Taking college classes while also holding down a full time job is a difficult balancing act, a practice I am quite familiar with. Having done both for a period lasting just over six years, I managed to balance work and school to secure my business degree.

If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t be able to and, for so many workers, they would come to the same conclusion. Family issues, money, and time must be factored in, each conspiring in their own way to thwart advancing one’s education.

For Verizon Wireless’ Salt Lake City employees, the company’s generous tuition assistance program offers something other businesses do not have: Strayer University courses are being taught right at the work place. Associate and bachelor’s of business administration classes as well as an MBA program are conducted at Verizon and at no cost to employees. Business courses are tailored to the Verizon Wireless student, with the opportunity to use actual business scenarios as case studies.

“The onsite program allows our employees to continue their education right here at our call center,” says Trent Vansice, director of customer service for the Salt Lake City call center. “It has made it much easier for employees to take advantage of our industry-leading tuition assistance benefits.”

“Strayer University is honored to partner with Verizon Wireless to provide the best possible educational experience for its employees,” said Karl McDonnell, chief operating officer for Strayer University. “This program model has enabled us to extend our reach in ways not previously available to fulfill our mission of providing a high quality education for working adults.”

At present, Verizon offers onsite college programs at 9 of its 29 call centers, plus programs in five regional headquarter offices. The company plans to expand the onsite college degree programs to additional locations in three western states later this year and expand the program further over the next two years.

(Source: Verizon Wireless Press Release)

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Tags: bachelor degree, college classes, college tuition, MBA, strayer university, verizon wireless, work study

Even before heading off to college for the first time, many freshmen know that they’ll be sidetracked along the way and miss a semester or two of schooling at their college of choice.

No, they won’t be taking time off to pursue a job or kick back and relax for a few months, rather these students already are planning to spend some of their time studying abroad.

According to the Open Doors report published by the Institute of International Education, the leading not-for-profit educational and cultural exchange organization in the United States, the number of students studying abroad is on the rise. Specifically, their findings were:

Study abroad increased by 8.5% to a total of 223,534, according to the Open Doors report, published annually by the Institute of International Education with funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The number of American students receiving academic credit for their study abroad has increased 150% in the past decade, from fewer than 90,000 students in 1995/96.

The United Kingdom was again the top destination with more than 32,000 students participating followed by Italy, Spain, and France. Australia was #5 with Mexico, China, Germany, Costa Rica, and Ireland rounding out the Top 10.

Open Doors also discovered that many students are choosing to study in nontraditional locations including the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. They found that the top three major fields of study of Americans studying abroad are the social sciences, business and management, and humanities.

18 schools reported that at least 80% of their students study abroad a list which includes Dickinson College, Luther College, DePauw University, Colby College, and Elon University. New York University sends the most students abroad, with over 2800 participating in 2007.

Further Reading

International Student Enrollment In US Rebounds

Resources

College Money Maze

Winning The College

Tags: college scholarship, independent study, study abroad, work study