Education
Musician Tunes In To Online Education To Earn College Degree
By
Sep 7, 2005, 20:14

(NAPSI)-For working adults, single parents, military personnel and others who must juggle a host of demands while pursuing higher education, online programs are presenting unprecedented opportunities to earn college degrees or advance in their careers. Just ask Debra Wall-Czech.

The 42-year-old wife, step-mother and singer/musician left college before earning a degree, but managed to land a job at an insurance company where she worked for more than a decade. When Wall-Czech was laid off in the early 1990s, however, she found it difficult to find another position at a comparable level and began thinking about going back to school.

While she knew she needed a degree to get ahead, Wall-Czech, like many adult learners, wondered whether college courses would fit into her already hectic schedule, which included traveling with her band. More important, she wondered whether she would fit in with other "traditional" college students.

A family member suggested she consider pursuing a degree online at DeVry University, which offers both day and evening online and on-campus degree programs in business, technology and management. Wall-Czech immediately found the flexibility and supportive environment she was looking for. She earned a bachelor's degree in technology management in 10 months and even went on to complete a master's degree program in project management through DeVry's Keller Graduate School of Management.

"Online programs offer outstanding convenience and flexibility as well as more personalized instruction and are now creating higher educational opportunities for scores of people," said Daniel Hamburger, president and chief operating officer of DeVry Inc., parent of DeVry University. "In addition, online degree programs offered by established universities, such as DeVry University, often offer students the convenience to mix and match online with on-campus courses, providing the best of both worlds."

Today, Wall-Czech is putting her education to work as a quality assurance analyst for a health- care software provider and is even considering pursuing a career as an online professor.

"The ability to earn these degrees through an outstanding online program has had a significant impact on my life and my career," she said.

Wall-Czech is among a growing number of adult learners who are contributing to the dramatic increase in the popularity of online degree programs. More than one million students are pursuing an online degree, according to consulting firm Eduventures, which expects the U.S. online education market "to continue to grow rapidly in the next few years-as it continues to create new markets of students accessing education through a new medium."

More information about DeVry University Online can be found at www.devry.edu/PRinfo.

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