in the weeks leading up to the holiday season.. We are blessed, living with more than enough provision. But it goes beyond that. We lead lives with an abundance of intangible blessings and grace.

If you look at from an American perspective, many of us are enjoying blessings that our parents and grandparents hoped for us. How many of us have the opportunity to “have it all” - the education, the family, the career, the house and car? We live in abundance.

Initially, the thought made me feel a twinge of guilt. I will be the first woman in my family to have all these things. But I recognized that in living in God’s gracious abundance, I have the opportunity to pour out even more.

How can I leverage my education to impact others around me? Can I use my skills and knowledge to help them achieve their own goals and ambitions? What is the calling in my life to further His kingdom with my career, based on the education I have been granted? How is my life positioned to make eternal impacts in ways not available to those before me?

These questions can be asked of you. How is God calling you to utilize the abundance in your storehouses?

The abundance we enjoy is not limited to the material possessions we have or the careers we’re working towards. We are abundantly blessed by the relationships and friendships fostered through our educational and professional networks. Don’t overlook the value or forsake the connections made during this season, especially in a like-minded, Christian environment.

How is God speaking to you this Thanksgiving season? How can you use your abundance for His glory?

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, from your family at �Ӱɴ�ý!

“For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance.” - Matthew 13:12a