Students 'AiM' for BBA Degrees at Rend Lake Market Place
11/4/2008
Darla Wiehle, of Iuka, is a typical “non-traditional” college student with a demanding full-time job. She will finish management and marketing classes at Rend Lake Market Place in early 2009 and graduate from McKendree University next May with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
The AiM (Accelerated Instruction with McKendree) program offers bachelor’s degree programs in business administration and marketing in the Mt. Vernon area, 57 miles closer than the Lebanon campus.
Wiehle is the Patient Safety Manager for St. Mary's Good Samaritan Hospital at its Mt. Vernon and Centralia locations. She proactively promotes patient safety and makes certain the hospital meets all state and federal regulatory requirements involving patient safety.
“Having a bachelor's degree will open up career advancement doors for me that would not have been possible before,” Wiehle said. “Going back to school is scary at first but it can be done. I am so glad that I did!”
AiM is a convenient, flexible and affordable option for non-traditional, adult students who want to further their education while maintaining work, family and local commitments closer to home.
Classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Rend Lake Market Place. New classes start every eight weeks. Students may attend full-time or part-time. Degree requirements may be completed in two years or less.
“The BBA program is designed for adults who may have a few college credits or an associate degree,” said Melissa Meeker, director of student services for external programs at McKendree. Admission is usually limited to applicants age 24 or older.
At $295 per credit hour, AiM costs significantly less than tuition at McKendree’s Lebanon campus. Books average between $40 and $100 per course. Financial aid is available through grants, loans and corporate assistance.
Students in the AiM program attend one class a week, taught locally by a visiting McKendree professor. Courses combine face-to-face instruction with online tests, quizzes, readings and assignments administered by the same professor.
AiM students and graduates also cite small class size, personal attention and outstanding faculty among the program’s advantages.
“The appeal of the AIM program is two-fold,” Wiehle said. “McKendree is a very reputable and distinguished university and I wanted to have their solid name behind my degree. Secondly, the adult-oriented classes appealed to me since I work full-time.”
Non-traditional adult students benefit not only from the expertise of their professors but also from each other’s experiences.
AiM programs are fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and given permission to operate by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
In addition to Rend Lake Market Place, AiM classes are also offered at Flora High School; John A. Logan College in Carterville; Joliet Junior College; Kaskaskia College in Centralia; Olney Central College; Southwestern Illinois College’s Red Bud campus; and Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel.
In August 2006, the first six AiM graduates completed their degree requirements at Flora High School. More followed that December at the Flora, Kaskaskia and Rend Lake locations. Enrollment has grown rapidly, to over 100 students by this fall.
McKendree University is ranked among the top 10 percent of "Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the nation and in the “Great Schools, Great Prices” category by U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges 2009." The Lebanon, Ill., campus is just 25 miles from downtown St. Louis. For more information about the AiM program, go to www.mckendree.edu and type “AiM” into the search bar.
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