I had been wanting to get my college degree for some time now, but there always seemed to be something more important or demanding of my time and energy. 22 months ago, I finally embarked on the path to a lifelong dream: A college degree. Now, at 48 years of age, I completed my Associate program and plunged right into my bachelor program. My goal is a bachelor's degree by the time I reach my 50th birthday. So far, I’m on track.
July 2008 - Posts
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Is it me, or is the summer flying by faster than an amusement park ride? I cannot believe it is nearly August already. Where did the summer go? Ok, ok…it is not quite over yet, but still: Today marks the end of July. The end. What happened to the beginning?
As children, we spend countless hours bemoaning weeks in school and rejoice whenever there is a break, be it a one-day national holiday, an early dismissal now and then, or a week or even two for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. In my day, summer vacation was a three-month hiatus filled with freedom (after chores), a trip somewhere and twice, when I was eight and nine there was camp. Then, adolescence blends into teen-hood and summer camp becomes lame unless you are a counselor, and then only if you are a ‘hot’ counselor (gads!). The one or two summers of freedom between middle school and high school’s need for ‘spending money’ requiring summers to be spent flipping burgers or stocking shelves is spent painfully dividing oneself emotionally from our childhood and tentatively trying on responsibility. After high school, those who go on to college still have that multi-month hiatus to look forward to in the summer.
Once in the workforce, however, there is no summer vacation. At least not in the traditional business workforce I joined thirty-some years ago. Sure, one can save up vacation time and take a planned vacation most any time; most employers allow for that. Families typically do this during the summer to coincide with the break in school (go figure).
Why am I thinking about this? It must be because I am set to take my first real vacation in what seems like more than 25 years. Sure, I have taken time off work—as much as a week at a time—but this is 17 days…the longest consecutive non-sick days off I have ever taken in my entire career. The first third of the vacation is with family, but the last nine days is in Hawaii (ok, there is family there too, but c’mon…it’s Hawaii!!).
The length of time between making the plan and the plan seems to shorten exponentially until suddenly the plan is upon us and we are not quite ready. This can happen with vacation plans, with wedding plans, with holiday plans, with dinner plans, and with homework plans.
In my program, there is no summer vacation, really. Although I will be away from work and enjoying my family and later the beauty of Hawaii, I am still in class…I still have homework, and I still have to be available for my teammates. So, as I plan my days of leisure, I must plan for study time in an environment that is unfamiliar.
But then that is what distance learning is all about, right? I can go to school from anywhere…even when I am on vacation!
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I was writing a note to my family trying to organize my thoughts about how to fit everyone into my six days of vacation in August. In it was a section hinting (no, outright saying) that I expected some sort of birthday celebration while I was there. The ‘note’ became quite a tome…and it rambled a bit, but the response I got from them was that it was funny and maybe I should post an excerpt from it in my blog…so, here you go: Enjoy! (P.S. I’ve taken out the names to protect the innocent…)
I guess I need to solidify some of this into workable and doable for all involved…so I thought I would throw this ‘out there’ and ask for your input to help me wrap it up into a penciled-in itinerary. I know all of you have other things that you need to do already that need to be considered and hope that maybe I can tag along on some, and stay out of your hair for others, after all, being a college student I will have to find some quiet time with internet access (I’m bringing my wireless-equipped laptop—hope you have internet access) for my studies—an hour or so a day at least!!
And, not to be presumptuous or anything (ok, maybe a little presumptuous), but maybe one day/evening (Friday?) is an everyone-can-make-it-gathering with cake and candles? Ok, nevermind the candles…but cake…ok, it doesn’t have to be cake…but my favorite does not have fruit on, in, or under it, has milk chocolate involved, usually in the frosting, and is most often accompanied by vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and sprinkles…ok, no sprinkles…but those delicate rolled up cookie thingies are out of this world…ok, no cookies…(I do go on, don’t I?...and I’m only moderately joking).
So…let me know what you think…and whether there are any conflicts that need to be worked out. For the most part, I am quite flexible…just prefer to be mobile and not reliant on people to schlep me around. I am perfectly ok with letting people do the schlepping as long as it is not me asking them to schlep, just that we are all schlepping in the same direction and it makes sense.
Make sense?
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Today is my first day of class in my Bachelor Degree program. No surprises, nothing special really. There is one person whose name I remember from my Algebra 1B class. Aside from reading the dozen or so posts from the facilitator (she chooses to refer to herself as a facilitator rather than an instructor), noting all of the coming due dates for the next five weeks, and setting up our forums to her specifications, nothing was due today. We are to post a biography about ourselves by tomorrow, but most of my classmates did it today, I included.
