New USF Sarasota-Manatee campus adds new daytime option, to make college courses more convenient for wider variety of non-traditional students

 

New “Mid-Day Learning Community” is designed for people who want to finish a college degree between the hours of 9 am and 3 pm – and includes a childcare option

 

SARASOTA, FL (November 15, 2006) – Now with plenty of high-tech classroom space in its new campus, USF Sarasota-Manatee has unveiled a new daytime program designed for non-traditional students who would like to take college classes during the middle hours of the day.

 

The new program, called the Mid-Day Learning Community (MDLC), was developed specifically for non-traditional students who have night jobs or family commitments that prevent them from attending evening or weekend classes.

 

For example, the MDLC is well-suited for parents with children in elementary school. Since MDLC courses start no earlier than 9 am and end by 2:50 pm, those parents can see their kids off to school in the morning, then take a college course or two at USF Sarasota-Manatee – and still arrive home before their children return from school.

 

The MDLC may also appeal to students who care for adult members of their families in the evenings. Likewise, Manatee Community College (MCC) graduates who took their MCC coursework during the morning or afternoon may also prefer to continue their USF courses during the mid-day hours.

 

“This solid mid-day block of classes is something we could not offer to the region before, simply because we were previously sharing a campus with New College,” said Campus CEO Dr. Laurey Stryker. “Now, thanks to this brand new campus center we opened this year, we can now offer a full slate of daytime classes – in addition to the night and weekend classes we’ve already been offering for 31 years.”

 

For parents with pre-school children between the ages of 2 and 5, this new MDLC program also provides an on-campus childcare option – making college classes more convenient for non-traditional students with younger children, too.

 

“We’re also very excited to offer childcare options onsite for our USF students, starting with the upcoming Spring 2007 semester,” said Stryker. “The Sarasota YMCA will be using a section of our campus center to provide their proven childcare program – one that is already very well-regarded and trusted in our community.”

 

Stryker said the new mid-day course schedule and childcare options are two indications of the on-going commitment that USF has made to the Sarasota-Manatee region.

 

“We built this new USF campus as a gift to our community,” Stryker emphasized. “So, this mid-day schedule and childcare option are just two of many other initiatives that will enable more members of our community to benefit from the gift of a college education,” Stryker added.

 

For more information, visit www.sarasota.usf.edu/MDLC. USF Sarasota-Manatee is an upper-level campus for those with an associate’s or bachelor’s degree who are interested in earning a baccalaureate or master’s degree, professional certification or continuing education credit. The regional campus offers the prestige of a national Research I university with the convenience of a hometown campus, including classes in south Sarasota County at MCC Venice.