Southwestern College

Southwestern College is a small college in Kansas that has an affiliation with the United Methodist Church. Located in the town of Winfield, its history dates back to the 1880s. Plans for the Southwest Kansas Conference College called for the new school to open close to Wichita, and its founders even found a plot of land for that school. Construction started in 1884, and the United Methodist Church announced its connection the following year, but it still took some time before classes started. Winfield put in a bid at the end of 1885 and became the new location of that school. Construction started that same year, and classes officially started the following year. The school changed its name to Southwestern College in 1909 to show that it was more than just a college for local students.

Called Southwestern College or just Southwestern today, it has an enrollment of less than 2,000 students. The college has a laptop program that provides all incoming students with a laptop computer that they can use for taking notes in class, working on projects and assignments and for their personal needs. The college also has a professional studies program designed for adult students and other nontraditional learners going back to school. It established six study centers in Kansas and in two other states that allow students to take classes through the college. Some of these centers are on military basis, and most provide students with access to both undergrad and graduate programs.

Southwestern College Accreditation Details

Attending a college with the right type of accreditation isn't a guarantee that you'll graduate and find a great job, but it is a promise that you'll graduate with the skills needed to land one of those jobs. Southwestern has accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS), which is a regional branch of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). This lets you know that the college will renew its accreditation every 10 years and that you will always have access to the top opportunities and experiences in your program. The college also has accreditation for its music, nursing and education programs, which comes from the National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Southwestern College Application Requirements

Before applying to one of the college's graduate programs, you can use the admissions website to request more information. A representative from the college will get in touch with you and answer any questions you have about the program you want to study. You can also chat with professors working in that department and talk with an admissions counselor about how to complete the application process and how to apply for financial aid. While some students may want to tour the campus, those planning on enrolling in an online program will want to take a look at the system requirements to ensure that their computers are suitable for use in those programs.

The only thing you need to start the application process is an email address. You'll also need to select a password, which lets you log in and out of the system. Each section in the application addresses a different part of your life such as general background information on where you live and your social security number. There is a section on your education history that asks where you attended college, they type of degree you earned or will earn and the date that you finished or will finish that degree. You may need to provide some additional information such as your resume, a personal essay/statement of purpose, official college transcript or standardized test score.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Each program that Southwestern College offers at the graduate level has a different tuition rate attached to it. The cost for management students is $599 per credit hour, but if you take any MBA courses while in that program, you'll pay $662 per credit hour for each of those courses. Southwestern offers a discounted tuition rate for military students that brings their costs down to $479 per credit hour for management courses and $529 per credit hour for MBA classes.

The only way you can get financial aid from this college is via the FAFSA. While you have the option of filing this form online or through the mail, you want to file as soon as possible. As you can now complete the form in October of the year before beginning a new college program, you can actually file before you apply to the college. Unsubsidized student loans represent the most common type of aid awarded to graduate students, and these loans are available to both traditional and nontraditional students. The average award package given to Southwestern College students is more than $12,000 a year.

Management Program

To earn a management degree at the graduate level from Southwestern College, you must take and pass 30 credits of work in specific areas. The program includes seven core management courses that all students take. This core includes organizational behavior and human resource management, project management fundamentals, leadership styles and theories, knowledge based leadership and ethics in the global marketplace. You'll also need to take classes on quality management and statistical analysis and financial analysis and management. The college requires that you take a course on change in the workplace too.

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Though the college gives you 10 different management and business electives to choose from, it only requires that you take a total of 12 credits from those electives. You can take an advanced class on financial analysis and other financial courses like financial accounting or managerial accounting, but you can also take courses that will make you a better leader such as leadership for the future, leadership in context or leadership communication and conflict resolution. Other electives include business law and ethics, practical problem solving for today's organizations and marketing strategies.

Any student hoping to graduate must complete all course requirements and maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. You will also need to take a final capstone course and complete a digital portfolio that you submit at the end. Southwestern College requires a portfolio that shows some of the work you did while in the program that also shows your strengths as a management professional.