Hitting the Books, the Sequel

Part 1

So I finished college… 25 years after starting. I took a year off, a year that turned into a quarter-century's hiatus, and left a nagging piece of unfinished business on my life list. Life of course, had its own priorities: bills, family, rent, the usual things; all the things that made going back unrealistic. But as my children neared college age themselves, reminders of that unfinished business were ubiquitous: brochures in the mailbox, phone calls, websites, and teenage chatter about who was going to what college. That, and a shifting job market, made a return to academics desirable and important. With three years of college already under my belt, it seemed a wise decision to finish that last year, obtain the all-important sheepskin, and at least gain the broader employment opportunities it would open for me.

It didn't seem plausible at first. How could I manage classes around full-time work and a schedule including all the usual tasks, committees, and duties of a parent, spouse, and all the other hats a middle-aged American wears through the years? 'Regular' college was out - the closest four year school was out of commuting distance. The local community college offered a couple four year degrees, but my previous schooling didn't fit into them, so I would have to take another year's worth of courses to complete them. Three steps forward, two steps back so to speak, and I wasn't getting any younger in the meantime. I began to look for alternative methods of finishing my degree. My first lead came in a radio advertisement for the college I attended so long ago. They had just opened a nearby extension campus, with a schedule designed for adult learners. Their courses took place in the evenings and a few weekends. The idea of finishing college with the institution where I began appealed to me. It would look better on a resume, and had that "circle is complete" aura.

There were problems however, with the extension college. Only one major was offered, not related to my original one, and not one that interested me much. I would once again have to take another year's worth of courses to graduate, much of it studying what are for me lackluster topics.. It was also expensive, both in tuition and commuting costs. I would have to obtain some big loans to attend, and those costs would be compounded during that extra year of schooling.

In the meantime, a friend of mine pointed out another possibility. Online colleges were breaking out of their original sketchy reputation, with several mainstream schools adding online branches in addition to their traditional halls of learning.

Liberty University is at the forefront of this movement, offering a respectable set of majors at very affordable prices. As it became clear that my alma mater's branch college wouldn't work for me, I contacted Liberty to see what might work in my case. One of the majors would fit my previous studies well; it is in fact a good fit for many: interdisciplinary studies. This approach to undergraduate work combines two or more traditional disciplines in a way that makes them both relevant to a student's interests or vocation. One could, for example combine business management and psychology, or history and communications. A broad range of dual topics are possible, though generally these are limited to the humanities, the 'soft' sciences, and business subjects. With very favorable pricing, the flexibility of online courses, and a wide-open major, it looked like Liberty University would work for me.

Once I began negotiating with the school, we ran into a crucial snag. The university would not accept many of my previous credits. Though understandable after such a long layoff, it put their program to disadvantage in the same way as other options I had already considered. When I learned that tuition costs would be rising the next semester, the advantages of Liberty Online diminished. As it is an out-of-state college, I could seek no state funding to attend, and while the cost was very reasonable for a private college, it would mean considerably more out of pocket expenses; and once again cost another year of schooling. I didn't fully abandon Liberty University, but it was clear I needed to search for other options.

Briefly, I explored the possibility of returning to my alma mater's home campus and finishing up there. There were several arguments in favor of this: they would accept all my previous credits from their school, and a few from other places I had attended along the way. If I took a few courses over the summer, I could theoretically finish in one semester there. Against the idea were the expenses of both tuition and board, brutal weekend commutes, acquiring a sabbatical from work, and the long absences away from family and home. Once it became clear that the courses I needed were not offered in any single semester, this option was eliminated.

I looked into several other online and alternative colleges, including ITT-Tech and the University of Phoenix, but the all-too familiar snags came up again and again. Costs were too high, schedules too inflexible, credit transfers were denied. I was beginning to surrender myself to another year of college and student loans. But I hadn't exhausted every alternative just yet.

There is a public college with branches across the state where I live that specializes in alternative, adult education. Empire State College utilizes a unique approach to collegiate study. Each student has a mentor who assists in planning, developing, and achieving a course schedule fit for their desired degree. Courses may consist of the entire range of possibilities, from traditional classrooms in almost any college in the state, to online courses, credit for life experience, or independent study. I had once attended a few classes at one branch in the distant past, and thought they might be worth looking into once more. I dialed their closest branch and made an appointment to talk over my situation with an associate there.

My mentor, Dr. Ouderkirk, was congenial and reassuring. I had a lot of previous credits that would transfer, but Empire State's standards required 30 credits within their system. Regardless, I could still finish my bachelor's degree in two terms. As my previous schooling fit well within a general psychology/social sciences concentration; I would not need to backtrack at all. I wouldn't have to struggle with course design either, since my remaining requirements were all available from the state university (SUNY) system. Better, they were all available online - I wouldn't have to commute, adjust my schedule around school, or take an extended leave from work. Finally, as part of the state university system, ESC cost the least of all the options I had examined, and was fully eligible for state aid. As ESC offered a summer term, Dr. Ouderkirk pointed out that I could finish by year's end. Finally, here was a college where all the pieces came together.

There were a few unknowns surrounding my situation. For some reason, my previous stint with ESC had not entirely transferred. I had taken one course ostensibly through them but at a community college; this wasn't in the list. I had also taken a couple self-study courses that had never been recorded. Quite likely, I had failed to do something to confirm or complete them way back when; because the one independent study I had finished was on record. ESC now requires their students to take at least one course in ten different categories, including arts, math, and a language. As I had attended ESC prior to these requirements, Dr. Ouderkirk wasn't sure I fell under this rule. I might be 'grandfathered' out of them (with that one credit independent course twenty years earlier) or perhaps not. We looked over my transcripts to fill each of the ten 'General Studies' requirements we could, then perused the online course catalog to fill in any gaps just in case. Having dropped out after my junior year, I was short in upper level courses, so I had to choose a fairly heavy load of these. We still weren't certain if my Greek courses (New Testament Greek) would fly as a foreign language. I did not want to struggle with a language while taking so many upper level courses!

In the end, I threw my lot in with ESC. With my original alma mater, the costs and travel returning to their main campus was onerous, their extension campus was expensive and would require another year's work. That latter stipulation held with Liberty Online and every other school I had researched. With ESC, I might have to take one course in a third term, if my Greek didn't qualify. At least I had a gambler's chance with that mystery. On the financial side, it was no contest: ESC was cheaper than any other choice. I applied, was accepted, and in May of 2006 began taking classes through the SUNY online system.

In retrospect, I probably would have opted for Liberty University Online had they transferred enough credits to complete my degree in two semesters. Liberty is a well-known and highly-regarded school; having their name on my resume would be advantageous. That one sticking point however, was enough to sway the balance; and given the same scenario now I would still opt for ESC over Liberty.

A year passed between my first tentative search of colleges and the start of my first courses. Though this time might have been used in taking that extra year of study most colleges required of me, I regained that time by going with Empire State College; and saved thousands of dollars in the process.

In any case, all the research and questions were water under the bridge. Courses loomed close on the horizon. I was back in school!