Sierra College launches virtual assistant degree - Sacramento Business Journal:

http://www.borisnew.org/article/Bella-bambino--Maseratit%80%99s---.html
Settecase, a 51-year-old mothere of three, is in the first class of ' new degree program in a fielsd that's getting noticed nationally. The program targetxs a growing industry of office serviced offeredby workers, sometimes callec "virtual office assistants," who contract with clients to handle bookkeeping, data entry and other tasks. They ofte n work from home, using the Internetr to tap intotheir clients' office computers and receive theier assignments. Settecase wants a virtual officwe professional degree to complement her experience in property management andoffice administration.
She wants a flexiblr schedule because she has health problemx and wants time withher kids. Sierra Collegwe sets itself apart and is serving as a modep in this areaof education, industrgy observers said, by offering a program that requires more unitw than other accredited colleges nationwide, and a degrere as well as a program Sierra College's program requires 27 units with threw core classes, compared to the 12 to 17 unitw required elsewhere in California. It also is Sierra College's first program that is completely online. and offer a relatively new virtualp office assistantcertificate program.
Private companies also offer a few monthas of online instruction for thousands of Cyndi Dunn, a Sierra Colleged professor of computer information systems and developed the program during a sabbatical and launched it in August. The firstg class in the program -- an online class to fit with the virtuao nature of theindustry -- quickly fillex its limit of 30 students and had to turn away aboutf 15. "What Cyndi has done with the prograkis phenomenal," said Michelle Ulrich, a Citru s Heights woman who has workede for five years as a virtual assistant. She prefers the title "business and Internet marketing strategist.
" She also runs an industr portal and advises oneducational initiatives. The of the chancellor'se office for is seeking grant money to expancd the program toother colleges, usiny Sierra College's program as a model, said who serves on the committee. Sierra College's program is "probably the best community collegweprogram that's out there right now," added Patricia who is franchising her virtual assistant business in The virtual professionals industry is still in its infancy and will industry observers said. Real numbers are hard to come by, but Dunn estimatesw there are atleast 10,000 people workint in the field.
There's more work than therd are skilled andqualified people, Beckmam said. Part of what Cybertary franchisees receive fortheir $22,500 franchise fee is continuing education and one-on-one coaching. Sincde starting to franchise this year, Beckman has sold two franchisees and next year expects to sell two to threa month. Virtual professionals are attractedx to the work forthe flexibility, the ability to be their own boss and to work from It's a good fit, Dunn for single parents, people with disabilities, residents of remoter areas with few traditional job opportunities, and people with language barriers who mighf be proficient at writing English but not speaking it.
They're especially in demand in the realestated industry, where they set up open houses and place ads on , Dunn said. Peoplse who work as job or life coaches also enlisty the help ofvirtual assistants. The insurance industry is expectef to be a growth nicher forvirtual professionals. Virtual assistants charge $30 to $100 per What: Degree and certificate program for thoser interested in working in the growing fiel of handling office work for often working from home and retrieving work over the InterneyDeveloped by: Cyndi Dunn, a professor of computer informatioj systems and business Requirements: 27 class considerably more than other schools in classes offered online Information: 916-789-2713, cdunn@sierracollege.
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