January 2011 Archives

You may be wondering, in such a rotten job climate, why you should bother to finish your bachelor's degree.  After all, there is an expense to continuing your education and most of us have many other things to spend that money on.  Perhaps you have children about to go to college and think that any extra money should go in their direction.

However, like it or not, if you don't have that BA/BS diploma, you may be jeopardizing your career.  With so many candidates for every job opening, employers need to find ways to sort through all the applications and hone down to a more manageable pool.  And what is one of the easiest ways to sort those applications?  You guessed it -- if you don't have a degree, your application for a position may end up in the wastebasket.

If you don't have a bachelor's degree, you are not alone.  In Connecticut, according to the Census Bureau, 62 percent of all working age adults have less than a bachelor's degree.   So, work on finishing that degree and you will maximize your viability and get a jump on the rest of that 62 percent.

The advisors in Eastern's School of Continuing Education will do everything they can to help you expedite the completion of your degree, whether it's fast track courses or pursuing our Credit for Lifelong Learning program, which grants college credits for what you have learned on the job.

Don't sacrifice your future by ignoring your own education!  Call the School of Continuing Education at (860) 465-0206, and let us help you get a jump on your career.

Carol J. Williams, Ph.D.

Associate Dean

School of Continuing Education

Some of you may be returning to school after a long hiatus from your college education, or returning for spring classes.  Other students may be transferring to Eastern and starting classes with us for the first time. No matter what your status, we are here to give you the best educational experience we can provide -- you deserve that. We are mindful of your time constraints and of the cost to you in your personal life and financial sacrifices. We are here to help guide your educational journey so that you meet your goals. We want you to know that we have experienced professionals who are glad to see you, happy to help you, and trained to work with you to navigate the challenges you may face. Please, take advantage of our expertise, time and ability to serve you.  Call us today for an advisement appointment. You are not in this alone.

School of Continuing Education

You are not a number at Eastern.

If you are over 25 years old and thinking about finishing a degree that you started long ago, I want to assure you that you are not just a number at Eastern Connecticut State University!  If you are imagining entering a classroom with a sea of very young faces, rest assured that is unlikely to happen at Eastern.  First of all, 75% of all courses at Eastern have fewer than 30 students in them; no class has more than 45 students in it.  The average class size at Eastern is 23.  Fifteen percent of undergraduate students are 25 or older and if you take off-campus or evening courses, the proportion of working adults in your classes will be higher than that.

At Eastern, I think that you will find that our advisors and our teachers really care about you as an individual.  We even have an "adult friendly" degree, the Bachelor of General Studies (BGS), that is flexible and that allows you to tailor your program of study to your own background and interests.  At our Groton and our Manchester Sites, you can take advantage of our "Fast Track" programs that offer courses in 7-week modules so that you are only concentrating on one course at a time but still completing two courses per semester.

And if you really want us to get to know you, you can participate in our Credit for Lifelong Learning (CLL) program through which you can earn college credits for what you learned on the job or through your own study.  In the CLL program, you write a narrative about all of your learning experiences and how they compare with subject matter taught in classrooms at Eastern.  To learn more about CLL, click here.

Feel free to set up an appointment with one of our advisors to see how quickly you could finish a degree at Eastern!

Carol J. Williams, Associate Dean