Undergraduate Online Student Resources

Please contact your academic advisor with any questions, concerns, or suggestions, generally available by email Monday through Friday 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. EST or make a phone or Zoom appointment. 

With Zoom you can screen share to look over your Progress Report, Academic Requirement Report in SPIRE, search for classes, etc.

Communications from the University and Isenberg go to your UMass Amherst Google Mail email address. You can find instructions on how to forward your UMass Amherst email or Gmail to the email address you check most often. Please visit automatically forward Gmail messages to another account for instructions.

Be sure to add @UMass to your safe senders. Learn more about how to use email, including email filtering and junk mail (to avoid missing messages).

The Academic Honesty Policy was established to ensure that the learning environment at the university is honest and fair. The policy is designed to provide faculty and students with options for handling incidents.

• All members of the University community must participate in the development of a climate conducive to academic honesty. While the faculty, because of their unique role in the educational process, have the responsibility for defining, encouraging, fostering, and upholding the ethic of academic honesty, students have the responsibility of conforming in all respects to that ethic.
• Intellectual honesty requires that students demonstrate their own learning during examinations and other academic exercises and that other sources of information or knowledge be appropriately credited. Scholarship depends upon the reliability of information and reference in the work of others. Student work at the University may be analyzed for originality of content. Such analysis may be done electronically or by other means. Student work may also be included in a database to check for possible plagiarized content in future student submissions. No form of cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, or facilitating of dishonesty will be condoned in the University community.
• The Academic Integrity Policy was established to ensure that the learning environment at the university is honest and fair. 

Your academic level is based on your total credits.

• Senior = 87 credits and above
• Junior = 57-86 credits 
• Sophomore = 27-56 credits 

To activate your UMass IT account, go to the SPIRE logon page, click Activate Your Account under IT Accounts, under SPIRE shortcuts. You will need your NetID and the temporary password emailed to your non-UMass email.

Calculus/MATH 127 is a core BBA requirement, required for all BBA majors.

It is a rigorous course with 50% of your grade dependent on the final exam, whether taken online or on campus. If you have not yet completed it and are uncomfortable with jumping into calculus, you may need to take MATH 104: Algebra, Analytic Geometry, and Trigonometry (pre-calc) first.

Some calculus prep options are EdX, Khan Academy, and Coursera. 

The Learning Resource Center offers tutoring for MATH 127.

There are a variety of certificates and minors available online, but not all UMass on-campus certificates, minors, or courses are offered online. The additional credential will likely require additional courses beyond those required for your major. 

No more than two required major classes can overlap with minor or certificate course requirements.

Let your advisor know sooner rather than later if you are interested in a certificate or minor so it can be worked into your completion plan.

Some online minor options: Political Science, Psychology, or Sociology.

Online certificate options: Criminal Justice, Journalism, Social Work & Social Welfare,  or Sustainable Food and Farming.

Isenberg also offers an online Business Analytics Certificate for Isenberg students only. Usually, it will require two extra courses beyond what is required for your major.

You may take up to 18 credits per spring and fall, 16 in the summer, and 8 credits over the accelerated winter session. 

As a program designed to be part-time, a full-time completion is not guaranteed.
On average our work and/or family-oriented students take two classes/6-8 credits per spring, summer, and fall at 24+ hours of coursework per week. 

Many BBA majors do require accelerated 6-week summer session classes. Winter session is not required.

You may repeat a course for which you received a grade of C- or lower once.

You will be charged for the course both times taken. You may not enroll in a course more than twice. 

The grades received in both the original and repeated enrollment remain on your transcript, the first grade will not be factored in your GPA. See Policies and Practices.

Find Isenberg online Undergraduate courses by semester at Courses: Browse and Enroll. Generally, courses are generally the same from spring-to-spring, summer-to-summer etc. 

You may enroll in up to 2 online classes through SPIRE while on co-op. It is generally not recommended however to take classes. Focusing on the co-op is important.

