| |
Singapore, 5 September 2002
Should you do graduate school full time or online? |
Picture this: The stereotypical graduate student is fresh out of college, the majority look a lot like this: older, established in their careers, paying mortgages, having kids.
According to the latest data from the US National Centre for Education Statistics, the average graduate student is 33 years old. Over one half are married, and about a third have children. For many of these individuals, a full-time graduate program doesn't make sense. This reality is borne out by the statistics: Only 36 percent of all master's students and 61 percent of doctoral students go to school full time.
Many prospective graduate students struggle with the decision of whether to go full time. Most of the mature students decide against full-time study because of the need to keep earning their salary. However, borrowing money to attend full time may make financial sense to some. It all depends on whether you're expecting to earn more money once you finish. The greater the jump in anticipated income, the greater your incentive to attend school full time.
Moreover, income is only part of the calculation. Many loans, grants, and scholarships are available only to full-time students, and only full-time Masters and Ph.D. students are eligible for teaching and research assistantships (which pay tuition and include a small allowance). Usually, benefits such as access to student housing and health insurance are not offered to part-timers.
It's also important to keep in mind your career goals when weighing whether to go full or part time. For those whose aim is changing fields, full-time study often makes the most sense. That's in part because people with day jobs can't participate in internships with potential employers. By contrast, part-time study often is best for people whose goal is advancing within their company or their field because they can maintain their network of professional contacts while polishing their credentials.
Prospective students should look into how welcoming a school is to part-timers. Are Saturday and evening classes offered? Is going online an option? Do libraries, labs, and other facilities have extended hours? This is where e-learning comes into the picture. With the flexibility offered by this mode of study, all of the above becomes less of a burden to effective study.
In the past, many graduate schools wouldn't even allow students to enrol part time. Those schools that did often created programs for part-timers that were second-rate knockoffs of the full-time programs. That's changing, but some schools have reformed faster than others.
Choosing wisely
Your expectations for graduate school are also worth considering. Do you want to be able to take advantage of speakers and other scholarly events offered during the day? As a part-timer, that may be difficult. Socially, is it important for you to connect personally with professors and fellow students? Online facilitation offers a synchronous version of participation that most part-time students find missing from the course. It offers real time answers and that can be an immediate relief to someone that’s in need of answers quickly. I’m sure many who have spent part of their lives being a student can attest to the urgency of the situation.
In addition to accessible facilitators, having a user-friendly interface helps to ease one into the e-learning experience especially if you are a first timer. Some e-learning providers such as PurpleTrain.com provide a student centric learning environment where the student is presented with a user-friendly interface with easy to use icon-based controls. The use of a Learning Management System also adds to the overall factors that make up a successful online learning experience.
Psychologists agree that the amount of support you get from your family–and from your romantic partner in particular–is a crucial determiner of success in a part-time program. You need to have a relationship with your partner where you can trade off responsibility. This is especially vital for women, who often bear disproportionate responsibility for child care and housework. As many women commented, a non-supportive spouse just about makes it impossible.
Many may not realise it but support from peers within the course does help to give e-learners an avenue to share difficulties with one another. Online discussion rooms and chat rooms conducted regularly will give the necessary communication channels for e-learners to voice out concerns to facilitators.
Support from your boss is no less vital. According to Melissa, 31, who got her M.B.A. in 2000, "You have to get the buy-in from your boss or it will be difficult." Whether your company will help pay for your classes is often, although not always, an indicator of how supportive it will be. Melissa not only received tuition reimbursement, she also had several long conversations with the partner she worked for at an investment bank about whether she should go back to school. Involving her in the decision-making process meant that she was flexible later on when she needed to leave work early for an exam or to catch up on sleep.
Are you tough enough?
A final variable to consider is your mental toughness–and the thickness of your skin. By most accounts, it's simply more stressful to balance studies and a job than to drop the job and study full time. Are you willing and able to spend much of your free time online? cut down on socializing with friends? or survive on six hours of sleep a night?
Some graduate students who are taking classes part time and working full time may begin to question their competence. Even if they are successful in their jobs, if they struggle in their classwork they may begin doubting themselves in all areas of their lives. That’s why balancing work and study is paramount to success during this crucial phase of their lives.
Still, those who work while going to school will be able to begin applying what they're learning in class right way–an exciting prospect for many. "I like to apply it in the real world." Sara, 27, a journalist pursuing an interdisciplinary master's in literary criticism, also likes the interplay of the two worlds. More to the point, she's not at all sure that after working for five years she could "just study all day." Which makes perfect sense to start on an online course as the working professional can phase in the change from total work time to a work cum study lifestyle.
Adapted from an article by Alicia Abell
For more information on PurpleTrain and its courses offered online, feel free to drop by at ourCourse Catalogue.
About Informatics Group
The Informatics Group, established in 1983, is a multinational corporation providing training and educational services in information technology and business management. Through its international franchising program and strategic acquisitions, Informatics presently has a global network of more than 450 centres spanning 42 countries.
The company presently offers five franchise products: Informatics Computer School, Thames Business School, CAL Computer Training Centre, Cambridge Child Development Centre and RACC. For more information, please visit http://www.informaticsgroup.com.
About PurpleTrain.com
PurpleTrain.com is the e-learning service provider which offers a one-stop service for business and IT education programmes, corporate training courses and education-related services. By combining innovative technology with world-class training content, PurpleTrain.com offers companies and individuals a high value, quality and effective online training solution. Over 1000 online courses are available, offering PhDs, masters, degrees, diplomas and certificates in business and IT programmes. Its e-community now stands at over 55,000 users.
PurpleTrain.com is a 100%-owned venture of Informatics Holdings Limited, a leading training and education provider listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
For more information, please contact :
Andrew Yap
Marketing & PR Manager
PurpleTrain.com
Email : pr@purpletrain.com
Website : www.purpletrain.com
www.informaticsgroup.com
To subscribe, send a blank email to: subscribe@purpletrain.com
To unsubscribe, send a blank email to: unsubscribe@purpletrain.com
All trademarks and registered trademarks are property of
their respective owners. Certain of the statements in this press release
are forward-looking in nature and, accordingly, are subject to risks and
uncertainties. The actual results may differ from those described or contemplated.
Copyright © 2002. All Rights Reserved. PurpleTrain.com Pte Ltd.
|
