New Program Improves Accessibility for Working Professionals

Featured • July 10, 2025

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Central Florida AgNews

by REBEKAH PIERCE

While Warner University has offered a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Studies since 2013, the school just recently unveiled a new way for students interested in ag to pursue their dreams.

Warner University announced the launch of its Online Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business. After a soft launch this spring, the program will begin enrolling students this fall. 

Scarlett Jackson, Executive Director of Agricultural Programs at Warner, says the arrival of the program was long overdue and much needed. 

“We have a really strong, diversified ag degree that’s about 10 years old. The goal of moving to an online space was to merge basically two really strong programs —  the business program and the ag studies program — to make it accessible to working professionals.”

Agribusiness is, of course, a major topic that the program covers. Jackson emphasizes that the program is great for students seeking courses that correlate with the ag industry while also incorporating principles of management, marketing, and accounting.

“We try to emphasize high-level business strategy to be sure to incorporate all the areas and make it a really generalized space, not a concentrated space.”

In the future, the program may expand to offer concentrations both online and on the ground, but for now, the hallmark of the program is the creation of a new four-year option in the online environment. 

“Four-year degrees are pretty industry standard now,” Jackson adds. “I think [this] will open some doors for working professionals.”

The new ag business degree will be offered with eight-week courses over three semesters per year (fall, spring, and summer). There are two starts per term, with the next semester beginning August 18 for online students. This, according to Jackson, exemplifies another benefit of the program: “Students are [able to knock out] multiple courses in a shorter timeframe and get them done a little quicker.” 

Most notably, students in the online program don’t have to sacrifice quality for convenience. 

“The ag courses…do have a lot of real-world application,” Jackson mentions. “[They are] taught by industry professionals that have been involved in the industry or are still practicing in the industry.” 

Despite the fully virtual format, students are encouraged to come to campus to interact with their peers at on-campus extracurricular and networking events, as well as to connect online through course discussion posts. Jackson emphasizes that one of her main priorities is to “make sure we’re building a network for these students and connecting them to industry. [We] push students to build networks in industry on campus and at different organizations.”

The program features small class sizes (most classes contain 20 or fewer students) as well as a highly personalized approach to degree completion. “We do our own advising in-house so that the students don’t have to figure it out themselves,” Jackson adds.

Although the program does have 60 credits of associates’ level work as a prerequisite, first-year students are able to take ag classes early on in their education, as early as the first semester. 

“It’s typically the same as if you’re in a traditional fall program…[you’ll] be in Intro to Ag right out of the gate. [We] intermix as many Ag and Gen-Ed courses as we can to help facilitate [this],” Jackson says. 

The new ag business program is ideal for students who are approaching their studies as traditional first-year freshmen, as well as older students who may have already worked in the industry or on the family farm. 

“We saw a need in what our traditional students were and wanted to fill that but provide it in a way that gives these students a little more flexibility with their time,” Jackson explains. 

“We hope that some [students] would continue to go back to the farm… but we also know that there [are] students who are going to work in sales, feed, seed, chemicals, [and] all that I call the ‘allied industries.’”

Warner developed the program after many years of “sharpening its skills,” as Jackson notes, in both agricultural and business education.
“We know what to do well,” she says. “Being able to recenter on that and know where we’re moving forward and dedicate staff to that says a lot about our administration and what we’ve built here in the ag program.”

Warner University President Gentry Sutton is particularly excited about the new option. 

“The online program in Agricultural Business is a perfect fit for Warner University. We are thrilled to be able to provide a program that meets the needs of people in one of Florida’s key industries, and one that is very close to our heart. Students in this program will not only benefit from Warner professors’ experience in agriculture and business, but they will also receive an education grounded in the Christian values that have helped our nation prosper for centuries.”

Interested in applying? “Admissions is super easy,” Jackson explains. Applicants can visit the Warner University website (warner.edu/apply) and fill out an online application. The only other requirement is the verification of high school GPA through official transcripts. If you’re applying as a transfer student, she adds, “[We’re] very generous with our transfer credit, bringing in credit from other institutions is always an option.”