Diane Fox of Ellet is turning her 20-plus years of accounting experience into college credits through portfolio workshops offered by The University of Akron’s Summit College. Fox, who works as a payroll manager at National Machine Co. in Stow, already has earned three credits toward her Associate of Applied Business degree. Fox plans to accumulate more college credits through the Technical Experience Assessment (TEA) portfolio workshop, drawing her closer to meeting graduation requirements.
Fox is one of 32 students who, in the last three years, have completed TEA workshops at UA. According to TEA program director Susan Wynn, students save as much as 44 percent on their tuition through the workshops, which will be held on Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m., Feb. 17 to April 14 at UA’s Summit College, located in the Polsky Building, 225 S. Main St., in downtown Akron.
The workshops provide step-by-step guidance and instruction on assembling relevant experience into a logical, standardized format — the portfolio — for review by faculty members. Students studying criminal justice, early childhood development, fire protection, community service technology, emergency medical services, paralegal studies, hospitality management, customer information systems, office administration, marketing and sales, and business management can earn as many as 24 semester hours in technical coursework for their prior work experience in these areas.
For Fox, her two decades of accounting experience not only helped her earn college credit, but served as a springboard to her college career. “After being approved [for the program], I was then able to enroll in the more advanced classes at The University of Akron,” says Fox.
For more information, visit Summit College or call 330-972-2147.
Media contacts: Drew Williams, 330-972-5899 or drw41@zips.uakron.edu, or Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@.uakron.edu.