My transition counselor (from the Associate Program to the Bachelor Program) called me today to ‘walk me to class’ and so she could tell me what the new rules are and what to expect over the course of the program. Not much is different in the rules—the requirement for participation is greater, and the penalty for missing class is more severe—but overall, there is not much new except for the team-learning concept.
We have not gotten our teams assigned just yet—the facilitator said she would do that by the end of the week. There is an assignment due on Day 7 (which is Monday) which I already did last week. It was a scavenger hunt designed to familiarize students with the website and the Online Learning System (OLS). Since I was familiar already, it did not take me long to complete the assignment. Other than that, there are only discussion questions; the first due on Day 3 (Thursday), which I have already turned in, and the second one due on Day 5 (Saturday), which I have yet to write.
I did peek at the rest of the syllabus for this five-week class. There is a lot of content, in contrast with the Associate Program, and there are typically three assignments due at the end of each week (Axia typically had only one per class; two classes at a time). Therefore, overall, it seems as though the next 100 (or less) weeks is going to keep me quite busy.
Best to dig my heels in and get to work.
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Ok, all I got was two weeks…but it really was enough, I think. I enjoyed not having to worry about assignments and attendance and participation. I enjoyed being able to just crash in front of the TV when I got home from work…after walking the dog, that is…and making dinner. Although I thought maybe I’d get to some of those neglected household chores over the break, alas it was not to be.
I did manage to get a few things done…my ‘homework corner’ is less cluttered than it was before and I have finally caught up with the household filing (I swear, one of these days I am going to scan everything and then toss those filing cabinets!!) I had a pleasant time lazily wandering the mall with my stepdaughter, and yesterday we took a ride into San Francisco to see my husband at work and then do a little more shopping. With no worry of a looming deadline, it has been a nice two weeks.
Tomorrow begins the first class of my Bachelor Program: Skills for Professional Development. I reviewed the course description and overview during the break and learned that this class really is going to be merely a refresher course of sorts to help adult learners returning to school obtain the necessary skills for completing their online program. Since I have been enrolled in online classes for the past 22 months, I seriously doubt that I will have much difficulty with this first class…which is a good since I am going to be on vacation during the last half of the class.
I am curious, however, how the learning team environment is going to work for me. Since I typically prefer to work on my own and on my own schedule, this is going to be a new way of doing things and I want to try to remain open minded and make it work. We’ll see.
So ends my summer vacation…at least my summer vacation from school. I’m still going on vacation from work…and I’m taking two and a half weeks; the longest I have ever taken in my 26 years there. School can come with me…one of the perks of distance learning…and as long as I don’t need to print anything out while I’m lounging on the beach in Honolulu, I’ll be just fine.
So, I guess I’d better get some rest…tomorrow is my first day.
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Today my study partner, classmate, and friend graduated from Axia College of the University of Phoenix with her Associate Degree and an awesome GPA. I met her in November 2007 in my Financial Management class. She and I shared at least one other class over the next several, and then had the same classes but at different times later on.
Through instant messaging, Dee Dee and I managed to help each other succeed in our Associate Degree programs. We started out about the same time and completed our coursework at the same time. Although we have never met in person, Dee Dee invited me to come to Portland to help celebrate her accomplishment and watch her participate in the pomp and circumstance of graduation. I really wish I could have gone. I have spoken to her on the phone only once and online via webcam a few times, but mostly we talk in instant messenger and mostly several times a day.
I am going to miss that online collaboration we shared trying to keep our grades and our spirits up during the sometimes hectic lives we separately live—she in Washington and me in California; she a young mother and me a grandmother with a mostly empty nest.
Dee Dee: Congratulations on earning your degree. I am so proud of you and thankful for your ongoing support while I continue toward mine. I hope we can continue our online chats.
And if I find myself in another math-related class…you’ll be the first to hear about it!!
Best wishes, always.
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I have no clue when it comes to fashion. So shopping for clothing with a 13-year-old girl was not going to be an easy outing. My idea of appropriate attire for her age group apparently is not exactly a ‘current’ way of thinking.
I am not a prude…I just think that today’s fashions are a little too suggestive for a female child of 13. I walk the mall with my step-daughter and look around trying to gain an inkling of knowledge before diving into the latest trendy store so that I don’t come across like Mrs. Cleaver (from Leave It To Beaver…if you don’t know what that is, look it up on www.imdb.com), or worse, like Aunt Bea (from The Andy Griffith Show). It does bother me some that young girls today wear short shorts and spaghetti-strap camisoles. It has not escaped me either that when I was a teen similar fashion forays went against my parent’s idea of appropriate attire. As a mother (and a grandmother), I am not oblivious to the way the scantily-clad attracts the eye of the skankily-cad.
