January 23, 2004

Contact Jan Eriksen at 796-3370 or jperiksen@viterbo.edu

VITERBO UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF ADULT LEARNING HAS NEW HOME
 
LA CROSSE, Wis - Gone are the days of being spread out and hard to find. The School of Adult Learning at Viterbo University now has a suite of offices in room 115 of the Fine Arts Center (FAC).

 “Customer service is the key,” said Deb Randall Anderson, assistant director. “If you make things convenient, the students will come. Before, we were operating like separate entities as opposed to one center for adult students. Now we have a home and the campus community knows where to send the students.”

 The move was held on Jan. 21. The school has now consolidated its operations on the first floor of FAC next to available parking, making it much more accessible to the public.

The School of Adult Learning now offers two Bachelor of Business Administration degrees in organizational management and management information technology, a Bachelor of Individualized Learning, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing in which students can upgrade their RN degree to a BSN degree. The school caters to adult learners and offers courses online , in the traditional classroom, and at 10 off-campus locations , typically on nights and weekends.

“Online courses and majors continue to grow in popularity,” said Darcie Brezany, assistant director. “We have done little marketing and we went from eight or nine students to 17 this year in the on-line program. It is very popular with this specific demographic and there is a lot of potential for growth.”

 The School of Adult Learning serves approximately 400 students, all who benefit from the improvements the department is undergoing. “I think we’ll be able to serve adult learners better,” said Jan Eriksen, dean of the School of Adult Learning. “Being located together on the first floor next to a parking lot makes it much more convenient for people to visit us.”