ADP’s support program outgrows its name
September 1, 2009
With an estimated enrollment growth of 250 percent in seven years and the shift from campus to mostly online services, Weekend College needed a more accurate title. So this summer administrators renamed it Corban Accelerated Online (CAO). The name change better reflects what this academic support curriculum of the Adult Degree Program (ADP) actually does, how it is done at a faster pace than traditional undergraduate work, and that the medium of instruction is on the internet.
“The growth of the Corban Accelerated Online program has been like catching a tiger by the tail,” said Nancy Martyn, Dean of ADP.
Formerly Weekend College, because of its campus-based course offerings, CAO originated in 1991 as did Corban’s non-traditional undergraduate concentrations in psychology and business administration. CAO has primarily been an opportunity for ADP students to accomplish their general education and elective requirements—i.e., the courses they need to finish their degrees that are outside of their concentration area. However, Martyn said that potential Corban ADP enrollees, people in the community seeking personal enrichment and even students of other higher-education institutions, have been attracted to CAO as well.
Along with the name change, Corban simultaneously promoted part-time coordinator Joany Haws to full-time Director of CAO. She believes the program’s rapid expansion is linked to the ever-increasing number of online courses being offered.
Online courses were first offered in 2001. In 2003, an average of 200 students completed 26 classes. Last year, 452 students completed 53 classes. Haws will offer a total of 60 courses by the end of 2009, and she’s confident CAO will top 500 enrolled students by then.
“It’s great to see classes fill and be able to meet the needs of the students,” said Haws.
Furthermore, the courses will be 100 percent online, said Martyn, by 2010. “We’re finding that students ultimately prefer online learning compared to on-campus learning,” she said, “because of the flexibility.”
Other perks of the CAO program are a highly interactive learning model, a wide variety of courses to choose from (including elective classes that compliment an ADP student’s concentration area), completion of a course in five weeks or less, and a user-friendly online course management system.
For more information on Corban’s Adult Degree Program, click here or call 1-888-764-1383.
By Jenny Hirschfelder, Staff Writer, Office of Marketing & Communications
503-375-7005 | jhirschfelder@corban.edu