So, as we stepped across the threshold of Aeropostale and PacSun I braced myself to be ready to deny this young shopper her desire for suggestive items more suitable for the boudoir of a grown woman. She browsed the skimpy camisoles and shorts and passed them by for jeans and tank tops. She zeroed in on items that would be acceptable in school and barely glanced at the trendy tops and said she didn’t need a handbag. She started with the clearance rack, and moved to the sale shelf.
Wow. I was impressed.
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Today my stepdaughter arrived for a one-week visit. The difference between a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old teenager is like night and day with this one. We last saw her at Christmas when it was still 4 months before her entering ‘teen-hood’ before she decided that dance is her life. A side of her unknown to us, she successfully auditioned for the cheer squad at the school for performing arts in which she is enrolled this fall. Now, cheer is her life and ‘Angela’ is her director.
While she has never been much of a jabberjaw, Trinity has also never really been the shy type. Quiet, yes. Shy? No. At least not from the few brief visits we have had with her. She lived with us for a year when she was in the fourth grade and during that time we had ample opportunity to get to know her personality.
Never in a hundred years did I expect cheerleading to be her aspiration.
Up until this visit, getting more than “good” and “it’s fine” out of Trinity when asking about school or life in general was difficult at best. She buried her nose in the computer and spent hours writing code and designing web stuff (I have NO idea…) and I am constantly impressed at her skill in maneuvering within software and on the web. She told me that she received special recognition at school in their computer science class and actually helped teach the class the following semester. Amazing…she was 12.
We were chatting about stuff school- and future-related…just chit-chat between girls…and she already has a solid idea of what she needs to do between now and her senior year in high school to either get into college or get a good job. She’s 13 and she’s thinking about what she wants five years from now. I’m so proud!
With all of that intellect, she wants to do cheerleading. Good for her!
Ok, this blog post has sort of rambled a bit…sorry…I guess I should be more focused…maybe Trinity can give me some pointers!!
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Don’t you just hate it when you know something is wrong, you tell them what it is but they can’t duplicate the problem or identify the source of the pain? Like when you know your car has something wrong with it; it is making a noise, or has a new vibration, or has recently developed an annoying hum or rattle? We all are very familiar with our everyday things aren’t we? We drive the same car every day so we notice subtle differences when they manifest themselves. The problem is, explaining the new-found problem/sound/vibration/hum/rattle to the mechanic is next to impossible and taking them on a test drive doesn’t help because they are not in tune with your car like you are.
Know what I mean?
It is exactly the same with me and my teeth. I do not have a single molar in my mouth that has not had a root canal and all but three of them have crowns. The remaining three await crowns—the insurance ran out and I had to put it off. So when I go twice each year for my check-up and cleaning, it is not unusual for me to point out to the hygienist and then the dentist that a particular tooth is causing me some trouble. By now, I am pretty good at telling him what is actually wrong with the tooth. The problem is, he cannot actually see evidence of the problem. He cannot see any reason for the discomfort I am experiencing. An x-ray does not provide enough justification for him to take any action.
I get it. It would be unethical for a dentist to do work that he cannot prove needs to be done, and to do the work on the say-so of the patient, besides being as sensible as using cloth hankies like facial tissue, is not an acceptable claim for the insurance company.
In February, during my last cleaning, I did not disappoint my dentist and proceeded to complain about tooth #4, which had had a root canal about two years ago and is still awaiting a crown. Having endured a fractured tooth and subsequent extraction of a lower molar the previous December, I was very familiar with the kind of pain and discomfort that goes with such an injury and pointed out to him that I was certain this same problem now plagued tooth #4. Of course, he could find no evidence to support my theory. “I’ll be back,” I told them, and, as usual, they acknowledged that they were sure I would be.
Sure enough. After a newly-formed swelling and an increase in pain and discomfort prompted me to go back today, the dentist confirmed what I had predicted six months ago: A fractured tooth and it needs to come out.
Duh.
It is a good thing I do not start classes for another week.
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Patience is not one of my virtues, I guess. I do not really like to wait and get antsy when I have to. I like to plan things out…for example…I do not leave for my vacation for another 4 weeks but already have a list, and have started collecting items that I want to take along. What can I say? I just like to be prepared and do not like scrambling around at the last minute. Even so, when it is time to go I always worry that I have forgotten something.
