Open houses planned at new regional centers in Visalia and Bakersfield
Open houses are planned at the new Fresno Pacific University centers in Visalia and Bakersfield. The Bakersfield event will be from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 15, and the Visalia open house from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, September 17.
March 4 was the first day for classes in the 22,000-
square-foot Bakersfield Center, located on River Run Boulevard, across from the The Park at Riverwalk, a development on the west side of the city planned for upscale restaurants and shopping.
The facility has 14 classrooms and a student lounge. This replaces the current downtown center, which had only four classrooms.
The 35,500-square-foot Visalia Center first welcomed students to its 18 classrooms May 6. There is also an event room for local meetings and two computer labs.
The location at Plaza Drive and 198 allows easy access for people from adjoining communities like Hanford, Tulare, Kingsburg and Dinuba.
Enrollment between the fall of 2008 and the summer of 2009 was 948 students at Visalia and 342 at Bakersfield.
Both centers, and the programs they offer, are designed with adult students in mind. Degree completion classes meet in the evenings and groups of students, known as cohorts, go through the program together to support and learn from one another.
Graduate classes also meet in the evenings and offer some online options. Both DC and grad faculty are experts who are as committed to helping students succeed as they are to their field of study. Tuition is competitive with similar programs.
Adults continue to be the fastest-growing part of higher education in the Valley, California and across the country. Nationally, about 40 percent of the 16 million college students in the United States are 25 and older.
Bachelor's degree completion programs are open to adults with about two years of college credit. Graduate students are often professionals in need of advanced education.
The Central Valley is a strong market for adult programs. Compared to other parts of California, it has fewer residents with bachelor's degrees but more with an associate degree or some college credit. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 25.9 percent of Americans 25 or over have bachelor's degrees. California is 13th among the states with a 28.5 percent.
Within the state, San Francisco County has a 47.8 percent graduation rate, while Fresno County's rate is 19 percent, Kern County's is 15.2 percent and Tulare County's is 10.5 percent.
FPU was part of the first wave of adult programs in 1991, when classes met in various locations. Centers opened in Bakersfield in 2004 and in Visalia in 2003. The North Fresno Center was added in 2005 and centers came to the College of the Sequoias in Hanford and West Hills College in Lemoore in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
For information on programs offered, go to fresno.edu/bakersfield or fresno.edu/visalia
square-foot Bakersfield Center, located on River Run Boulevard, across from the The Park at Riverwalk, a development on the west side of the city planned for upscale restaurants and shopping.The facility has 14 classrooms and a student lounge. This replaces the current downtown center, which had only four classrooms.
The 35,500-square-foot Visalia Center first welcomed students to its 18 classrooms May 6. There is also an event room for local meetings and two computer labs.
The location at Plaza Drive and 198 allows easy access for people from adjoining communities like Hanford, Tulare, Kingsburg and Dinuba.
Enrollment between the fall of 2008 and the summer of 2009 was 948 students at Visalia and 342 at Bakersfield.
Both centers, and the programs they offer, are designed with adult students in mind. Degree completion classes meet in the evenings and groups of students, known as cohorts, go through the program together to support and learn from one another.
Graduate classes also meet in the evenings and offer some online options. Both DC and grad faculty are experts who are as committed to helping students succeed as they are to their field of study. Tuition is competitive with similar programs.
Adults continue to be the fastest-growing part of higher education in the Valley, California and across the country. Nationally, about 40 percent of the 16 million college students in the United States are 25 and older.
Bachelor's degree completion programs are open to adults with about two years of college credit. Graduate students are often professionals in need of advanced education.
The Central Valley is a strong market for adult programs. Compared to other parts of California, it has fewer residents with bachelor's degrees but more with an associate degree or some college credit. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 25.9 percent of Americans 25 or over have bachelor's degrees. California is 13th among the states with a 28.5 percent.
Within the state, San Francisco County has a 47.8 percent graduation rate, while Fresno County's rate is 19 percent, Kern County's is 15.2 percent and Tulare County's is 10.5 percent.
FPU was part of the first wave of adult programs in 1991, when classes met in various locations. Centers opened in Bakersfield in 2004 and in Visalia in 2003. The North Fresno Center was added in 2005 and centers came to the College of the Sequoias in Hanford and West Hills College in Lemoore in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
For information on programs offered, go to fresno.edu/bakersfield or fresno.edu/visalia
