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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, May 23, 2002

ON CAMPUS
College for mid-career

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

The University of Phoenix has found a niche in Hawai'i: providing more opportunities for mid-career professionals who want to bump themselves up in their field, increase their salaries or simply improve their skills.

It's for the people who worry they've "hit a dead-end" and want more, said spokeswoman Debra Jonsson. Or those who see that adding a new degree will make a big difference in both career and earning potential.

"We look at what does the community need," said Jonsson, director of admissions for the university. "And we focus on developing programs for working adults."

As part of that commitment, the university is homing in on the most pressing community needs — healthcare and education — with the hope of quickly adding to the emerging pool of teachers and nurses, as well as upgrading the skills of those already working in those fields.

"A lot of teachers are not certified and our programs are drawing them in," said Jonsson.

The university has just doubled its master's of education program and in March also added an LPN to BSN degree — in other words, a bachelor of science in nursing degree that can utilize credits from the Licensed Practical Nurse training.

"There was no place that accepted LPN credits and put them toward a BSN," said Jonsson. Already 30 students are enrolled in the program and another 30 to 50 will come aboard in June.

The University of Phoenix was founded in 1976 in Arizona, coming to Hawai'i in 1992. The university now boasts a national network, with 111,000 students and a presence in 23 states.

It caters only to working adult students, and specializes in four areas: business, technology, healthcare and education. The "educational model" uses the students' work experience as part of the course training, asking students to apply their personal job experience.

Students must be working and at least 23 years old to enroll, but the median age is 35 and students have an average of 12 years of managerial experience.

"Fifty percent of our students are re-careering," said Jonsson, and that makes the University of Phoenix a good choice, she said, with its "flexible, convenient and fast degrees." For instance, a master's degree in something like global management can be earned in 18-24 months with a single weekly four-hour class.

"If you're an adult, you wouldn't want to be on the 6-8 year plan," Jonsson said. "And you have to keep your day job, otherwise you're not eligible."

There are classes in communities throughout the state — from Mililani to Kapolei to Kane'ohe to the Neighbor Islands — with the average class size pegged at 15. The university has 1,400 students in Hawai'i, 1,000 of them in business programs. In January the university launched a bachelor of science in information technology and the classes have been filled twice over.

"Technology is playing a role in homeland protection," Jonsson said, "and the FBI says they want the technology experts."

There's also a tremendous need for degrees in criminal justice programs, Jonsson said, and there was overwhelming immediate response to last week's advertisement about the first classes beginning in July.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.