INFORMATION FOR
Whether you are looking to complete your degree, prepare for a new career, or increase your skills, the College of Adult & Professional Studies is here to help you attain your goals. Our three units offer integrated supports for adults returning to or continuing their studies:
Degree Completion & Adult Learning supports Credit for Prior Learning to accelerate degree completion. The team also provides networking, workshops, mentorship, and peer-to-peer connections for adult learners.
Professional Certificates & Training offers a wide range of upskilling, reskilling, and training opportunities for next-step career advancement.
WP Online Student Support assists online students with comprehensive services—including advisement, financial aid counseling, and academic support—in our online degree options, delivered through 7-week accelerated sessions, with 6 start dates per year.
Ready to transform your life and career? Contact us today!
973-720-23541800 Valley RoadWayne, NJ 07470certificateprogram@wpunj.edu
Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives and Adult & Professional Studies
Email: rabbittk@wpunj.edu
Phone: 973-720-2354
Office: 1800 Valley Road
Director, Degree Completion and Adult Learning (DCAL)
Email: pradoj2@wpunj.edu
Phone: 973-720-3035
Senior Director - WP Online Student Support (WPOSS)
Email: vasqueza@wpunj.edu
Phone: 973-720-2929
Director, Professional Certificates & Training
Email: davisq6@wpunj.edu
Phone: 973-720-3698
When Kevin Anthony Jones decided he wanted to finally earn the bachelor’s degree he had been thinking about for two decades, he convinced his younger sisters, Ebony Campbell and Monique Jones, to join him in pursuing their degrees. The three adult siblings, who are all from Newark, graduate together this week from William Paterson University. All earned their degrees through the University’s WP Online program.
Kevin, 42, is the CEO of an organization that provides community-based support and mentorship for city youth with behavioral issues. Kevin, who is also a martial arts instructor and trainer, had been running the organization with some college credit, but no degree – until now.
As a teenager, Kevin says he didn’t think college was for him, so he stopped out.
A married father to four children, he decided he now really wanted that degree – for himself, his children, and the youth he mentors. He investigated William Paterson and its WP Online platform, which allows students to pursue their studies fully online, at their pace and on their schedule.
“I knew this was going to be a bit of a struggle for me. I was a little outdated with this school stuff,” Kevin says with a chuckle. His sisters Ebony Campbell and Monique Jones, now 39 and 27, respectively, had associates degrees. He convinced his sisters to enroll in WP Online with him so they could pursue and earn their bachelor’s degrees together.
“I thought, ‘Let me use that youth that’s more updated with school and technology and knows what they’re doing to help me and to give me that energy that I needed,” Kevin adds, smiling.
“I was contemplating going back to school, but the time management with work, and family … I needed to get it done,” says Ebony, a married mother of two. She has an associate’s degree in paralegal studies and works with the Morris County Superior Court in the family division. She is also a prenatal and post-natal doula and assists her brother with the community organization he runs.
Youngest sister Monique had been a student at William Paterson starting in 2016, immediately after earning her associate’s degree. She started in one major, switched to another, and just hadn’t found her calling. She took some time away from school and started a career with the Internal Revenue Service. Her role as an employee of the U.S. Government helped Monique realize her passion: She wants to work with the FBI someday. She needs a bachelor’s degree to do it, so she agreed to jump on the family’s WP bandwagon – as a new mom to an infant son.
Though not exactly planned, all three siblings ended up pursuing a degree in sociology, as all three have or desire careers that are heavily rooted in community interaction.
“Sociology helps you to have empathy and sympathy for people, understand where they come from, and give them grace,” Ebony explains.
“I love the study of social behavior and of different cultures, and I thought it was important to study that,” adds Monique.
Was it always easy to balance full-time careers with full-time parenthood and university studies? No, Kevin explains, citing long nights and the support he needed from his family to make it all work. WP Online made it possible, though. “We stuck through it, and this is where we are right now,” he says, a few days before the University’s Commencement ceremony. “I have to credit Ebony with her tenacity and Monique with her open-mindedness and getting both on my back and my last nerve,” he adds. “I also have to thank our parents; they laid the foundation for us.”
Kevin’s son and Ebony’s daughter are graduating high school in June, so the Jones family has a lot to celebrate: five graduations in one month.
“They were my first professors and editors,” Kevin says of the teens, explaining how they taught him to use online sources properly to avoid plagiarism. “They told me, ‘You cannot use ChatGPT like that!' They checked me.”
When asked what advice they would give to other adult students considering a return to college, Monique – with a happy now-toddler in her lap – does not hesitate: “It’s never too late,” she responds.
“Just do it,” Kevin adds.
“I’ve worked in pharmaceuticals for 15 years and I have three small kids. I was hitting a ceiling with getting a promotion, so it was a personal quest to go back and finish my degree. William Paterson offered the flexibility I need, and I have been supported the whole way. The professors are amazing — I’ve reached out to get one-on-one help and everyone has been exceptional.”
—Ashley Fritschy ’25, WP Online, BS in Business Management, certificate in human resource management
“I started school in Texas years ago, and moving to New Jersey gave me the chance to reenter college and finish my degree. I run a nonprofit in Houston for homeless youth, so I chose William Paterson’s community development and social justice program. I already had the lived experience—now I have the education to back it up.”
—Barbee Edwards ‘25, BA in Community Development and Social Justice Studies; AmeriCorps volunteer
“I served in the Army, so when Uncle Sam offered to pay for school, I said, ‘why not?’ William Paterson gives me the flexibility to balance my job, my classes and everything else. I run my own transportation company and am majoring in business management to grow my skills and expand my business. As a result of my internship last semester, and with help from my mentor at the Pesce Family Mentoring Institute, I am now a recruiter for the New Jersey Department of Children and Families."
—Israel Vargas-Reyes ‘26, Business Management Student; president, Student Veterans Association; president, National Honor Society for Success and Leadership; president, Alpha Sigma Lambda Adult Learner Honor Society
"Returning to school after nearly 30 years was a daunting decision, but William Paterson University made the process seamless. As a full-time mother and professional, flexibility was essential, and WP exceeded my expectations. They accepted all my previous credits, even those earned more than two decades ago, and helped me secure additional credits through prior learning assessments and a portfolio review, saving me time and money while reducing the number of courses I needed to take. WP has truly empowered me to achieve my goals on my terms."
—Diana Fonque ‘25, WP Online, BS in Business Management, certificate in human resource management, current MBA student
