News

Endicott targets workers with weekend classes

By Cate Lecuyer
staff writer
Published: December 2, 2008

BEVERLY — School on Saturday? You bet.

Endicott College just started a new associate's or bachelor's degree program geared toward working people. In addition to online and night classes, the college will soon start offering courses on Saturday mornings.

"We find people are very busy during the week," said Wendy McSweeney, coordinator of marketing and recruitment.

She said often people don't want to work all day and then take a night class, or can't make it there in time, or have trouble finding child care. Whatever the reason, Saturday classes can be more convenient, and interest is high so far, she said.

"We are definitely grabbing people who otherwise couldn't come," McSweeney said.

The program starts Jan. 17, and the classes are five to six weeks long. The accelerated degrees offered are a bachelor's in psychology, business or liberal studies and an associate's in science and business or science and integrated studies.

"If this goes well at the undergraduate level, we'll hopefully start offering master's degrees, as well," she said.

The program can be done solely on Saturdays, or paired with online and evening classes. For people who want to finish a degree they started years ago, Endicott takes career and life experiences into consideration and may transfer that experience into credits.

McSweeney said many of those interested are people who do want to finish their degrees, as well as people who are looking for a leg up in a struggling job market.

"I would say the majority of people are looking for more job security, and to beef up their résumé," she said.

If you go

What: Informational meeting on Endicott's new Saturday degree program

When: Saturday, Dec. 6, 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Where: The Endicott College Van Loan School of Graduate & Professional Studies, 295 Hale St., Beverly

Cost: Free