You may use SPIRE to see your official class schedule and confirm your registration is complete. If you need enrollment verification sent to a third party, you may e-mail your request to the Univ+
Registrar Office. Include your full name, SPIRE ID, and the address to where you need the verification mailed, faxed, or e-mailed. You should make such a request from your UMass e-mail, the subject should be, for example, LASTNAME_semester year_Enrollment Verification Request. Let them know you are an online BBA student.

The University does not mail out grades. You may access and print your grades through SPIRE.

The default Graduation Term assigned at the time of acceptance is usually not accurate, it should reflect your last planned semester.

You request to have your Graduation Term updated through your Student Center in SPIRE.

It doesn't happen instantaneously; requests go to the registrar's office and are processed periodically.  SPIRE > Academics TILE > Graduation > Expected Graduation Term

Your Graduation Term in SPIRE will define which year commencement you may attend allowing you to receive important and appropriate Graduation Information.

• Fall last term/grad term students are January grads the following year
• Winter last term/grad term students are February grads
• Spring last term/grad term students are May grads
• Summer last term/grad term students are September grads whether done in session 1 or 2

If you have a hold on your record/account in SPIRE, this could prevent registration. In SPIRE > Tasks and Help >“Holds"

If you have any holds that block enrollment, contact the office that placed them to clear them before your registration is delayed.  If you have an advising hold, contact your department.

Individualized Study Fees  

An internship costs $275/credit in Summer and Winter semesters. 

Fall and spring an Independent Study costs $550/credit, plus University + Campus Fee $251/credit for a total $801/credit. 

• Eligibility requirements:
• Completion of 35+ credits
• GPA of 2.0 and good academic standing

All internship credits require faculty sponsorship and completion of academic work for a P/F grade. Credits must be completed during the internship experience and will not be granted retroactively.

What kind of credits can I earn?
UMASS 298Y may be used as elective credits to reach 120 for the BBA program. 
These credits are sponsored by Chase Career Center staff. You will pay an additional University fee for spring and fall internship credits.

Departmental Credits

BBA majors are eligible for one set of 3 departmental internship credits. Students are responsible for securing a faculty sponsor and determining an academic outcome for a P/F grade with the sponsor.

BBA Departmental credits

• ACCTG 398Y
• FIN 498Y
• MGT 398
• MKTG 398
• OIM 498Y

Students must meet with academic sponsors prior to the start of the internship regarding academic work that is associated with earning academic credits.

Three credits or 398 or 498 will satisfy one Isenberg Business Elective requirement for applicable majors. Please contact Chase Career Center staff or the UMASS Field Experience staff at internships@umass.edu with any questions.

There is a separate application for on-campus and online programs: 

• On-campus program application information can be found here. 
• Online program application information can be found here.

Major Change within BBA online/U+

First, contact your advisor to request a preview of the major you are considering for the new requirements and completion plan. Also, connect with your Career Advisor for help in choosing a major. If you are ready to change your BBA major, from your UMass e-mail, send your change request, name, and SPIRE ID to your Academic Advisor. 
 

Major Change out of BBA within University+

UMass Amherst Online/Univ+ Programs offers a few other online programs that you might be interested in:

• BA, Sociology
• BA, Interdisciplinary Studies 
• BS, Sustainable Foods and Farming

We hope UMass Amherst can still meet your needs and will approve a major change out of BBA. You should contact program specialists or advisors from those programs of interest to see if one of them meets your needs. 

eCampus is the official textbook liaison of the university 

Most classes require textbooks, ebooks, software, etc. Some readings may be provided online via the class, some ebooks and course software are automatically billed in addition to your registration fee and some are available via eCampus. Order your textbooks promptly so you can prepare BEFORE the course starts, especially in the shorter sessions in which assignments may be due within the first couple of days. Contact your instructor with specific text questions. PeopleFinder is the University resource for looking up contact information for UMass Amherst. Once enrolled in classes you can find a textbook summary in SPIRE through your class schedule. 

