Mission College Will Offer Saturday Classes

Mission College will launch a new program in the spring semester offering students an opportunity to earn an associate of arts degree by taking classes only on Saturdays, school officials said.

As part of the college’s Project for Adult College Education, or PACE, the “Weekend College” program will offer a full schedule of classes, enabling students to earn enough credits to transfer to the University of California or the Cal State system in five semesters, Mission philosophy instructor Larry Andre said.

Pierce and Valley colleges both offer Saturday courses, but Mission will be the only Valley community college offering a schedule that allows students to earn associate of arts degrees in such a short time by taking classes only on weekends.

“This is an accelerated program. It’s for the mature and the motivated student,” Andre said. “A lot of students aren’t able to come during the week because of their work or family schedule, but they do have Saturdays available.”

Andre acknowledged that course choices would be limited at first but said that additional offerings would be available over time.

Students enrolled full time in the program will take two four-hour classes each Saturday. Classes will meet for nine weeks each, with four classes being taught during the 18-week semester.

To reach the required 48 hours of instruction, students will augment their 36 hours of class time with videotaped instruction, said Andre, who promised that weekend students would receive the same quality of instruction as the rest of the student body.

Enrollment in the program is now being accepted for the spring semester, which begins Jan. 17.

For more information, call (818) 364-7765.