In November and December, they blew through Morals in the Marketplace.
By Feb. 1, they will have mastered Strategic Marketing Management and then advanced to International Business and Finance for five weeks.
“We knew what we would be taking in December 2006,” said Lynda Pezzella, one of two dozen students in the business administration program at The College of Notre Dame of Maryland in Baltimore City. “And it?s always on the same night, so your life is on hold Thursday nights.”
The T. Rowe Price marketing manager is enrolled in the college?s Accelerated College program and will graduate with her classmates in May, less than three years after they began.
The secret to their success is teamwork, Pezzella said.
“Students get to know each other very well and form a strong support group,” administrator Diane Maloney-Krichmar said. “It does have a high completion rate compared to other programs.”
Pezzella and her classmates participate in group work, call each other to discuss assignments and encouragethose who may be struggling.
Baltimore City police contractor Linda Lovette needed help learning how to use the Excel program for a statistics class.
“I had several classmates calling me up, making sure I got it,” she said.
By the end of the course, she had mastered the software, and “I got an A in the class,” she said.
Students said the college program is attractive for two reasons: tuition that is fixed from the year they begin and prompt grading that helps them get reimbursed through their employee benefits programs.
But the bonds formed between students and teachers make the time fly, said Gary Simonette, a program manager with Alcatel.
“I look forward to coming to school every Thursday night. It?s not a grind,” he said.
IF YOU GO
» What: Information session for Accelerated/Weekend College at The College of Notre Dame of Maryland
» When: 6 p.m. Jan. 9
» Where: 4701 N. Charles St., Baltimore
» For information or to register, call 410-532-5500, e-mail the Weekend College office at [email protected] or e-mail Accelerated College at [email protected].
