Working Mother's Guide to Online Learning With this guide for working mothers, moms going back to school can determine whether a traditional or online education best fits their and their family needs.
by Priya KumarWith only 24 hours in a day, is it possible to add pursuing a degree to working and raising a family? Absolutely; online learning is one of the several solutions for working parents seeking to further their education. Online education continues to be an attractive option for busy adults looking to gain new skills or pursue a degree. During the 2008-2009 school year, online enrollment increased 17 percent compared to a 1.2 percent overall increase in the higher education student population, an online learning Sloan Consortium survey found.
And women may be leading the way in the increase. For example, within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, women comprise 68 percent of the online student population. Additionally, 70 percent of online students at Maryland’s Frederick Community College are women, many of them working mothers.
For mothers devoted to their families, careers, and education, it’s important to find a degree program that suits their needs. Before choosing between traditional and online education, working moms need to determine which is right for them. The following chart compares aspects of traditional and online programs:
| Traditional Learning | Online Learning | |
| Location | Moms can get out of the house to take classes on campus where they face fewer distractions once settling in for a lecture or discussion. | Moms can attend class from home, work, or anywhere else as long as they carve out a quiet nook to concentrate. |
| Time | Classes are offered at a specific time each week, and moms must set aside time for completing assignments. Taking more classes at a time may allow moms to finish their degrees sooner. | Lectures and discussion materials are posted online, meaning busy moms can access coursework on their own time. Online degree programs vary in completion times. |
| Flexibility | Missing more than a class or two could put moms behind schedule, but established class times make it easier to budget courses into a weekly routine. | Discipline is key to staying on track with class work, but online course work can fit into the nooks and crannies between family and work priorities. |
| Cost | Full-time programs can cost up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, but scholarships and loans from government and private sources offer millions of dollars toward paying for an education. | Though their per-credit cost may not differ much from that of a traditional education, online programs come without the added commuting and room and board expenses. Many scholarships and loans apply to online classes. |
| Credibility | Accreditation is key to a valuable educational experience whether on campus or online. Always make sure the institution and the degree program are accredited. | Accreditation signals the program has met established standards. Be wary of diploma mills that hand out degrees for very little academic work. |
