Another option in education: Alaska's Career Academy celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Alaska's Career Academy's 20th anniversary celebration began with a massive campus-wide expansion and the grand opening of the therapeutic massage specialist program with a student clinic that focuses on physical and rehabilitation medicine.

Formerly called Travel Academy, Career Academy trained between 300 to 400 travel agents each year. While once it could be said that there wasn't a travel agency that did not employ a graduate, Career Academy no longer offers this program. After 20 years of training travel specialists, Career Academy changed and expanded its program offerings to include business and computer technology, medical assisting, phlebotomy technician, medical insurance, coding and billing, and massage therapy.

A private, independent Alaska career college, Career Academy is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology and authorized by the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education. It also offers contract corporate training and consulting.

In 1985, Career Academy opened its doors in Anchorage. Jennifer Deitz, president and founder, spent 18 years in the airline industry, formerly working for now-defunct Wien Airlines, then the largest private employer in the state of Alaska, where she ran the training department. Deitz saw the need for Alaska to develop skills and recruit locally.

In 1987, Career Academy added cargo transportation and logistics and hotel and resort management programs. In 1991, Career Academy moved to its present location oil Tudor Road.

Unlike traditional liberal arts colleges, Career Academy programs are career specific. Students attending Career Academy are eligible to apply for federal financial aid and Alaska student loans. Career Academy serves students from across the globe with as many as 15 languages being spoken on campus at any time. Students travel from across Alaska from many different cultures and backgrounds, from Barrow, Nome, Juneau, Bethel and Kodiak. The student body size is 650, with a student/teacher ratio of 15/1.

After remodeling last year, Career Academy also upgraded the computer network. With 140 computers on campus, students are given their own personal Internet e-mail account, which enables students to have additional contact with faculty whether the student is on campus or off. Remodeled campus facilities include classrooms, medical laboratory, therapeutic massage clinic, resource libraries, administrative offices and a student center.

With 45 employees, several spanning 18-plus years, the college employs full-time, part-time and adjunct staff, as well as a fully staffed career-placement office.

Career Academy specializes in campus-based education where practical hands-on experiences are critical to employment.

Admissions staff travels throughout Alaska to career fairs and high schools, in addition to working with the State Department of Labor in presenting educational opportunities.

On a typical day, full-time students are in school six to seven hours a day; many also attend evening and weekend classes.

HIGH STANDARDS

Maintaining high standards is a must for Career Academy. "Alaskans expect and deserve a first-class education at Career Academy. We will not disappoint them," says Deitz. Students who apply and attend must have a high school diploma or a GED. Entrance testing is also required for some programs. Student attire includes professional business attire and uniforms for medical-related programs.

All students participate in Career Academy's core course, "Thought Patterns for a Successful Career and Success Skills," that emphasizes developing values of integrity and humility so students can learn ethics and responsibility, which will lead to finding success and achieving life skills. Students are encouraged to ask themselves questions, like, "Why should I pursue this career?" and "Would I be good at this career?" While in school, students learn problem-solving skills and develop their intuition.

"Career Education for a Global Workforce," is a key component of Career Academy's mission seeking to empower students for a global work force. "After 20 years of providing career education to Alaskans, we feel more strongly each year that Career Academy is doing the right thing by training Alaska's work force, which helps employers recruit and hire skilled Alaskans for local jobs," Deitz says.

PARTNERSHIPS

Local business partnerships are important to the values of Career Academy. The college has partnered with the Millennium Hotel to provide professionally finished linen for the massage clinic. Local vendors included Alaska Furniture Manufacturing, Florcraft, the Lighting Gallery, and Arctic Office Furniture during the campus remodel. The college also purchases every possible needed classroom supply from local vendors. Besides partnerships with King Career Center and the Anchorage School District, Career Academy has established an agreement with the University of Alaska so that students can transfer credits into some courses. For example, UAA accepts Career Academy's technical preparation credits for aircraft dispatcher students who enroll into the aviation degree program. Currently, working on a partnership with Alaska Pacific University, Career Academy's goal is to broaden credit-transfer agreements so that other schools will accept Career Academy credits, and high school credits also can be accepted into programs at Career Academy.

Students attending the medical insurance coding and billing program are eligible to sit for the national certification exam as are all students attending medical-related programs. Therapeutic massage students are licensed and are also eligible to sit for the American Therapeutic Massage Association national credential. The newest program, therapeutic massage specialist, has recently opened a 16-bed student clinic, where soon-to-graduate students practice their massage techniques with public clients.

Career Academy programs are from four to 1.5 months in length, depending on whether the student is part-time or full-time. The FAA-approved aircraft dispatcher program of four months is the shortest program. Evening classes are generally 13 months to 15 months in length.

Every three to six weeks, Career Academy starts either full-time or part-time classes. Graduation ceremonies are held five times a year. The ceremony features a commencement speaker, traditional caps and gowns, an honors program, and a PowerPoint presentation celebrating student success. Deitz calls it a nontraditional graduation ceremony because of its focus on personalized attention for the students and its smaller atmosphere. Many group and family photos are taken of the graduates.

Every graduate receives a DVD of the graduation ceremony as a gift.

Although the world of aviation is in English, Career Academy's Aircraft Dispatcher graduates are employed throughout the U.S. and the world. The program is one of only a few in the country-a full FAA-certified flight operations program that graduates FAA-certified airmen. Very few aircraft dispatcher programs exist in the U.S., even fewer at accredited career colleges. Alaska air space is complicated, and because of the program's high standards, graduates can get a job anywhere in the world. With an average of 50 to 60 students a year, Career Academy grads are employed by numerous airlines, which include China Airlines, UPS, Northern Air Cargo, ERA Aviation, Alaska Airlines, Federal Express and American Airlines.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Lisa Spencer, admissions director, looks at a broad overview of financial resources available to Alaskans, all the resources available to students with opportunities for education and training, whether welding or culinary arts, even a heavy equipment program at Donlin Creek so students do not have to go out of state--a program that is not well-known.

The student interview process involves four steps: the interview itself, financial planning (one-on-one), enrollment, and an acceptance interview.

Scholarships 101 software published by Pinnacle Peak Solutions contains information about more than 7,000 sources of academic funding representing 650,000 individual scholarships worth a total of more than $1.7 billion to give away for scholarships and technical programs. More information about other sources is listed in the student handbook.

Clothes and uniforms are often donated to help students in need. Employers--such as GCI, ACS, ANTHC, Alaska Regional Hospital, FedEx, and UPS--offer tuition reimbursement.

Native corporations, such as Calista and NANA, or the Village Council of Presidents, offer funding programs for students. Combined programs cover a student's housing, living expenses and tuition.

An active student council organizes fundraisers to help needy students by giving donations of food and transportation. A percentage of sales from the student store in Career Academy's lobby go to the student council for such purposes. At Christmas, the funds helped 18 families with toys and other needs. The annual food drive goes from October through December. Students who receive awards can shop anonymously in the store.

THE FUTURE

What will happen in the next 20 years of Career Academy's future? Deitz expects new programs and campus expansion.

Medical-related employment is No. 1 in Alaska's fastest-growing occupations. The holistic health field also is growing. Providence employs many of Career Academy's graduates, while the Blood Bank of Alaska hires phlebotomy graduates.

Career Academy offers a nationwide placement program for its graduates. Curriculum is tailored for community need and interest.

"We are held to standards by the state and federal government," says Spencer. "We have an aggressive placement program." Each graduate has a cover letter and portfolio. With its goal to meet the challenges of today's and tomorrow's job market, Career Academy continues to look to the future to build a skilled Alaska work force.