Online education is a way for working adults to expand on skills needed in their current jobs or start new careers, ultimately changing their lives.
Online education is a way for working adults to expand on skills needed in their current jobs or start new careers, ultimately changing their lives.
High school sweethearts Hannah and Zeb Walton are pursuing their advanced degrees in the hopes of providing a better future for their children. The husband and wife team balance full-time jobs (she works for a financial services company and he as an information technology administrator for a local construction company) with raising a three-year-old son, an eight-year-old daughter and three fur babies. They sneak in schoolwork after bedtime or during lunch hours, when they’re not doing dishes or paying bills or designing their dream home, which they hope to break ground on this summer.
Hannah and Zeb are able to pursue their education thanks to Maryville’s online programs. The couple’s hometown in rural Indiana prevents them from coming to campus, though they don’t have time to sit in a classroom anyway. Maryville’s online programs offer flexible learning environments so Hannah and Zeb can attend class whenever and wherever they want.
Most days, that’s from the comfort of their own home, sitting across from each other at the dining room table. They’re pursuing two different degree programs, cyber security and business administration, but that doesn’t prevent them from brainstorming ideas together and proofreading each other’s assignments.
The couple has seen how rapidly the demands of today’s working world change. Higher-level positions require a higher degree of education. Skills that were never needed 10 years ago are now in high demand. The job market in their small town is competitive, and higher-paying positions are often secured through personal connections, not through experience or hard work.
That’s why they are turning their ambitions into action. “For our generation, having a bachelor’s degree is like having a GED: everyone has it,” Zeb said. “But I don’t want to be complacent. I want to be continually improving, and stand out in a crowd. That’s why I’m pursuing my master’s.”
The couple also wants to set an example of lifelong learning for their two young children. Hannah is the first member of her family to graduate from college. Zeb is the second of his family; his mother completed her bachelor’s degree through night classes when he was growing up. “The kids realize how hard we both work,” Hannah said. “We really want to instill that education is important.”
Hannah and Zeb are not alone. Nearly 30 million working adults in the United States aspire to complete a college degree they began years ago, and more than 40 million others could enhance their career prospects, but have never attended a higher-education institution. These tens of millions of people want to go back to school and pursue their dreams, but often face multiple obstacles in their path.
A new generation of online learning that utilizes the best of technology and learning design is opening doors for more and more institutions and learners to come together in a more effective way — a far cry from the early days of online programs. When online education began 25 years ago, it was rudimentary, static and broadly a passive exercise of watching traditionally produced lecture content disseminated on a computer screen.
Today, online learning has undergone a fundamental and dynamic rebirth. The delivery system has evolved to include more robust content, expanded interactive experiences and greater faculty-student engagement. At Maryville, a talented team of learning designers and instructional tech wizards partner with faculty to build these engaging online classes. Hannah and Zeb credit their ease of online learning to this new delivery system.
They especially appreciate Canvas, the digital platform for Maryville’s online programs. Canvas is cloud-based and can be accessed on computers as well as mobile devices through an app. “It’s very clean and easy to navigate,” Zeb said. The couple also enjoys interacting with other online students on the platform. “I’m not just posting to a discussion board, I’m actually talking with other students,” Hannah said. “We’re having meaningful conversations and the friendships are very real.”
Another large part of the couple’s success is the support they receive from Maryville’s academic advisors. “Even though you’re an online student, you have the support as if you were sitting in a classroom,” Hannah said. Both Hannah and Zeb participate in monthly phone calls with their advisors, who answer questions and provide resources around registering for classes, financial aid and more. Their advisors are also available day to day via email, online chat or even text messaging. “It makes it so much easier when you have that person cheering for you,” she said.
But some days, it’s difficult for Hannah and Zeb to shake off the weight of it all. There’s a lot riding on their success. So on hard days, the couple remembers that their education is not just about earning a degree, it’s about achieving their dreams. They think about the plot of land they’ve picked out for their dream home, and about providing opportunities for their children that they didn’t have.
“One of our goals is to be able to fully fund our children’s college education so they don’t have to take out student loans like we did,” Hannah said. With the rising costs of tuition, it’s estimated that the average American has more than $30 thousand in student loans. Paired with other financial burdens, that debt could be crippling. But because of Hannah and Zeb, their children may never have to bear that burden.
“We know long-term this is exactly what we need to do to better ourselves, be a positive image for our children and to have a chance for career opportunities in areas we are passionate about,” Hannah said. “Throughout all of this, we have our kids and our family in our mind. That’s the reason we’re doing it all.”