 After receiving approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission, the University of Pikeville will offer its second fully online degree program in Associates in Communication. Wednesday we spoke with Associate Professor of Communication, Dr. Shandra Mastner, about the new opportunity. So we're really excited to offer the first fully online program in the College of Arts and Sciences at the undergraduate level and the Associate's degree in Communication will be fully online. Students can start taking classes as early as January and we think that this program will be very helpful to perhaps community members who are looking for an edge to make them better marketable and more employable or to increase their chances to advance in current positions because communication skills are really sought after by employers. Here at Pikeville Medical Center's Heart and Vascular Institute, we have assembled a comprehensive team of cardiac specialists bringing expertise from all regions of the nation and the world. We have coupled that with cutting edge technology, providing them the best equipment and operating rooms available. The result is comprehensive cardiac care for the people of our region that is second to none. The Heart and Vascular Institute at Pikeville Medical Center. As the degree is online, Dr. Mastner says she hopes it will be flexible for new students. We really wanted to offer something very flexible and accessible to students who might be working or have families or even traditional students who might have responsibilities that make them need to stay at home right now and so we wanted to reach out and find a way to give them something that's really going to help their future in a way that's very accessible. Students considering the degree will have the opportunity to expand on skills such as oral and communication. Communication students can end up in business, management, retail, sales, media. I have students that end up counseling later in life, teaching, coaching. So communication is a very flexible major, it's a very flexible degree and so this is a start on a pathway for students to really succeed. If interested, you can contact UPIKE's Office of Admissions at 606-653-2416. For Mountain Top News, I'm Joel Chorjol.