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Monday, March 8, 2010

Affordable Online Degree Programs

The economic downturn has led many parents nationwide to realize their careers are not recession-proof. As a result, many families are forced to adjust their lifestyles by obtaining secondary incomes, reorganizing their budgets or making mid-life career changes.
The recession has led many parents to "go back to school to learn more methods for dealing with the bad economy," Chandra Muller, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told the Daily Texan. However, Muller added, rising tuition at traditional universities has many students - particularly continuing students who have family responsibilities - seeking more convenient alternatives, such as those offered by online universities.
The cost of a four-year degree program at a public institution has risen 6.5 percent over the past year, according to the College Board. Consequently, parents who are already paying or preparing to pay for their children's higher education need to find less expensive options to fund their own educational pursuits.
Kenneth Pegues, for example, chose to pursue an associates degree in occupational safety online at Odessa College in Odessa, Texas after an accident left him unable to continue working at his restaurant job.
Although Pegues's family is currently struggling to keep him in school and stay afloat financially, he hopes his pursuit of his first degree will "set a precedent for his family" and inspire his children to go to college, he told the Odessa American.
Many parents seeking an advanced degree are also choosing to gain their education through online programs, including Nevonna Davis, who works in the accounting department at the Veterans Administration in Miami.
A single mother of a four year-old boy, Davis "decided to enroll in Kaplan University online classes" in order to "have more time with her son," she told CBS4.
Single parents such as Davis who are seeking convenient and relatively inexpensive options to continue their education, such as online degree programs, may benefit from financial aid opportunities. For example, Denny's Single Parent Student Scholarship provides $1,500 awards to mothers and fathers who are the sole providers for their children wishing to obtain college degrees.

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