College and University Online

BRADFORD - Conservation Consultants and the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford are hosting a workshop next month to teach contractors, entrepreneurs and career changing professionals solar energy economics and installation. Recent developments in local energy markets, landmark state energy legislation and a more favorable national climate toward green business and job growth finds western Pennsylvania poised to undergo a tremendous growth spurt in the clean energy and conservation sectors in general and an emerging solar energy market in particular. In light of this movement Conservation Consultants has decided to host Solar-PV training workshops made possible by a grant from the Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund of the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies and the Pennsylvania Green Business Initiative of the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies. The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 5-9 at Saint Bernard Parish Center in Bradford. Representatives from Solar Energy International of Colorado will teach the course. The training course is designed for contractors, electricians, sales reps, entrepreneurs and career-changing professionals new to solar business. The course teaches the NABCEP Photovoltaic Entry Level Certificate of Knowledge, enabling students to qualify to take the NABCEP Certificate of Knowledge test. The courses’ training will include a combination of topics including: system components, site analysis, PV module criteria, mounting solutions, safety, and commissioning. Participants will learn the fundamentals of sizing a residential battery less grid-tied system, wire sizing, overcurrent protection, and grounding. The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) approved the Solar-PV installer training course, which includes 30+ hours of professional training presented in five days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (with one hour lunch) each day. Space is limited so act fast! To find out more, contact Mike Hackett of University of Pittsburgh at Bradford at (814) 362-0254 or Ann Gerace of Conservation Consultants, Inc. at 412-431-4449 ext 200. Or, visit here for online registration. Tuition is $1,000. Those who choose to pay in full will receive a 10 percent discount, interest free loan plans are also available as well as a 15 percent discount for companies who register 5 or more

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The University of Derby Student Employment Agency (SEA), which assists with finding students opportunities for temporary and part time paid jobs whilst studying and during their vacation periods, has enhanced its eploy® recruitment software platform to support its growing student placement process.

“The eploy® software has provided SEA with a wide selection of user-friendly tools that we now rely on to deliver our student employment service. Following the recent enrichment of the system we can now undertake a range of additional functions that will benefit the efficiency of the operation. These include the automatic extraction of information from student CV’s to online registration forms and the ability to work live on individual vacancies,” said Ailsa Costello, from the University of Derby’s’ Student Employment Agency.

Since its adoption by the Student Employment Agency 5 years ago, eploy® has delivered a range of operational and technical improvements that have helped the University to develop stronger relationships with business clients and achieve greater flexibility in day-to- day management of the recruitment process. The web-based solution has addressed the dispersed nature of the University’s sites and the need for staff to work and liaise with others from any remote location.

“System access and mobility were significantly improved by introducing a web-based solution. We can now update information, CVs and the diary function using a range of practical and easy to use tools, from the PC or mobile telephone. Our work is taking us out of the office more and more so mobility has been a key benefit of the eploy® system to us,” added Alisa.

The new 2009 enhanced application software will help SEA to monitor its performance against increasingly demanding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) by providing reporting information on metrics such as the number of students registered, their faculty, the number of students employed and percentage from each faculty and the number of vacancies and employers.

Paul Burgess, Managing Director, eploy® said: “Universities are large communities that need powerful solutions to address the employment needs of their students and clients but often do not operate like a high street recruitment company. To ensure an appropriate and positive user experience we have tailored the eploy® solution for the University and continue to support their needs through regular product enhancements.”

In addition to the University of Derby, eploy® is also the chosen recruitment software for many other Universities, including the University of Wolverhampton and University of the Arts London

Kaplan University has opened a support center in Plantation, Fla., and has started moving in 265 employees.

Formerly the Broadspire Building, the 124,000-square-foot building at 1601 S.W. 80th Terrace was completely leased to the for-profit online university. It will house online student support staff, a learning center for face-to-face interaction with students and Kaplan Virtual Education employees, who work with sixth through 12th grade students.

In September, Broward County and the city of Plantation each approved a $100,000 incentive payment under the Qualified Target Industry tax refund program. In return, Kaplan University is to create 300 jobs in Plantation from 2010 through 2015 with average wages of $47,233. The state would add $200,000 to that award.

The contract also said Kaplan University would spend $3 million on renovation and buildout and $1.7 million on furniture, fixtures and equipment.

“As more and more students enroll with us, we will continue to build our staff and facilities to preserve the supportive community that they have come to expect from Kaplan,” said Gregory Marino, president of the Kaplan University Group, a subsidiary of the Washington Post Co., in a news release.

In the first half of 2009, enrollment at Kaplan has increased 45 percent, to more than 55,000 online students.

In addition to its existing support offices in Fort Lauderdale, Kaplan University recently opened a student interaction office in Delray Beach.

Families having to travel to prospective campuses might be a thing of the past with high school students finding that virtual campus trips are enticing and affordable thanks to a free service from a local company.

Students from Emerson College recently met online with Wellesley High students who were interested in learning more about the Boston school. There was no driving, no touring, just questions answered, for free, all on computer."They're able to get access to admissions representatives, not only from their region but across the world," said Robert Rosenbloom, the creator of www.collegeweeklive.com, the Internet service that allows for virtual interviews and visits.He said there's a wide range of choices because of the large number of schools participating."We're not going to replace the college visit, but in today's economic times, students and parents, they can't afford to visit 10, 15 colleges," Rosenbloom said.Courtney Matthews' parents tired after just a few road trips. She said they took her to a few schools, but it gets very costly.Others, however, admit there are limitations."I can't see what the campus looks like or walk around and see how the kids are feeling, but you can talk to them," said student Kristen Mikelssen.Some of the students said the service saves time and money and colleges said it helps them cut costs by not flying to every college fair."I'm doing it from my office, we have students on staff doing it from the office. We don't lose productivity," Emerson's Tim Douglas said.Thursday, Oct. 15 is New England Day on the Web site and students will be able to talk to college reps from all across the region online.