Learn at Your Own Speed

Completion Profiles

Every bachelor’s completion student comes in with different experiences and needs and goes through the program at different speeds. Some students take six courses a term, while others may take two courses one term and three courses the next term, depending on their situation. No matter how fast or slow you intend to go, Northeastern has a path that’ll fit your unique needs.

No matter what your pace, should you attend Northeastern, an Academic and Career Advisor will work with you to map your path to completion, making sure it fits with your career goals and life situation.

Here are three common ‘completion profiles’ that describe what a typical student under each might look like:

‘Accelerated Ann’

Ann is a current student in the Bachelor of Science in Health Management program. She works part-time as a program coordinator at a large hospital and typically takes five to six courses a term.

Ann is 36 years old, married, with two young children. She is busy, but she is eager to get through the program as quickly as she can. (She feels a promotion is likely after she completes her degree).

Ann already had an associate degree and transferred in 60 credits, so she had 60 credits left to finish her degree. At five to six courses a term, she’ll easily complete her degree in under two years.

‘Flexible Felipe’

Felipe is a current student in the Bachelor of Science in Leadership program. She works full-time in sales where her work gets much busier during certain times of the year. And because she’s caring for a chronically sick parent, there are times it requires most of her attention when she is not at work.

She typically takes two courses a term, but there have been a couple of occasions when she didn’t take any or only took one course, and she has taken four courses when her job was less busy.

Felipe had ‘stopped out’ of college five years ago to care for her sick parent on a full-time basis. But because Northeastern offers flexible programs, Felipe has been able to take all of her courses online, which she loves because she can take classes on her schedule.

‘Slow and Steady Steve’

Steve is 45 years old and works full-time at a computer help desk for a large company.

Steve first started college in 1990, but dropped out because it didn’t really feel right for him at the time. Over the years, Steve kept trying to complete college credits at various schools. It was always important for him to someday finish (he’d be the first in his family to do so), but personal reasons seemed to always get in the way, or he didn’t really feel supported at the school.

When Steve came to Northeastern three years ago, he was able to transfer in 40 credits. He prefers to take one or two classes a semester. And because he gets tuition assistance from his company, this approach helps those funds go farther. While it might take him six years to earn his Northeastern degree, he feels really supported and is confident he’ll finish his degree this time.