1/13/2009 By Joy Campbell Messenger-Inquirer Mid-Continent University, a Southern Baptist-affiliated liberal arts college between Paducah and Mayfield, has opened a second bachelor's degree course in Owensboro, with classes set to start Jan. 27. The university, through its Advantage Program, has begun accepting new applications for a bachelor of science degree with an emphasis in business management. Orientation for the new program is scheduled for Jan. 20. The classes will meet one night per week, one class at a time, at Crosspointe Baptist Church. "Students who start Jan. 27 will be on line to graduate in October 2010," said Penny Morgan, the university's corporate development representative. Through MCU's accelerated Advantage program, working adults age 24 or older with 45 to 60 credits from an accredited school can earn a bachelor's degree in as little as 18 months, Morgan said. MCU began offering an associate's degree in business administration and a bachelor's degree in business management in Owensboro in the summer of 2007. Sixteen students from the 2007 MCU bachelor's degree program offered locally are set to graduate in May, Morgan said. "We make it as easy as possible for students because we know as working adults they're already putting in 40 hours per week," Morgan said. "Our representatives help them fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to see if they qualify for financial assistance." About 85 percent of Mid-Continent's students qualify for some kind of assistance, including student loans, she said. The cost of the accelerated degree program is $295 per credit hour. Mid-Continent is a private, nonprofit university and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges. MCU has an ongoing associate degree class that meets Monday nights at Yellow Creek Baptist Church and may be starting another class in the fall, Morgan said. Last month, five adult students graduated from the first accelerated program offered in Owensboro with an associate of science degree in business administration For more information about the MCU Advantage program, call Brett Franklin at 270-705-4580 or e-mail bfranklin@mid continent.edu. A representative also may be reached at (888) 628-4723. An information and sign-up session is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the second-floor community lounge at the Daviess County Public Library, 2020 Frederica St.