If you are, give the School of Continuing Education a call at (860) 465-5125 and ask for an advisement appointment.  Phone advisement appointments are also available.  Let our  advisors help you look over your choices and discover your potential. 

Now is the time to stand out of the crowd and get training for your future.  The School of Continuing Education is here to help.  Summer Registration is open now.  You don't have to be admitted to take one course. 

Registration for the Fall opens on July 1st for the general public. Look at the courses and plan with an advisor.  If you've decided then apply for admission.

This is the time to be thinking about your future.   

As a busy single working mother I didn't think I had the time, inclination or money to go back to school. I used to say jokingly, "There is no money in the budget for food". Of course, my four children didn't want to hear that since they had voracious appetites. However, it was partially true. I had to steal from Peter to pay Paul when anything unexpected occurred. I dreaded the fact that something broke or that someone outgrew a pair of shoes. Life was generally lived on a shoestring. I had to find a way to get out of that merry-go-round I was on and couldn't see how I could work more or earn more, given what was on my plate. I knew intuitively that school and a different marketable skill was going to be the ticket for me and my family. Needless to say, when I made the decision to go to school to try and change how we were living from day to day (sometimes from morning to night) the whole family was going to school. It had to be a joint effort, since I could no longer take care of the family 100% of the time, but could be there during the important times. Of course I was afraid...I hadn't been in school for 21 years!!!!

So the journey began. I found a different job working from 11 at night to 7 in the morning, was home to ensure that all ate breakfast, sent the kids off to school, slept a few hours, and then off to the university I went. I made arrangements for after school and was there to prepare dinner. I felt like I was earning the black bags under my eyes!!!! The time passed and little successes became bigger successes.  The first C in Math became A's in other courses. I got hooked on learning and loved the fact that I was growing. I intended to get that marketable skill through an Associate's degree (and that is a wonderful and admirable goal as well) but soon realized that the higher my degree the more my capability to earn a better living. I borrowed money to go to school through student loans and the debt was accumulating. I used to joke that my student loan would be paid off with my Social Security check...and I was partially right!!!!

If we fast forward, with my Bachelor's degree I found a wonderful position as an Admissions Counselor in my university and my earning capability doubled!!!! My life and the life of my family dramatically changed with a steady paycheck and some security. My ability to help support my family increased and I felt an enormous sense of accomplishment. With my Master's degree I became a Continuing Education Coordinator...and then my earning capability doubled once again. With the PhD my life changed and there was no looking back!!!!! Needless to say...the cycle of living from hand to mouth, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul changed and I was in a position to help others and pay it forward.

So do I believe in education .....You bet!!!!! Did it payoff in tangible and intangible ways....a resounding yes!!!! Am I in a position to pay it forward.....no doubt...

That is why in the School of Continuing Education when you walk through the door...I see myself.  I personally know the sacrifices involved and the focus it takes to "pay yourself" so that you can "pay it forward". Now as I look back, I am glad that I took the risk so that my family could have a better life. The gift to me is one that I will always cherish and example set for others is the one that makes the greatest impact.

Dr. Shelly Gimenez

Dean of the School of Continuing Education

Are you a working mom, putting yourself through school?  If so, you might be interested in a recent study conducted by researchers from the  Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University.  I would guess that your motivations for returning to school were similar to these women's--to improve their career and to serve as role models for their children.  However, once these women started back to school, there were some surprising outcomes:

·                     Mothers identify themselves as lifelong students and learners, when originally they did not.

·                     Mothers want to succeed in their programs for themselves and for their children.

·                     Mothers feel that they become better parents because they can assist their children with homework and serve as role models.

·                     Mothers gain the confidence to consider additional education.

·                     Mothers feel they become more self-disciplined and have greater self-direction.

I'll bet you resemble these remarks!

In case you are wondering about the value of continuing your education, the Project Working Mom report, available at pulse@educationdynamics.com reports the following:

 The Importance of an Educated Mother

·                     Thirty-nine percent of mothers are primary breadwinners earning the majority of their family's income; 62.8 percent are breadwinners or co-breadwinners earning at least a quarter of their family's income.
Source: The Center for American Progress, "The Shriver Report," October 2009.