Online courses are offered in spring, summer, winter, and fall. Some majors require taking accelerated 6-week summer classes, the winter session is optional.

The semesters you attend and the number of courses you take depend on your other obligations, requirements, and goals for completion. On average our degree completion students take two classes, 6-8 credits per spring, summer, and fall.

• Spring, fall, and some summer semesters are 13-weeks long; expect a 12+ hour per week course work-time commitment per 3 credits.
• Accelerated Summer and winter sessions are 6 weeks long; expect a 24+ hour per week course work-time commitment per 3 credits.

You can log on at your convenience but will have deadlines to meet and time restrictions to work within. These are not correspondence courses. UMass Amherst classes use Canvas Learning Management Systems. 

Tests are administered online and there are some online proctored exams. Depending on the instructor you will generally have a two-to-three-day time frame in which you will have a 2-to-3 hour time limit to complete the exam. The kinds of questions vary based on the nature of the courses. Questions may involve multiple-choice, problem-solving, short answers, or essays.  

You will have weekly assignments due at a set time and may have to post a minimum number of times to discussion boards based on questions or topics posed by the instructor. There are no “live” requirements; we have students from all different time zones in our program. Lectures may be voice-over PowerPoints or recorded, might be live with a time limit to view and discuss, there may be group work required. You will have deadlines to meet and time limits to make note of and prepare for. 

For specific questions, e-mail the Instructor an e-mail link is listed in the description of the course in SPIRE.

There are two types of transcripts: official transcripts and unofficial transcripts. You can print your unofficial transcripts from SPIRE and request an official transcript from the University Registrar.  

An independent study offers you a way to receive academic credit for completing an in-depth examination of a topic related to your course of study.  To pursue an independent study, you need to arrange for faculty supervision and submit a proposal for approval that includes the scope of work to complete, the academic value of the project, and the method for performance evaluation. Three credits may be earned for an Independent Study.

An Independent Study costs $275/credit in Summer and Winter semesters. 

Fall and spring an Independent Study costs $550/credit, plus University + Campus Fee $251/credit for a total $801/credit. 

Arrange for faculty supervision

The identity of the faculty supervisor, and the nature of the independent study, should be clear from the start. Discuss the prospects for completing an independent study with a faculty member before completing a full proposal. Most students choose to further examine issues or problems first introduced in a particular class, with a particular professor. Rarely will a student identify a topic and arrange for supervision by a faculty member they have not had in class. 

Prepare a proposal (1-2 pages, typewritten) specifying:

• The nature and scope of the independent study
• The academic value of the independent study (i.e., how it involves academic learning and its logical relationship to the student's course of study)
• The method of evaluation for the student's performance in the independent study.

Register for the related course by submitting the Independent Study registration form.

Complete the requirements satisfactorily as specified in the Independent Study Contract. 
Note that the method of evaluation must meet the satisfaction of the faculty supervisor. A range of alternatives is available, including, but not limited to, data collection and analysis, and a library research report.

As of May 2020, all graduating seniors are eligible for Latin honors designations on diplomas and transcripts if their complete academic record shows at least 45 graded residence credits at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and meets one or more of the following criteria:

• If your GPA places you among the top 5% of your graduating class in Isenberg, you will receive the degree summa cum laude.
• If your GPA places you among the top 10%, but not among the top 5%, then you will receive magna cum laude.
• If your GPA places you among the top 25% of the graduating class, but not among the top 10%, then you receive cum laude.

Prior to May 2020, 54 graded residence credits were required.

The GPA needed to secure a place in the top 5%, 10%, and 25% in each school or college is based on the average of the previous three years’ graduating classes.

Students will be selected for Dean’s List Honors by meeting the 3.5 GPA in at least twelve credits. Dean's List Honors are awarded approximately 6 weeks after the end of a semester.

Please contact your academic advisor with any questions, concerns, or suggestions, generally available by email Monday through Friday 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. EST or make a phone or Zoom appointment. 

