Apollo College, a Phoenix-based vocational school, has expanded its Spokane facilities to accommodate additional programs and growing enrollment here.


The school has moved into about 9,000 square feet of additional leased space that adjoins the quarters of its Spokane campus in the International Gateway Corporate Park, at 10102 E. Knox, says Mary Mullendore, the campuss director of career services. The expansion gives Apollo a total of about 24,000 square feet of floor space there.


With its larger quarters, Apollo plans to begin offering this fall an associate of applied-science degree for people who want to become medical-laboratory technicians, Mullendore says. That new program will be the second degree program offered at the Spokane campus. The other is in medical radiography, which involves training X-ray technicians.


Associate of applied science, or AAS, degrees generally provide technical training for a specific job or field of work, but students cant use them to pursue a four-year degree at other schools.


Apollo added two diploma programs that provide training in medical records and for veterinary assistantsdiploma programs dont involve associate of applied-science degrees. The school has for several years offered a handful of other diploma programs, including for dental, medical administrative, medical, and pharmacy assistants.


Upon completion of a diploma program, Mullendore says, a student is supposed to be ready to take a state-certification test in a given field.


With the addition of those two programs and growing demand for its established programs here, Apollo has seen strong enrollment growth at its Spokane campus, she says. The campus currently has enrollment of 475 students, up from 388 students last year.


Were growing by leaps and bounds, she says, due primarily to growth in demand for health-care workers.


The Spokane campus will host a career fair on June 16 for recent graduates.