·                     Seventy-one percent of women with children younger than 18 years of age are in the labor force; 76 percent work full-time. Seventy-six percent of single mothers with children younger than 18 years of age are in the labor force; 82 percent work full-time.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Women's Law Center, "The Reality of the Workforce: Mothers are Working Outside the Home," February, 2008.

·                     Thirteen percent of working single mothers and their families live in poverty.
Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2007 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2006 Detailed Poverty Tables, POV15.

·                     Americans with only a high school diploma are twice as likely to be unemployed compared to those with at least a bachelor's degree. The December unemployment rate for Americans 25 years or older with at least a bachelor's degree was 5.0 percent, while the unemployment rate for people with only a high school diploma was 10.5 percent.  
Source:  U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

·                     In 2008, more than 70 percent of Americans aged 25 and older did not have a bachelor's degree.  
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Report, Educational Attainment in the United States, 2008.

·                     Over the span of their working lives, on average, college graduates earn about 60 percent more than high school graduates, and graduates with advanced degrees earn two to three times more than those with only a high school diploma.
Source: College Board's Education Pays: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society, 2007.

Keep up the hard but good work of balancing home, family, school and everything else--it will pay off in the end.

Best regards, Carol

Carol J. Williams, Ph.D.

Associate Dean

School of Continuing Education

williams@easternct.edu

Are you interested in studying in beautiful Alicante, Spain this summer? 

There is an informational meeting on Thurs., Feb. 25th at 4 pm in Webb Hall in Room 212. 

What is a Study Tour?

It's an Eastern educational adventure, studying for a course in a real life setting in another part of the country or in another country, usually over one to five weeks.  Please, see the upcoming Study Tour to Spain as an example.

 SUMMER STUDY IN

ALICANTE, SPAIN 

May 28 - June 25, 2010

PROGRAM COSTS

The total cost of the program is approximately $4100* (exchange rate between USA $ and EU Euro, subject to fluctuations) which includes:

• Airfare: Boston - Alicante - Boston
• Room and board with a host family and three meals per day
• Tuition for up to 6 credits
•  Intensive courses in language, literature and culture
• Required textbooks and some additional materials
• Transcripts for course work completed with a passing grade
• Guided tours of Alicante and nearby sites
• Health insurance

Provides an intensive four-week, twenty hours per week program of formal study, and opportunity for an experience of total immersion in Spain's social life, culture and regional customs, in one of its best Mediterranean provinces.  Alicante is located on a beautiful bay, at the center of the Costa Blanca, a major seashore resort with a rich and diverse cultural life.  No previous knowledge of Spanish is required.  Upon arrival in Alicante, students undergo a two-day session of cultural and academic orientation which includes a placement test. Classes are small--about eight students--and taught by the faculty at the host institution, Colegio Internacional, Instituto de Estudios Hispanicos.  Departmental approval needed for registration.  Limited space.

*tentative dates and price, subject to change

The course that goes with this trip is SPA 365: Selected Topics in Language, Literature, and Culture.  There will be an informational meeting on Thurs., Feb. 25th at 4 pm in Webb Hall. Room to be determined.  Please, call 860-465-0207 with any questions or if you are interested in going on this Study Tour.

 Other upcoming trips are:

1.       Greece, summer 2010  Still looking for more students.

2.       Spain, summer 2010  Still looking for more students.

3.       Italy, summer 2010  Full

4.       Jamaica, spring, 2010  Full

5.       London, England, summer 2010  Full

6.       Ghana, Africa, summer 2010.

Visit  http://continuingeducation.easternct.edu/StudyTours-home.html   for information about Study Tours.  Call 860-465-0207 for the latest information.

-From the Webmaster

Hi,

I'm Susan Crowley, the Webmaster for the School of Continuing Education.  Today I'd like to talk to you about Spring Semester.  This semester we have courses that start later, which gives you the added benefit of selecting from some more courses that might fit your busy schedule.

There's BUS 365, Business Report Writing w/ Micro Applications, a dynamite course. For any BGS major, this course satisfies the 075 writing intensive requirement. 

There are several other courses to fit various educational needs and scholarly pursuits.  If you go to this link: http://continuingeducation.easternct.edu/CCS-Sesssion-Spring2010.htm , you will find when you scroll down that I've highlighted them for you. 

Registration for Spring courses that start later, can be done in person at the Register's Office, by mail, or by fax.

So have a happy and productive Spring Semester. 

Bye for now.

The Webmaster