NORMAL - Alicia Lenard is a 29-year-old single mother who works full time. But the Bloomington woman doesn't want that to impede her pursuit of a bachelor's degree. Next week, the YouthBuild employee is taking that step.

"I may be classified as a nontraditional student, but Lincoln College never made me feel that way," she said.

Working toward a tourism, sport and hospitality management degree, she'll be among students enrolling in one of two new bachelor's programs at Lincoln College-Normal.

The tourism degree and the criminal justice studies degree signify more for the private campus.

"It really marks the first fruits of a whole new mission for Lincoln College-Normal," said John Hutchison, Lincoln College president. "This is a place where there really is wind in the sails."

The college formed in 1865 and created the Normal branch in 1979. Lincoln's Normal campus also is home to the Midwest College of Cosmetology.

Normal's new mission will focus on meeting Central Illinois' adult education needs, especially beyond a two-year degree.

Scheduling of classes will include many night options and some online too, said Gigi Fansler, Lincoln vice president and head of the Normal site.

Graduate studies also could be on the horizon, she said.

Members of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce and Normal's Town Council joined Hutchinson and Fansler, college trustees and others during a kickoff at the Raab Road campus.

"This is an economic development issue," said Sonja Reece, Normal councilwoman.

Reece, who was part of a 2005 Lincoln-Normal strategic planning committee, said the group concluded the new Lincoln-Normal campus should increase its visibility, provide flexibility for adult students, and offer programs that build on professions in the community.

Both of the new programs do that, she said.

The Normal campus opened in 1979, more than a decade before Heartland Community College began to fill much of the two-year degree market for the Twin Cities.

"This originally was a branch campus, but developed into a semi-autonomous one," said Hutchinson.

Both of Lincoln's campuses offer associate degrees. But over the last decade, the Lincoln and Normal branches of Lincoln College have become redundant, said Hutchinson. "It became so we really were in competition with ourselves," he said.

A few years back, Lincoln-Normal began experimenting with bachelor degree programs and found the venture successful.

While the Twin Cities is home to Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University, neither makes nontraditional students its main focus. ISU offers some night classes, but that's not the bulk, said Fansler. And almost no IWU students are older than 22 or 23.

Lenard's desire for small classes and night course offerings make her an example of the nontraditional student market Lincoln-Normal hopes to tap, said Fansler.

The programs were chosen for their likely success, she said.

Tracking its two-year graduates, Lincoln found the most sought-after transfer program is criminal justice studies, said Hutchinson, noting the field's popularity is a national phenomena.

It covers law enforcement, courts positions, and corrections. James Fagin, a criminal justice studies expert who has written several books on the topic, will lead that bachelor's program, said Fansler.

Fagin most recently was graduate studies dean of Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania. He's taught criminal justice courses for nearly three decades, and has been a professional consultant.

ISU Police Chief Ron Swan, who teaches in Lincoln's program, said he's excited about the bachelor's offering.

He says one group it could serve is Central Illinois law enforcement employees who want to further their education, while continuing to work in the profession.

The global tourism industry is the largest on the planet, with 7.3 million in the profession, said Nancy Roop, who heads the tourism management program. For almost 20 years, she's overseen Lincoln-Normal's tourism certificate offering.

Now, she's excited about providing students the opportunity to pursue the bachelor's level study, expanding management roles available post graduation, she said.

Demitrius Ollarvia, 23, is one of those.

"My whole goal in life is to see the world," he said.

Having just completed his associate's degree at the college, he plans to enroll in the tourism management bachelor's program. He'd like to work in the airline industry.

"I'm hoping once I further my education, I'll have a leg up, maybe begin in a better position," he said.

New direction

Lincoln College-Normal has announced it is shifting its focus from being a two-year college to embracing the adult learner market for bachelor's degrees, and possibly later master's degrees.

New LC-N programs fall 2006

- Bachelor of science-criminal justice studies

- Bachelor of science-tourism, sport and hospitality management (Students choose specialized management focus: either sports, travel and tourism, hospitality, or meeting planner)

Existing LC-N programs

- Bachelor of arts-liberal arts; BS-business management; associate of science; associate of applied science; Midwest College of Cosmetology certificates

Classes begin Wednesday. For more information call (309) 452-0500 or visit www.lincolncollege.edu

SOURCES: Lincoln College-Normal catalog; Nancy Roop; Gigi Fansler