The addition of 10,149 square feet provides PEC customers with seven new classrooms and gives the university a noticeable presence at the entrance of the office building at 9420 Research Blvd., Building 3. St. Edward's is one of six tenants located inside the four-story building.

The additional space supports the growing number of students taking classes in the Graduate program and New College, the undergraduate program for working adults, at St. Edward's. In fall 2004, 920 students were enrolled in the nine Graduate programs compared to this year's 995 students. In 2005, 917 students were enrolled in New College compared with 947 students enrolled in fall 2006.

The growth of existing programs, along with the addition of two new graduate programs — the Master of Science in Project Management and Master of Arts in Teaching — require more space and this recent expansion gives St. Edward's the necessary room to grow. Today, the PEC offers 83 credit courses compared to 54 credit courses four years ago.

Prior to the renovation and expansion, visitors and students had to travel to the second floor to enter the PEC. Now, university staff members can greet customers in a new reception area and direct them to one of the classrooms, the dining area or conference rooms. Jon Aleshire, president of the Aleshire Company, served as the real estate broker representing St. Edward's in the negotiation of the expansion and renewal of their contract. The contract helped St. Edward's gain the ground floor space.

The PEC has a total of 22 classrooms consisting of 14 "smart classrooms," eight computer classrooms and meeting facilities with two sets of classrooms with removable walls to provide the capability to hold small conferences. At St. Edward's, smart classrooms are those with overhead projection, a computer with Internet and DVD capabilities, a VCR, speakers and an integrated control system.

The mission of the PEC is to bridge the training gap between the knowledge learned through traditional academic education, and the dynamic technology and management skills required by today's fast companies. St. Edward's is recognized nationally for its exemplary adult and lifelong learning programs.

The PEC helps companies and working professionals keep their career skills up-to-date by providing unique training programs for Information Technology and Management Professionals in the following categories:

• Corporate training solutions
• Computer career transition training
• IT manufacturer authorized curriculum (Microsoft, Certified Internet Webmaster)
• Vendor neutral IT seminar-based training
• Management Development certifications and seminars
• Custom, on-site training