Prospective Students

Welcome Prospective Students! 

Enrollment

• Courses
• Registration
• Certificate Programs 
• Professional & Continuing Education Certificate Enrollment
• The Landscape Institute & The Sustainable Design Institute Certificate Enrollment

Transfer/Waiver Credit

• Transfer Credit
• Wavier Credit
• Transfer/Waiver Credit Application Process

Tuition

• Tuition Rates 2012-2013
• Tuition Discounts
• Tuition Assistance

Refunds 

• Refund Application 
• Refund Rates 2012-2013

Enrollment

Students taking courses through Professional & Continuing Education, the Landscape Institute, or the Sustainable Design Institute may chose to take courses as a part of a certificate program or one course at a time without enrolling in a certificate.

Courses: Most courses are open for students to take without prior admission into a certificate program. The Sustainable Design Institute (SDI) requires new students to hold a Bachelor's degree and/or a work level equivalent; a conversation with the Director of SDI is required for those without a bachelor's degree. There are no admission requirements for Professional & Continuing Education or The Landscape Institute courses.  However, pre-requisite requirements may exist. Advising is available; please contact pce@the-bac.edu to schedule an appointment. 

Registration: Course registration is available via the Self -Service portal. Students who have taken a course at the BAC may already have an active account and should contact the IT help desk +1.617.585.0191 to retrieve their user name and/or password. If a discount is to be applied or the student is located outside of the United States, registration must be done via phone by calling +1.617.585.0101. New students should create a new user account.

Certificate Programs: Certificate program applications are accepted on a rolling basis; requirements vary with program. Students may choose to apply for a certificate program at any time, but are encouraged to do so as soon as possible. Students who wish to transfer credits into a certificate program must submit a transfer request at the time of application. For more information on transferring credits see the Transfer Credit section.

Professional & Continuing Education Certificates

• Advanced Rendering
• Classical Architecture
• Design Computing
• Historic Preservation (Fall 2013)
• Kitchen & Bath Design
• Residential Interiors

Requirements
Submission of an application form and a $50.00USD application fee. No prior degree is required.

The Landscape Institute & The Sustainable Design Institute Certificates

• Landscape Design
• Planting Design
• Landscape History
• Landscape Preservation
• Sustainable Design
• Sustainable Residential Design
• Sustainable Community Planning and Design
• Sustainable Building Design & Construction

Requirements
Submission of an application form, current resume, 50.00USD application fee, statement of purpose (250 words), and prior education. Applicants without a college degree, but who possess professional experience are required to speak with a program director prior to application. Supplementary materials are to be submitted to pce@the-bac.edu.

Transfer & Waiver Credits

Students may apply to receive transfer or waiver credit for prior college-level, credit bearing courses from an accredited academic institution. The amount of transfer/waiver credits accepted are determined on a program basis and are up to the discretion of the Professional & Continuing Education administration. 

• Transfer Credit
  Credit bearing courses that contain the majority of the learning objectives of a required BAC course. If accepted, transfer courses reduce the overall number of courses required by the program. Sample work may be requested for design credits.

• Waiver Credit
  Credit bearing courses that contain some learning objectives of a required BAC course. If accepted, the wavier credits do not reduce the number of required credits, but allow an alternate course to be taken in place of a required course.

Application for transfer/waiver credit
Submit the following to pce@the-bac.edu, or, via postal mail.

• A transfer/waiver request form
• Official, sealed transcripts from each institution for which credit is requested
• A course syllabus, or, catalog description for each course
  All materials must be received in order to complete an assessment. Applicants will be notified via email within 7-10 business days of a decision being rendered.

Tuition

Tuition Rates 2012-2013

Sustainable Design Institute

• 1.5 credit graduate level $1,380.00

Professional & Continuing Education and the Landscape Institute

• 3 credit undergraduate level $1,625.00
• 1.5 credit undergraduate level $920.00
• Non-Credit workshops and Seminars vary. Check Self-Service for current pricing.

Tuition Discounts
Professional & Continuing Education, The Landscape Institute, and the Sustainable Design Institute are pleased to extend several opportunities for reduced tuition to seniors, graduates of a BAC degree or certificate program, BAC staff and students transferring from the Arnold Arboretum Landscape Institute program. Students wishing to apply discounts to their tuition must register via phone. Please note that discounts are only offered for credit bearing courses and may not be combined.

• Staff: Full-time BAC staff are eligible to receive full tuition remission, 6 credits per academic term, after one year of continuous employment. 

• Faculty: Are eligible to take up to 3 credits for no cost during or immediately following the term taught. 

• Seniors: Students over 60 are eligible for a 10% tuition reduction.

• Graduates: Those who have completed a BAC degree or certificate receive a 50% reduction in tuition.

• Arnold Arboretum: Transferring students are eligible to apply for tuition relief. To apply contact li@the-bac.edu.

Tuition Assistance

• Sallie Mae Tuition Payment Plan Students enrolled in certificate programs are eligible to participate in the Sallie Mae Tuition Pay Plan. Sallie Mae Tuition Pay allows students to pay tuition expenses over a two month time span but is not a loan, so no interest is accrued. There is an application fee of $35.00. To set up a TuitionPay Plan account, students should visit tuitionpay.salliemae.com. Students using Tuition Pay must register via phone. 

• Alternative Private Loans Courses and certificate programs offered through Professional & Continuing Education, The Landscape Institute and The Sustainable Design Institute are not eligible for federally funded education loans. Alternate credit-based loans may be available through private vendors. More information is available on the BAC Financial Aid web page. 

• Employer Reimbursement The BAC can accept Employer Reimbursement, if the Employer issues a purchase order, at the time of employee registration, expressly stating that "all tuition and fees will be paid unconditionally upon receipt of an invoice from the BAC". 

• AmeriCorps, VA Funding and Massachusetts Workforce Investment Act Funding The BAC is able to assist students looking for funding. Contact pce@the-bac.edu for more information.

Refunds

Refunds are processed upon submission of a withdrawal form to pce@the-bac.edu and are prorated based on the date the withdrawal request is received. Refunds are issues within 2-3 weeks, will appear in the same mode of the original payment, and are subject to a $25.00 non refundable fee.

1.5 or 3 credit courses
• Prior to the first class meeting 100% *
• Prior to the second class meeting 95%
• Prior to the third class meeting 75%
• After the third class meeting 0%
*Online courses: for refund purposes class meetings start at 5PM Eastern Time every Monday the course is in session.

Seminars and Workshops
◦ Before the start date 100%
◦ No refunds are available after the beginning of the first course session