McKinley College Now Offers Degree Instruction Exclusively Online

Fort Collins – March 11, 2009 – This week, McKinley College, a nationally accredited distance-education school, begins delivering all of its courses 100% online. Each McKinley course is a curriculum requirement for one of its Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree programs. The school offers degree programs in Accounting, Business Management, E-Commerce, Entrepreneurship, Fashion Merchandising, Financial Services Management, Health Information Management, Human Resources and Marketing. All of the programs contain four semesters of career-focused content, and all are accredited through the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) in Washington, D.C.

Through the school’s exclusively online format, McKinley students may enroll in five terms a year, each lasting 9 or 10 weeks. From the list of degree requirements, students may choose courses totaling up to 11 credits (approximately three courses) each term. Hard copy textbooks are delivered prior to a course’s start date. Students submit assignments by logging onto McKinley’s Learning Management System (LMS). The LMS also serves as the instructor’s teaching site and the venue for student participation in virtual classrooms with instructors and classmates. The bulk of school-student communication will take place on the LMS or by email.

“With the state of the national economy, students’ needs have changed,” says Ann Rohr, president of McKinley College. “As people enter the workforce or re-train for careers with solid job potential, online instruction offers these advantages: It’s efficient, allowing students to train from their own locations instead of in a classroom, and it’s cost-effective, allowing the school to offer economical tuition made possible by a low-overhead, electronic classroom.” Online courses are also environmentally friendly. They decrease the amount of energy needed for course materials and transit fuel.

Although McKinley offers five school terms a year, new students may start studying as soon as they enroll by taking self-paced prerequisites such as Success Strategies or Workplace Psychology. “We want to meet students’ training needs right away,” says McKinley president Rohr. “We realize the importance of helping people successfully complete their AAS degrees so they can progress in finding work in their chosen fields.” The U.S. Department of Commerce projects that, compared to a high school degree, an associate degree can increase lifetime earnings by at least $400,000. McKinley online courses will help people become competitive for better jobs sooner.

The first online term begins Sunday, March 22.

About Mckinley College
McKinley College is one of three schools whose parent company is Weston Distance Learning, Inc. (Fort Collins, Colorado). The other two Weston schools are At-Home Professions and U.S. Career Institute. The schools enroll students throughout the country. Weston courses allow students to train at home, in their own time, for employment in fields shown to offer a reliable job outlook and earning potential. Currently, Weston is launching a new distance education course every few months. Its state approval is issued by the Colorado Department of Education’s Division of Private Occupational Schools. To learn more about Weston Distance Learning, visit http://www.westondistancelearning.com/.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Ann Rohr, call marketing director Kevin White at (800) 347-7899 or email Kevin at KevinW@westondistancelearning.com.