Over lunch yesterday, my friends and I pondered about our personalities and discussed our individual results on a popular test that identifies an individual’s personality using 4 letters. It is interesting that we have a different perception of ourselves than others have of us. The question of spontaneity came up and although admittedly I am not the spontaneous type, I like to think that I am capable of spontaneous acts.
Just this morning I spontaneously did not get out of bed until Noon.
My nutrition grade finally posted. Yes, it is an A. I cannot explain why I do that to myself all the time…I work hard on something and then second guess my work after-the-fact and wonder for the duration how it turned out. Waiting for affirmation is the hardest part! It sure would be nice to get instant grades like in my Algebra class when using the MyMathLab program. You hit the submit button and instantaneously know how well (or how poorly) you did.
Ok, go ahead and say it. You know you want to. I know…I know… Do you feel better now?
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What else can I do with all of my spare time? I am trying not to spend money because I leave on vacation in about four weeks. As it is, repairs to my husband’s car has dipped into my vacation money (what can you do?). I did go shopping to see if I could find some trinkets to take to my nieces when I visit them next month. Their auntie cannot arrive without presents…goodness… but in general, I am trying to save my pennies so I can have a fun time while on vacation.
Sadly, my Bachelor program will have already begun by the time I dip my toes into Honolulu’s sandy shore, but with only the one class to worry about (and having gotten myself a bit of a head start by reviewing the assignments, and downloading all of the material) I think I can still find time for a luau and some snorkeling with my granddaughter…and her mother, of course… LOL.
Today, I slept in. What a luxury that is. There was laundry to be done. Sheets to change. Dishwasher to empty. Dog to walk and later bathe. Carpets to vacuum. Furniture to dust. Checkbook to balance. Bills to pay. Mending to attend to (where IS that button anyway?). With all of the spare time I have this and next week, one would think I would dig in and get these chores out of the way.
Nope.
I had a movie date with my friends at Noon and then we went to grab some food…we called it lunch but by the time we were done it was after dinner time…Good thing my husband had had a late lunch too. For dinner, we had late-night snacks while relaxing in front of the T.V.
So much better than chores!
It was, for me, an unusual Saturday spent having nothing to do with school. Well, one thing: I checked again for my grade in my Nutrition class…
…she’s killing me.
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My grade has not yet posted for my nutrition class. I realize that instructors have tens, if not hundreds, of final papers to read through and grade. I am trying to remain patient, really I am. But the waiting is killing me!! I go to the student login page at least once a day (more l should admit) hoping that the grade is there.
My Algebra grade knocked me off of my 4.0…that was disappointing. Not the end of the world, but disappointing none-the-less. I expect that my grade in the Nutrition class is going to have no affect on my overall GPA but there is, of course, always the chance that my teacher really hated my final project and rejected the whole thing. Of course, this is not likely. But she could find serious fault with it and taken serious exception to its content and deducted enough points where the grade is a B or a C or worse.
I do this all the time. My husband and friends don’t want to hear it either. They always say that I always do fine. It’ll be an A, they say…of course it will.
So what if it isn’t? So what if it knocks my GPA further down…people graduate from college with lesser GPAs all the time.
Sigh.
I just don’t want to be one of those people. I want to excel…I want everyone to go “WOW, you maintained that awesome GPA all the while you were in college AND had a full-time job AND a full-time family?”
Sigh again.
Maybe they still will.
Sigh again, again. (Post the grade already.)
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The past week has flown by. I’m off for two weeks between the end of my Associate program and the beginning of my Bachelor program. The first few days felt strange as I came home from work and actually could relax and not worry about homework. Oddly enough, felt as though I was forgetting something…that I should be doing something important or that a deadline was being missed. Normally I take Mondays “off” from school so it really did not hit me until Thursday that perhaps something was not getting done.
Nope. Well, nothing school-related anyway.
It is amazing that the house looks so much tidier this week. Meals are on the table this week. The dog gets longer walks this week. And, I discovered that there is a desk next to my computer underneath all of that paperwork. My shoulders are not as sore this week because I did not have schoolwork to lug back and forth to the office. And my husband and I have been able to spend time together before one of us conks out at 2:00 AM.
I admit that I spent some time on the new student login page at the University of Phoenix where I will start my Bachelor program on the 29th. I looked around, played with some of the links and the tools and even checked out my upcoming first course. My first week’s assignment was there for me to see so rather than wait until class starts, I figured I’d take a peek at it.
