Leveling the Field:
Austin College Introduces B.S. Degrees

When looking to fill open positions in their organization, employers, especially large organizations, use screening software to search resumes for keywords matching their job requirements, saving the company time by eliminating unqualified applicants from the outset so they can focus on fully qualified candidates. An organization in the technology or health sectors, for example, might include “bachelor of science” or the shortened “B.S.” in its list of required elements, along with the necessary skills to perform the job. Resumes lacking those terms are removed from contention before a human ever reviews them.

This practice poses an obvious challenge for a liberal arts college that has historically bestowed bachelor of arts (B.A.) degrees almost exclusively: how to ensure graduates are given the equal opportunity they deserve when applying for jobs, rather than being excluded from contention where a B.S. is the default credential.

So, what’s the difference, anyway? In very general terms, a B.A. degree involves more broad subject matter, and is often based largely on the humanities. In some schools of thought, this breadth comes at the sacrifice of depth in a particular subject. Conversely, a B.S. degree has long been thought of as representative of technical, often STEM-related material, with more focus on research. Although any Austin College alumnus can tell you their B.A. program (whether they majored in physics or French) was anything but shallow, screening software does not have the capability of distinguishing such a quality.

The faculty and leadership at Austin College recognized that students who graduate with B.A. degrees in the sciences were increasingly being caught by these automated pre-screens, and recognized that it was time to consider a change.

But, it wasn’t as simple as changing what can be printed on diplomas. All baccalaureate programs offered by colleges in the state of Texas must be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). AC faculty performed a gap assessment ahead of the accreditation process to identify and address any requirements of the B.S. that would not be fulfilled by current B.A. programs. Perhaps unsurprisingly for graduates of these programs, they found that the existing programs already met the SACSCOC criteria required of B.S. programs. Michael Higgs, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science and Dean of Sciences said, “The programs that transitioned to a B.S. degree option were already offering the required science and math courses typical of a bachelor of  science program. Major curricular changes to these programs were not necessary.”