Business Flex Major

A FLEX major is a special interdisciplinary business major designed by the student in collaboration with an advisor.

A business education is about learning to ask and answer multifaceted questions. The FLEX major allows highly performing and self-directed students to pursue the course of study that they are most passionate about when their questions are not answered within the bounds of the traditional majors offered in the School of Business. The FLEX-Business students exemplify the intentional academic engagement at the heart of a liberal arts education: passionate, creative, rigorous, and interdisciplinary.

The FLEX program is not meant to provide an applied degree or a less rigorous alternative to existing majors. The program is designed as a supplemental program to foster advanced learning for the intellectually curious, driven, and reflective students who have a desire to learn and make their own way. The program is not a place to "get a degree."

Applying to the Major

Students generally apply during the sophomore year prior to registering for junior classes. In order to apply, students must have completed at least 12 units including 8 units at Stetson and have a GPA of at least 3.30. Intent to double major must be declared and approved by the student's FLEX committee during the ILP application process.

Students will select a faculty sponsor who will serve as the primary advisor and mentor for the duration of the course of study. Secondary advisors can be added when appropriate.

Pursuing the FLEX major represents a significant commitment and that commitment is reflected in the application process. To apply, the student must construct and Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) articulating the rationale, learning goals, and coursework (by semester). The ILP must also include a plan for assessing the student's progress towards completing the program.

Individualized Learning Plan

The primary purpose of the application is the creation of the Individualized Learning Plan. This plan clearly states what the student wants to learn, why those things are worth learning, how the  course of study meets the School of Business learning objectives and how success in the program will be measured. The articulation of these  goals is the most important part of the learning plan and the greatest factor in determining acceptance into the program

Incomplete plans will not be considered. The learning plan must include all of the following:

  1. Statement of purpose. This is the rationale for the desired program of study.  In general terms, it includes what the student desires to learn and why. In addition, it includes why the desired learning outcomes cannot be achieved within the scope of an existing Stetson major with supplemental material picked up via electives.
  2. Learning goals. This is the core of the ILP.  Here students must articulate interdisciplinary interests with specific learning goals. Everything in the FLEX program revolves around these goals. Students must designate primary and secondary focus areas and how to assess learning, which cannot be done without goals.
  3. Customized course plan. Here the students will explain how they will meet the proposed learning goals with specific course choices. The customized course plan will include a brief discussion of how each proposed class connects to the aforementioned learning goals. Course descriptions will not be accepted as discussions, this will be a written explanation on the essentialness of each chosen course.  All students participating in the FLEX program must complete the School of Business foundation and General Education requirements. The minimum number of courses accepted will be six, three of which can be taken outside of the School of Business with advisor approval. Additional related courses may increase the chance of the proposal being accepted if they enhance the program of study.
  4. Additional appendices.
    1. Course catalog descriptions
    2. Students "Plan B" - Students must address both issues of not being accepted into the FLEX program and what they will take if they change their mind or are not able to complete the required coursework.
    3. Signed student agreement form. Students must acknowledge that successful completion of the FLEX program may require significantly more work than traditional majors and may result in taking additional courses or semesters if the student opts to change courses of study.
    4. Signed faculty agreement.
    5. Approval by key departments, where appropriate.

Note that there is no reapplication process. If the student's learning plan is not approved, FLEX is no longer an option. The student should proceed with the "Plan B" major. Students are not allowed to reapply because the timeline does not allow it.

Approval Process

The student's faculty sponsor will present the student's ILP to an approval committee chosen by the Associate Dean consisting of the Associate Dean and two additional faculty members. The approval committee will discuss the merits of the applicants and ILP to ensure the rigor and appropriateness of the proposed curriculum.

The Committee has the option to offer a revised plan that the student can choose to accept or reject and select a different conforming major.

Program Requirements

In addition to completing all required General Education and Business Foundations, the student must also complete 6 units of upper-division courses. All courses must be at the 300- or 400-level (unless a 200-level course is required for a current School of Business minor, with a maximum of one 200-level course) with at least 2 units at the 400-level. Within the 6 units, at least 4 must be in the School of Business.

In addition to the above requirement, the student must maintain a 3.0 GPA in courses selected in the ILP and their overall GPA and must not get more than two course grades below C+ in courses selected in the ILP.

More information can be found online at https://www.stetson.edu/other/academics/undergraduate/business-flex.php