It was an exercise in what I had been doing already: checking out the student login page. What fun! So, I went ahead and completed the assignment! Class hasn’t even started and I’m ahead of the game. I wonder what else there is in there that I can get done ahead of time!?!
Since I’m going to go on vacation for half of the first class’ duration, maybe getting stuff done ahead of time isn’t such a bad idea.
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I have written about this topic before but recently discovered something very important about it that I wish to share. The Prior Learning Assessment Center, or PLAC, is a great way to accelerate your degree by applying some of what you have learned through other non-accredited means toward college credit. Seminars and classes you have taken through your employer, for example, and even work experience, have value and are quite possibly your ticket to skipping up to 30 credits worth of classes. There is, as I very recently found out, a catch.
One cannot use PLAC (or CLEP) for core classes. This means that if, in your Associate program, on your way to your Bachelor degree, you focus on your general education classes rather than core classes, and do not attempt to CLEP or PLAC during this first half of your degree, then you will be unable to CLEP or PLAC during the second half.
I found this out the hard way.
I only have core classes left in my program. I have 20 3-credit classes scheduled in my coming program…I cannot CLEP or PLAC any of them. The only hope I have to accelerate my degree is to maintain my excellent GPA and demonstrate that I am capable of doubling up my classes. The coming Bachelor program is one five-week class at a time versus the Associate program, which was two nine-week classes at a time. After the first three classes in my Bachelor program, I may be allowed to double up and take two at a time. There is, as always, another catch.
The financial aid program will not pay for the second class in a double-up scenario. The cost of the second class would have to come out of my pocket at the time. That is a big chunk of change. I suppose if I budget wisely, it can be done! My employer will reimburse me up to the cost of nearly two courses per year (and I’ve already exhausted that benefit for 2008), so theoretically I could double up twice in 2009 which would bring my graduation date forward by 10 weeks…from June 2010 to April 2010. If I double up again in January of 2010, I can bring it forward by another 10 weeks to graduate in January 2010—six months earlier than I had originally planned.
Sounds like a plan to me!
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Well it is over. My perfect GPA has slipped. Although I am absolutely thrilled to have earned an A (albeit an A-minus) in my hopefully last algebra class, the ‘minus’ cost me two one-hundredths of a grade point bringing my cumulative GPA to a 3.98. I continue to wait for my final grade in my nutrition class (hopefully it will post soon…the wait is excruciating)…so it remains to be seen if that 3.98 stays.
A 3.98 GPA is an amazing accomplishment. Sure, I would have preferred a 4.00 (who wouldn’t?), but I am still compelled to boast some about how well I did in my Associate program.
I did it. At my age, working fulltime, with a full schedule and a gazillion other obligations, I went back to school and managed to excel in all of my classes while staying relatively sane in the process. My boss and two other coworkers (executive management level) took me to lunch yesterday to celebrate! My husband brought me flowers and cooked me a filet mignon and crab legs dinner (delicious!). My peers and I are celebrating at lunch next week.
A lot of people are proud of me. More importantly, I am proud of myself. I ordered my diploma…I sure hope it arrives soon. I can’t wait to put it up on the wall.
Now, on to my Bachelor degree! My program starts on the 29th of July.
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I get to learn a new way of online learning. For the past 22 months, I have gotten pretty darned good at maneuvering around in the OLS (Online Learning System) at Axia College which administers the Associate Degree programs for the University of Phoenix. Being a classroom addict, I log into my OLS several times a day and check my email at least once per day. I browse the links to student services; review my schedule(s); check my grades; visit my account (don’t know why I do that…it is a bit depressing…that IS a lot of money); and use it as a jumping-off point to get to the online library which, believe it or not, I use for more than just school assignments (it is a very comprehensive resource…why waste it?!).
My daughter is enrolled in her Bachelor program at UoP, and has told me that her online classroom is different from mine. Moreover, the Bachelor program requires a team-learning environment.
Being a bit stubborn and set in my ways (Gasp! No kidding? [be nice]), I have to admit to having a bit of anxiety about working in teams. From what my daughter tells me, team learning is very challenging. There are members of the team who wait until the last minute to prepare their work. There are members who do very little and ride on the tails of the team members who do the most. And, there are team members who are so “A.R.” that regardless of what the other team members do it is not good enough and must be completely redone. Hopefully, I will not be any of those kinds of team member. On the other hand, I do like things my way and am a bit of a perfectionist (c’mon…I said ‘be kind’)….so…
One of the reasons I chose distance learning is so that I could do the work on my own at my own pace. Now, I get to spend the next nearly two years depending on others in my class(es) to complete the work.
I am not looking forward to it.
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