The nontraditional student is being met halfway.
Colleges have introduced career development and certificate programs to accommodate a diverse student body population from the traditional undergrad to the older individual who is gainfully employed.
At Fordham Westchester in West Harrison, Lynne O”™Connell, assistant Dean of the College of Liberal Studies Westchester campus, said the executive MBA degree program was designed for the working student.
“There are a lot of folks in Westchester and Fairfield who have been working in corporations and for whatever reason, didn”™t get an MBA and are fully capable, so the program is designed to accommodate that population,” O”™Connell said.
The program lasts 22 months and requires weekend study once per month.
O”™Connell has seen more interest in teacher certification and “a lot of people coming in for social work.”
“They”™ve worked in corporate, have had a good life and realize other people still struggle,” she said. “They”™re coming back into social work areas because they want to give back to the community.”
At SUNY Ulster in Stone Ridge, the Continuing and Professional Education division has addressed change in occupational demand by offering clean energy technology careers training.
“In the past year, we”™ve trained over 500 students in clean energy technology training courses,” said Barbara Reer, program manager. “I think especially because you have the solar energy consortium here, people are hearing a lot of good things about solar. People want to learn whatever they can and other people are looking for jobs in this area. Others are looking to add this to their existing business. There has been a big increase in demand for these courses.”
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Also in demand are health-related certificate programs, said SUNY Ulster program coordinator Linda Corsones.
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“With baby boomers aging, I think we”™ll see growth in not only things like medical claims, but in other fields,” she said. “We have a pharmacy technician certificate that is popular.”
Adding to growing certificate programs are career development training courses, many of which are available for education rather than counting credit.
SUNY Ulster recently offered a “College Success for Adult Students” workshop in Saugerties.
At Fordham Westchester, O”™Connell said, “We run workshops on resume building, interviews and business communication.” Administrators have seen an uptick in enrollment at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.
“In the fall, we saw more students and fewer credits, but for the spring, we”™re seeing more students and more credits,” said Mary Lou DeRosa, dean of University College at Sacred Heart. “We know that with adults, it”™s always time and money, so at the end of the day, we want to be able to help them advance in their current positions or position themselves with transferable skills when jobs open in different sectors.”
There have been “more calls for our financial planning certificate to become a certified financial planner.”
A geriatric health and wellness certificate could feasibly match demographic demand.
“I think the geriatric wellness certificate will be huge,” DeRosa said. “We have so many hospitals and assisted livings in the area and we need people who understand an aging and graying population. Our state is graying quickly and we want to keep people here. We don”™t want to lose talent to other states.”
DeRosa said University College partnered with the Society for Human Resource Management to offer sessions for nontraditional adult students on resume-writing and interview techniques.
“We also have a complete career development office that hosts career fairs a couple of times a year,” she said.
