Parlay Work Experience Into a College Degree

• Allison L. Shaw is a Sacramento-based freelance writer
  First printed in The Oakland Tribune and Alameda Times-Star on March 25, 2003
  

If you've always wanted a college degree but never found the time due to demands of work or family, a new program offered for the first time in the Bay Area is worth looking into.

This one-of-a-kind program is a partnership between the Oakland Unified School District and California State University Sacramento's College of Continuing Education (CCE). The Bachelor of Vocational Education (BVE) is designed for working professionals with five years or more of work experience.

Bachelor of Vocational Education

But don't be misled by the title. BVE is not just for people who want to get into a classroom and teach. With the rapid transformation of the workplace and constanly changing technology, there is a need for training experience in many positions. Employees with no training background are often expected to teach or explain information to their associates as part of team or project assignments.

Consequently, BVE is a fast track to upward mobility, at any level. "We just had our first two advising sessions in Oakland and it's apparent that the quality of students here is really going to energize the program," said Patricia Becthtold, BVE counselor.

Bay Area professionals who recently attended BVE workshops in Oakland are looking forward to participating in the program this fall for reasons that make it popular in Sacramento: excellent curriculum, affordable costs, convenient scheduling, the ability to transfer work experience into college units and an uncommon level of faculty and staff support in reaching career goals.

I've finally found what I'm looking for. . .

"I've been looking for an accelerated degree program locally to provide the right opportunities for career growth for at least five years, and I've finally found what I'm looking for with the BVE program," said Debra Long, who works in truancy in Oakland public schools.

Gene Ramos, another prospective student of the Oakland-based program is a Department of Public Health prevention educator working in San Francisco. Ramos expects the program to open up advancement opportunities.

"The program offers top-notch courses for anyone involved in training as a part of their job," said Ramos. "But what impressed me more was the caliber of people running the program. I've never received the level of support from other counselors that I have from the BVE staff."

Open up advancement opportunities

What Long and Ramos experienced in one evening is corroborated by many BVE program graduates. "As a trainer with ten years experience, the BVE program was invaluable," said Yolanda Richardson, a recent graduate of the program in Sacramento.

"The group work we were assigned allowed us to create and present ideas in a way that would make any corporate task force leader or project manager drool," she said.

Geared Towards Working Professionals

The program is also unique in that it allows students to apply work experience to earn up to 30 elective units required for the degree. All but nine units of general education units can be completed at a community college, and the 39 upper division units in the major can be completed within one year through the program.

Like many working professionals who fall into jobs, start families and never find the time to complete their education, BVE graduate Gwynn Osborne attended community college and night school in pursuit of a college degree after high school.

"When I learned about the BVE program I went to an information night. Using my work experience for many of the units was a big attraction," she said.

However, work experience isn't everything. A recent study by economist Deborah Reed revealed increasing inequities in the workforce, where earnings for people with a college degree are as much as 70 percent higher than for those with no degree. Osborne's experience reflects this.

"This past July I accepted a job as an accounting supervisor at a large non-profit organization. One of the qualifications for the job was a bachelor's degree. I received a 40 percent increase in pay and wonderful benefits. But until I had that degree, a lot of doors were closed to me. This degree helped my career turn the corner," Osborne said.

Geared to accommodating the schedules of working professionals, each class runs for three weeks and is held on Friday evenings, Saturdays and every third Sunday. Students take only one class at a time, allowing them to concentrate fully on the subject.

It's Never Too Late

"Our program is definitely student-centered. We are there to provide students whatever help they need to succeed," Rodgers said. "The most important thing that I have learned is that it is never too late," said Osborne. "I am eternally grateful for the opportunity BVE gave me, and the kind, caring people that are part of it," she said.

For more information about courses offered through CSUS College of Continuing Education, please visit www.cce.csus.edu or call (916) 278-4806. To register, please call (916) 278-4433.

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