Offering students the opportunity to improve their lives through professional, continuing and online education

FREDERICK, Md., Oct. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Mount St. Mary's University's Division of Continuing Studies (DCS) in Frederick is marking its 25th anniversary this month. DCS opened in October 1999 with a Weekend College to help Frederick Community College graduates obtain their four-year degree. By 2003, the division established a facility at 5350 Spectrum Drive to hold classes at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The facility, which also provides meeting and conference space for the community, has expanded over the years as DCS grew and the area's workforce development needs evolved.

Today, as DCS celebrates its first 25 years, the campus offers students, from high schoolers in dual enrollment classes to adults seeking career advancement, the opportunity to improve their lives through professional, continuing and online education. In 2024, 86 DCS students earned bachelor's degrees and 197 received master's degrees. The largest program at the graduate school level is the MBA, which will mark its 50th anniversary next year. Other graduate programs include sport management, applied behavior analysis, biotechnology and management, health administration, teaching, instructional leadership, instructional design and technology, and reading.

"Our convenient, flexible and affordable online and evening courses are designed for working community college and adult students," said Jennifer Staiger Ph.D., associate provost, Division of Continuing Studies. "Our personalized student-centric approach to advising helps students acquire the knowledge and credentials to live lives of significance."

At an October 2 celebration of DCS' 25th anniversary, Mount St. Mary's President Jerry Joyce, Ph.D., toasted DCS for its role in empowering nontraditional learners "to pursue their dreams, expand their horizons and achieve their fullest potential." He also recognized the faculty, staff and administrators whose commitment to excellence, innovation and student success has been the "driving force behind the Division's accomplishments."

In addition, Joyce thanked community partners. "We are grateful to our education, corporate, government and nonprofit partners who collaborate to make Frederick a gateway to lifelong learning and a powerhouse of workforce development," Joyce said.

Looking back to 1999, Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater applauded Mount St. Mary's for its timing in establishing a campus where nontraditional students can learn new skills, continue their education and contribute more fully to the community. Through partnerships with businesses, government, education and nonprofit organizations, the Division of Continuing Studies is a "prime example of the kind of partnerships we're all about in Frederick County," she said.

Frederick City Major Michael O'Connor concurred. "These partnerships are vital in ensuring that the community is as educated as it can be and as prepared as it can be for the future. The work you do impacts us as a driver of education," he said.

State Delegate Kristopher Fair noted Frederick County's good fortune in having Mount St. Mary's University, Hood College and Frederick Community College in the community to "show us how to step on the gas and keep growing." Continued growth is critical to keep up with the training and workforce needs of the ever-expanding business, technology and bioscience sectors.

Frederick County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rick Weldon labeled the Frederick campus, as well as the main campus in Emmitsburg, as a "treasure and a critical partner."

Liz Monahan, the university's chief of staff, taught in the Weekend College that preceded DCS. Beginning in 1996, the Mount partnered with Frederick Community College to offer a program where FCC students could complete their degrees in education. Monahan and her colleague, Stacey Brown-Hobbs, Ph.D., now director of teacher education, taught these inaugural classes on Friday evenings and all-day Saturday at the FCC campus. "It has been a thrill to see the growth of the programs and partnerships formed at the Mount's Frederick campus and to witness the tremendous impact that the Division of Continuing Studies has had in our community over these past 25 years," Monahan said.

While DCS continues to partner with FCC to ensure that students can easily transition to four-year programs, students come from many other higher education institutions in the region and even the country. Courses in our Center for Accelerated and Adult Programs, Graduate School, Mount Online, and Center for Lifelong Learning (a non-credit professional training resource) can be taken completely online, with the option to take some courses in person at the Frederick campus. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles learned about the Mount's online accelerated undergraduate courses from his agent Tony Agnone, a 1975 graduate of the Mount. When Bowles began his interdisciplinary degree completion plan, he was the Buccaneers defensive coordinator. He continued working on and completed his degree as head coach in the fall of 2022.

Undergraduate completion programs include business, entrepreneurship, communication, history, interdisciplinary studies, human services, elementary education and special education. Visit https://msmary.edu/dcs to learn more about the division

Media Contact

Donna Klinger, Executive Director of Communications, Mount St. Mary's University, 301-447-5657, d.j.klinger@msmary.edu,  https://msmary.edu/ 

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SOURCE Mount St. Mary's University