A Pregnant Pause

When I was pregnant with my boy, I had to put plans for scuba-diving classes, ballroom-dancing classes and piano lessons on hold.

Such “fun” activities are nothing compared to some of my Mum friends who had to put their educational plans on hold e.g. getting a degree, finish the rest of their ACCA exams or continuing with an MBA.

I’m *really* lucky that I finished my postgraduate education just in the nick of time.

Since I have experience with educational counselling, a few of them have asked me about getting an online degree. Frankly, I think “open”, “distance learning” or “online” colleges may be the thing for Mothers.

It’s not easy for full-time Mothers to go back to school because:

a) the brains are rusty LOL
- Nothing to be ashamed of, actually. I found myself blinking at some simple Math problems when I peeked into some primary school workbooks a while ago…

b) Mothers still need to take care of the family i.e. sending / picking up the kids from school, preparing the meals and ANYTHING the working husband has no time to do

What’s a girl to do then?

Check out Western Governors University, a non-profit university, which operates on a “competency-based” model.
- Focused on your mastery of the skills and knowledge needed on the job, the curriculum would lean towards more practical, “real life” coursework, which Mums are experts at already

A firm believer in holistic evaluations, I like that this online university determines a student’s progress through passing or completing various asssessments, NOT just a written exam.

What’s more, your prior education and work experience will help you ace the coursework and progress to the next level in the assessments.

Flexibility is the best feature offered by online universities:
- full 6-month terms in length – you get your money’s worth compared to students on-campus who are subjected to public holidays, cancelled classes and party time

- you can complete your degree faster because you log on and work on your coursework any time according to your schedule!

WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities, the same body that accredits the University of Washington, University of Oregon, University of Utah, and other colleges in 6 northwestern U.S. states.

Plus, WGU is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Counsel (DETC), which specializes in online colleges.

How much does it cost?
I’m surprised to see that WGU charges a flat rate tuition of around US$3,000 per term (every 6 months, not per-credit) – US$2,890 for most programs, US$3,250 for Nursing and MBA.

WGU’s non-profit status also means that their tuition is about half what other reputable online schools charge. Partial scholarships are also available every year…

A Mentor for You
I feel that this is the most important feature of all because whether you’re working from home or studying from home, it’s always easy to slack off or get demotivated.

To help students in their independent learning, a mentor is assigned to guide and motivate the student from the start till the end of the program. Wow, you get a personal coach!

It isn’t likely I’ll go for an online business degree but the early childhood education programs look interesting