Vanguard logs success with online program

Christine Carrillo

Vanguard University climbed onto the World Wide Web with its first

certificate program in fall 2002. The success it achieved offering

only two courses that semester resulted in a full-scale pledge to

offer all seven early education courses for the spring 2003 semester.

Monday kicks off the summer 2003 semester, the first that only

offers early education classes online, a testament that proves the

first year of the online certificates program at Vanguard was a

success.

“Early education is something that’s very often overlooked, yet

it’s the platform for developing a child for future learning,” said

Bren Martin, associate director of early education certificates.

“We’re able to offer something that’s really needed for people, for

their careers, as well as giving them some really high academic

instruction.”

Students following the online program will have the same

opportunities to earn certification in one of three areas the

university offers. Those areas include the early childhood

certificate, the infant/toddler certificate and the early childhood

education administration certificate.

While these online courses will aid students in keeping the costs

of textbooks, materials and tuition low -- a third of the cost -- the

goal of the program is to provide students interested in the field a

more convenient way to meet the training requirements.

“This is a way of expanding, in a sense, our commitment to early

education,” said Murray Dempster, president of Vanguard. This program

“was selected because of our commitment to children and the

importance of giving children good healthy self images, self worth

and dignity, and [we thought] this would be a great program to put

online first.”

As a first for the university, there was concern about whether or

not the online system would benefit its students. Since most of the

students enrolled in the certificate program are busy professionals

themselves, many of whom would be taking these courses at community

colleges, it seemed like the best way to provide a much desired

education to so many people.

“I think that it has gone very well and I really see how it has

great potential for continued growth, especially in light of the

cutbacks that will be occurring at many community colleges,” said

Debbi Keeler, adjunct professor at Vanguard and Santa Ana Community

College. “I’m very encouraged with the direction Vanguard has gone in

wanting to make these courses available and I just feel that it

really is offering the education instructors and administrators need

to go into the field.”