College Success On Your Schedule With Flexible And Convenient Distance Learning College Programs
Some parents might want to go back to school to complete a college degree, but worry that the time and financial commitments would interfere with their family responsibilities. School can be expensive and full-time programs in particular might make it difficult to balance classes, work and family. Single parents especially might think they have too many responsibilities and too little resources to go back to school.
Parents these days do have more options, however. Online degree programs, as well as some campus-based offerings, are flexible enough that even parents with hectic schedules might find themselves more easily able to fit studies into their schedules. Scholarships and grants, which don’t have to be repaid, aren’t only for high school graduates with solid academic performance, and they might greatly offset the cost of tuition, or even cover tuition in full.
After a 20-plus year hiatus from school, Saida Luciana-Ross of Waterbury, Conn., made time for online courses offered by the area’s Post University and earned her degree online, an NBC News report on online education in Connecticut noted. This mother of three may serve as inspiration for parents with dreams of their own. Adults have also been credited with contributing to recent enrollment increases at institutions throughout the country.
Online college and university courses in particular make continued education within easier reach for many parents considering going back to school. Parents can participate in online courses at times when the demands of work and family subside. There are opportunities for parents to work entirely toward a degree online or to combine classroom time with online course work. In instances where campus courses are required as part of a degree program, parents might even find that even these offerings fit within their scheduling needs. Take an accelerated masters degree program at Tennessee’s Vanderbilt University, for instance.
This particular program allows students to obtain a nursing degree in a condensed amount of time by participating in classroom courses for a few blocks at time and otherwise carrying out course work online. In Colorado at Regis University in Denver undergraduate nursing students can head to the campus twice weekly during evening hours and then fulfill clinical requirements during weekends.
More and more jobs overall are now requiring an education beyond high school, the College Board notes. Nursing is one of several occupations where the Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates employment growth, with those who hold bachelor’s degrees reportedly expected to enjoy some of the best prospects. Earning a degree online or on campus tends to bring financial rewards in that income levels in many instances increase with the level of degree an individual has obtained, information from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests.
Some schools might offer financial aid programs for parents who have been accepted to their degree programs. Scholarships and grants are also available from government agencies, large corporations, non-profit foundations and community and civic groups. Some scholarships are designed for specific studies, or for minorities and for students with financial needs. Raise the Nation, the Women’s Opportunity Awards, the Jeannette Rankin Foundation and Financial Aid for Women offer scholarships particularly for women, including single mothers in particular.
Parents who complete their online course programs might expand their social networks while advancing in their careers or getting started on a career with advancement potential. By increasing their earnings, parents single and otherwise might find themselves in better positions to support their children. Through the education gained from online college degree programs offerings, they might also find that they have the time, and the money, to enjoy more activities together.
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