Elizabethtown College's Accelerated Adult Degree Program wins Innovation Award

ELIZABETHTOWN, PA (05/12/2011)(readMedia)-- Elizabethtown College's Edward R. Murphy Center for Continuing Education and Distance Learning has been selected to receive the 2011 Excellence in Innovation Award given by the Commission for Accelerated Programs (CAP), an international membership organization serving professionals who lead, teach, and conduct research in accelerated programs in higher education.

In order to be selected for this honor, institutions had to provide descriptions and examples of innovative research or practice by an individual or team resulting in significant contribution to the instruction of adult learners or to advancing service and access to nontraditional student populations. The Center was recognized for innovation in the areas of overall governance and structure, admissions and marketing, programs and delivery features, standards and assessments, and faculty development.

"Adult learners are a vital part of Elizabethtown College and we are happy to accept this honor on their behalf," noted Dr. John Kokolus, Dean of the Center. "This recognition will inspire our faculty and staff to continue to work to widen access to quality higher education for adults and to advance the level of instructional excellence provided to the students in our accelerated degree programs".

The Commission on Accelerated Programs, originally funded by a Lumina Foundation grant, operates as a member organization supported by 102 institutions of higher education. CAP supports the belief that accelerated learning is an effective and efficient educational process for adult learners. Through conferences, workshops, regional gatherings and online engagement, CAP members are able to share their experiences, knowledge & expertise in accelerated learning with one another. CAP also supports research and assessment in the field of accelerated learning. CAP's mission is to enhance collaboration and share best practices and research findings among its members, helping them to design and deliver the most effective accelerated learning for adult and nontraditional students.

Elizabethtown's adult degree programs have exceeded all seven national benchmarks of effectiveness in serving adult learners in higher education*. The Center's reputation for academic excellence and access in adult learning drives our continual effort to offer the best learning programs for adults in the Central Pennsylvania area.

(*Based on 2010-11 results of the Adult Learning Inventory developed by CAEL (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) and Noel-Levitz and administered to Elizabethtown's adult learners.)

In addition to the main campus in Elizabethtown, the Center has established satellite locations in Harrisburg, Lancaster and York in order to meet the needs of adult students in those communities.

This honor will be officially bestowed on the College at The 10th Annual Conference for Accelerated Programs in Higher Education to be held in August, 2011 at the Metropolitan State College of Denver in Colorado.

To obtain further information, please contact Barbara Randazzo, randazzob@etown.edu, (717) 361-3750.