With Zoom you can screen share to look over your Progress Report, Academic Requirement Report in SPIRE, search for classes, etc.

Communications from the University and Isenberg go to your UMass Amherst Google Mail email address. You can find instructions on how to forward your UMass Amherst email or Gmail to the email address you check most often. Please visit automatically forward Gmail messages to another account for instructions.

Be sure to add @UMass to your safe senders. Learn more about how to use email, including email filtering and junk mail (to avoid missing messages).

The Business Communication Center provides one-on-one coaching to undergraduate and graduate Isenberg students, supports the instruction of communication content in other courses, and offers Isenberg faculty and staff communications-related resources, support, and services. The Business Communication Center works with other Isenberg faculty, the Chase Career Center, and student groups to customize their services and meet the needs of the Isenberg community.

Faculty Coaches

Coaches work with Isenberg students by appointment virtually over Zoom or in-person, on:

• Drafting major pieces of coursework, including final projects, theses, and dissertations
• Developing strategies for brainstorming, audience analysis, research, and revision
• Prepping and finalizing decks and speeches for public address

For important financial and academic dates please see UMass Amherst Registrar academic calendar and the UNIV+ UMass Amherst academic calendar. After the 50% refund/withdrawal date you are academically and financially responsible for your courses.

For Isenberg events see the All School calendar.

Isenberg's Chase Career Center is happy to assist you with a multitude of career development topics including resume and cover letter writing, interviewing skills, job and internship search strategies, LinkedIn, networking, and virtual career fairs.

IConnect is Isenberg's Virtual Career Center and your Professional Development Platform, make a career coaching appointment or get the You’ll also find career resources and tools in one central location. 

Email/Gmail

All important information is emailed to your UMass Gmail account. You must check your UMass Gmail to ensure that you receive email messages from all UMass departments and staff members. Make sure that SPIRE also shows the non-UMass email that you use most often. 

Communications from the University and Isenberg go to your UMass Amherst Gmail address. You can find instructions on how to forward your UMass Amherst email or Gmail to the email address you check most often. Please visit automatically forward Gmail messages to another account for instructions.

Missing an email? Check if our email is in the "Junk", “Spam” or "Promotions" folder. Be sure to add @UMass to your safe senders. Learn more about how to use email, including email filtering and junk mail (to avoid missing messages).

Computer Security 

Stay on track with the latest security requirements.

Being well-versed in Excel is invaluable in business today. You will use Excel heavily throughout the program and your career regardless of job function and industry. We recognize that every student comes to Isenberg with a different level of comfort with Excel. To bring everyone up to speed, we encourage incoming students to use the Excel courses listed below. 

Even if you’re an Excel wiz, the courses are a la carte, so you can pick and choose what modules you’d like to learn or brush up on areas you’d like to review.

Note: The instruction in the modules of these courses is rigorous and up to date. The quiz is multiple-choice, and you may take the same quiz as many times as you’d like. For those who don’t have a lot of experience in Excel, and even those who do, we strongly advise you to invest in learning as much as possible.  It will pay dividends throughout the program.

1. GCF Excel
2. GCF Excel

Approximate time commitment for both courses: Beginners, up to 30 hours; less for more advanced Excel users

A UMass Library guide to the online business research collection - available anytime, anywhere in the world.

The UMass Amherst Writing Center believes that everyone is a writer and that all writers bring valuable literacy backgrounds to their writing. Book an Appointment, and one-on-one sessions with writers, please log in (or make an account) at umass.mywconline.com.

For assistance with booking an appointment, please email writingcenter@acad.umass.edu or call 413.577.1293.
 

Disability Services staff at UMass Amherst are committed to providing members of the University community with the finest educational opportunities and the most appropriate accommodations available for students with disabilities.

If you are a legal resident of Massachusetts and take six or more credits per semester you have the OPTION to pay the University health fee to be seen on campus. (Online students do not need to opt out of it and are not charged.)

For further information visit University Health Services.

