Colleges are flirting with adult students in two key ways: Online offerings ”“ for the convenience. And employer incentives, which equate to cost savings and advancement for the busy, working professional.
The world has changed, administrators say.
Most of the adult student population is working, said Mary Lou DeRosa, dean of University College at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield. “If they”™re not working, they”™re looking for jobs full time”¦ a lot of companies have subsidized transportation or other benefit perks.”
DeRosa has seen a 23 percent uptick in part-time undergraduate enrollment figures since last summer.
“Over the last two years, the headcount stayed pretty close,” she said. “If they were taking six credits, maybe they took only three. Some folks were concerned of one family member losing a job. But folks say, ”˜I still have to be competitive in the marketplace.”™”
Daniel Baugher, associate dean and director of graduate programs at Pace University Lubin School of Business in New York City and White Plains, similarly noted an upswing in program enrollment.
Executive programs, such as a master”™s in finance, have just about “doubled” and traditionally cost less and are more fine-tuned to specific interest than an MBA, which Baugher has heard “are not (collectively) up.”
The MBA market, however, is often cyclical.
Pace University is actively trawling for fruitful employer partnerships to recruit future Pace students.
“Many employers provide no more than 20 percent of support these days,” Baugher said. “Even top-tier schools like Duke have had to reach out and do a lot more marketing than they used to do.”
Baugher recalled the days when he made the drive to the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan when Pace operated a master”™s degree program in operations management onsite for Con Edison; Con Edison sold Indian Point 2 to Entergy Corp. in 2001.
Pace had a longstanding partnership with IBM in Armonk, too.
“When firms express interest, we will pursue it,” Baugher said. “In White Plains, we”™re now going from business to business to see if there”™s interest from employees who want to come back to Pace.”
The Lubin School of Business is running a program incentive for employees who apply to Pace University by July 1. There”™s an attractive perk: they receive one free, three-credit course worth $2,500.
“It”™s not easy, because in White Plains, the volume market size seems to have shrunk,” Baugher said. “A lot of (companies) are smaller businesses and they ask, ”˜What”™s in it for me? If they are trained, will the person leave me?”™ But it can mean that someone in-house can do something that a consultant would have done.”
To further accommodate the working professional, Pace recently launched online-blended degree completion program fittingly named “iPace.”
Prospective students who apply by July 1 will only pay $500 per credit.
The adult market can be “tough to crack,” but DeRosa said the online component makes coursework more convenient and encourages degree completion, though he points out classes themselves aren”™t any easier.
“If you have a semester when you”™re going to be doing a lot of traveling, you can take online and on-ground courses,” DeRosa said. “Numbers are up in double digits across the country. It offers the 21st century student, whether they”™re traditional age or adult ”¦ it offers them choice.”
