by Andrea Castillo, Daily Press

http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-nws-evg-ecpi-anniversary-0702-20160701-story.html

What started in 1966 as a small Norfolk-based program aimed at giving would-be programmers hands-on skills to work in the budding computer industry has in 50 years become an institution that has prepared tens of thousands of people in the region for technology, medical and other careers.

Today, ECPI University, now headquartered in Virginia Beach, with several campuses throughout Virginia — including Newport News — and North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, boasts more than 70,000 graduates. The school attracts adult learners balancing work, family and other responsibilities, as well as veterans starting a new career, said Mark Dreyfus, who serves as the president of the school his father founded decades ago.

ECPI University emphasizes a hands-on, accelerated approach, doing away with the breaks in a traditional school year so that students can earn their degrees more quickly.

“Adult learners, they don’t have time to have spring break, fall break, winter break or summer break,” Mark Dreyfus said. “With our hands-on programs, they get out as quickly as possible to get the credential … they want to graduate.”

About 10,000 students are enrolled at ECPI campuses across the country, with about 1,000 to 1,200 of them taking classes in Newport News.

Students sign up for two courses at a time during five-week terms that are offered throughout the year. The concentrated schedule allows them to complete their associate’s degrees in about a year and a half and bachelor’s degrees in two and a half years while getting the same amount of seat time, according to university officials.

By getting the students right into coursework that will help them advance their careers, they are able to stay motivated through the program, Mark Dreyfus said.

“(The students think) ‘For 18 months, I can sacrifice and do this,'” he said. “We (at ECPI) do whatever we can to get them through this.”

School leaders meet regularly with representatives in the local business community to keep a pulse on what employers want as well.

“If we can get them to graduation and have a good career, we’ll be successful,” Mark Dreyfus said.

‘Where technology is going’

Alfred Dreyfus, the founder of the school, immigrated to New York City in 1947 with just $14, before making his way to Norfolk.

He left his native Germany as the Nazis rose to power, making it more and more dangerous for his Jewish family to stay. Later, in Switzerland, he studied radio electricity, taught using a hands-on curriculum common in European schools, before coming to the U.S.

He worked fixing radios and later decided to open ECPI in order to address what he saw was a shortage in skilled technicians. Alfred Dreyfus had a special interest in the computers and foresaw the need to train people to program them.

The first course, at what originally was known as Electronic Computer Programming Institute, had six students whose programming code went onto punch cards for large computers that could fill a room.

That emphasis on hands-on learning was different from the more theory-based courses taught at traditional colleges at the time.

“He was big into seeing where technology is going,” Mark Dreyfus said of his father.

Over the years, the school added electronics, medical and nursing programs to the original course offerings. Today ECPI University offers technology, health science, business, criminal justice, nursing and culinary arts programs, the last of those operating locally as the Culinary Institute of Virginia.

That hands-on approach is still a key part of the way courses are taught today, Mark Dreyfus said.

Students in Thomas Sullivan’s programming class spend the first part of their five-hour course listening to a lecture, with Sullivan guiding them through new programming skills.

For the second part of the course, students create their own programs from that day’s lesson.

“If they have a problem, I’m there to help out, not necessarily with the right answer, but nudge them a bit,” Sullivan said as his students were busy working on the day’s assignment.

Out in the real world

Along with the classroom experience, school leaders emphasize the importance of building real-world experience through externships. Students must also take a career prep course.

“They build confidence when take that classroom knowledge … and actually go out and apply it,” said John Olson, the president of ECPI’s Newport News campus.

Among those graduates is Kathleen Guerrero, who started taking classes at ECPI’s campus in Newport News in 2014 after graduating from James Madison University with a health sciences degree in 2011.

After graduating in 2015, she now works at Tidewater Physical Therapy as a physical therapist assistant.

“The instructors had a lot of clinical experience, it was very hands-on and they were able to set me up on internships that led to a great career opportunity,” said Guerrero, 27, of Virginia Beach.

She also liked her small class sizes at the Newport News campus, which allowed her to get plenty of attention from her instructors.

“It was definitely a very positive experience,” she said. “I’m really happy.”

John Garran decided to take classes at the Newport News campus after retiring from his first career as a firefighter-paramedic in Barnstable, Mass. He earned his associate’s in diagnostic medical sonography in February and works part-time at Medical Imaging of Richmond.

“It was a challenge, but I’m glad I did it.”

Garran though the field was one he would enjoy, and he liked the idea of being able to work with people as well.

Getting through the program was not without its challenges. During Garran’s time in the program, he had to stay focused on his coursework. He didn’t get to spend as much time with his family as he would have liked, but they were supportive of his efforts, which was critical to his success, Garran said.

Garran said one needs to be self-motivated to succeed in the program.

“When you have a goal, and other people are relying on you to accomplish and complete that goal, there’s the drive there.”

Castillo can be reached by phone at 757-247-4635.