October 19, 2006 - 5:00pm
When the leaves have swirled off the trees, the nights fall faster and last longer, and the annual winter deluge drenches the island, invest in an interior upgrade.
Start with your mind.
This winter, students can upgrade their knowledge from the warmth of home through a wide range of online courses offered by Malaspina University-College. By spring, students may have upgraded work skills, earned university credits, mastered a new hobby, or even trained for a new career.
“I had the time of my life,” said Tracey Procyk, who prepared for a new career part-time from home by completing Malaspina’s online Applied Business Technology (ABT) program. “The classroom online was highly detailed and the instructors very supportive, with tons of information. I never felt lost.”
Online training allowed her to continue working part-time and still care for her family during the 20 months of training. Two weeks after graduating, she started her current job, which she loves.
On an hourly basis, her new job pays almost double the $9 an hour she earned in retail, plus the work is more challenging and the opportunities better.
ABT online offers the same instruction as the classroom program but in an environment that lets students work from home at their own pace. Initially Procyk choose to take one course at a time, a pace that let her continue working 30 hours a week in retail, look after her family, and still enjoy free time.
“When I graduated, I was ready to go to work. It hadn’t been a big strain on the family to have me go to school,” she said.
Concentrating on her courses was easy. She was quickly engaged by the level of instruction and by the support she received from instructors and fellow students.
While her three children were at school, she also went to school from home. “It was just me and my computer – and there was so much information. It worked very well for me.”
In her second year she left her part-time job and accelerated her pace through the ABT training. She graduated in June 2005, having done the entire program online.
Online classes make upgrading more accessible, she said. “For the mom with little kids who wants to get retraining, this is ideal because she can take the course at home and at her own pace.”
ABT Program Coordinator Betty Serjeant said students have used the online program to change careers, upgrade their current skills, or meet new certification requirements in their workplace. Available online is certification as an Accounting Assistant, Administrative Assistant and Legal Administrative Assistant.
ABT is just one of the programs available online. Also available from Malaspina are Canada’s only theory course for barber/stylists, adult basic education in math and English, and university credit courses in biology, child and youth care, business, creative writing, geography, geology, health and human services, history, media studies, tourism management, and science.
New careers can be launched with online courses like Malaspina’s Internet Essentials Certificate, ABT Online or Technical Writing Certificate, available through Online Continuing Education.
For Procyk, her experience with online learning left her ready for more. “I’m always looking to see what might be available,” she said.
For more information on online courses, visit www.viu.ca and click on On-Line Learning.
Tags: In the Community