Connect with the UMass Amherst Veterans Affairs Office, in the Dean of Students Office, for help with applying for and maintaining educational benefits.

UMass Amherst adheres to the VALOR Act Academic Credit Evaluation Policy and uses the American Council on Education (ACE), CLEP, and DSST guidelines, and applies the same standards to credits for military education as those applied to coursework from accredited colleges and universities. 

Your JST military transcript can be requested via the Joint Services Transcript (JST) website.

For US military and dependents, Isenberg will credit the University Undergraduate Entering Fee and provide a 10% discount on Isenberg classes. The University will waive the application fee.

All fees are subject to change.

• UMass Amherst charges a one-time Undergraduate Entering fee of $165
• The Registrar charges an $85 per semester registration fee
• Textbook costs may be over $150. Learn more about Accessing Affordable Textbooks

Most Isenberg courses are 3 credits. Gen-eds are 4 credits.

For online classes, a Session = Univ+/University+/U+ for online, asynchronous classes.

Most Univ+/online undergraduate courses are $550.00 per credit. You pay per semester and must clear your bill before registering for the next semester.

For on-campus classes on a space available basis, a Session = University/on-campus. $550 per credit, plus Univ+ Campus Fee $251 per credit = $801/credit.

The University Bursar's Office takes care of billing and accounts payable, maintains financial records, and can view your bill. Academic advisors do not have access to view your bills or financials. 

UPay Payment Plan is available for the spring and fall semesters.

Billing questions? From your UMass e-mail to bursar@admin.umass.edu, 413-545-2368, identify yourself as an online BBA student, include your SPIRE ID number, and be specific about your request.

Third Party Billing. Paper bills are not generated. Bills are emailed to your UMass Gmail and you can view your bill in your financial area in SPIRE.

See your Financials area in SPIRE for your financial aid information.

UMass Amherst Financial Aid Services office is committed to helping you meet the cost of your education and is happy to help you determine your eligibility and guide you through the process. https://www.umass.edu/financialaid/financial-aid-services Each year, students from a wide range of backgrounds benefit by qualifying for assistance in the form of grants and loans. 

Matriculated students enrolled in a degree program of study at least half-time/minimum 6 credits may apply for Financial Aid:

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to apply for aid. The University of Massachusetts-Amherst school code number is 002221.
• There is an additional application for Summer Financial Aid, see Summer Financial Aid info.
• There is no financial aid for the winter session. You can talk to the bursar about using any leftover fall aid if applicable.

You may contact a Financial Aid Advisor in the UMass Financial Aid Office at 413.545.0801 or finaid@finaid.umass.edu with any financial aid questions. Identify yourself as an Online student. 

Financial Aid Packaging Timeline
Generally, packaging starts in late November for a spring start, April for a summer start, and July for a fall start. In all cases, students will not be packaged until they are admitted and have provided all required documents to Financial Aid Services.

The Undergraduate Scholarship Application is generally available in August and due in September. https://www.isenberg.umass.edu/programs/undergraduate/on-campus/tuition-and-aid/scholarships 

The University has implemented an exciting and convenient new system, Academic Works, which automatically matches you with the scholarships and financial awards you’re eligible for.

These include scholarships and financial awards offered through Isenberg, the Alumni Association, financial aid, and your major department. Online students are not required to attend the banquet.

University+ also has scholarship opportunities, including:

• Miriam Williford Scholarship Fund is available during the spring semester for students pursuing degrees through Univ+ who can demonstrate a lifelong commitment to learning.
• David A. Cole Scholarship is available for students in Univ+ at UMass Amherst who are actively employed and with financial need.
• Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society is a nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of scholarship and to the recognition of nontraditional students continuing their higher education.

If you are experiencing an unexpected financial emergency such as a loss of income or increase in expenses, resources may be available to you through the Dean of Students Office. Apply for a microgrant of up to $500.

If you are a student parent facing unexpected expenses that would negatively impact your academic progress, resources may be available through Student Parent Programs.