by Abelardo de la Peña Jr.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- We want a college degree and we want it ahora (now)! AHORA, an accelerated bilingual degree program developed in Puerto Rico, is attracting thousands of adult students in Florida.
- Developed by the island’s Sistema Universitario Ana G. Méndez, AHORA is partnered in the U.S. with Denver-based Regis University. Faculty, staff and students are all bilingual; English and Spanish are used equally in instruction and assignments. Courses meet for five weeks and the four-hour class sessions alternate languages each week.
- Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education, criminal justice, psychology, business, nursing, hotel management and more are offered at two South Florida campuses.
- Students are almost all working adults over age 23 who are more comfortable speaking and writing in Spanish than in English (InsideHigherEd.com 4.8.10).
WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
- How do you serve a Spanish-speaking college student population living in a predominantly English-speaking location? With flexibility, practicality and creativity.
- Bilingual programs like AHORA help people from different nations and cultures learn together and get to know more about each other. The accelerated component of the program enables these students to get into the job market faster and eases their transition into the broader community.
RESOURCES
