Guest writer

Defying tradition

Head back to school for new life

— The Arkansas Department of Higher Education has put out a call to Arkansans who have tried college, taken some time off, made other choices, perhaps actually failed a class, feel they’re too busy—too old, too broke—to go back to school.

There are a lot out there who fit that category—students who started college right out of high school but somehow life got in the way and that degree took a back seat to other responsibilities.

Many people in Arkansas have some college, but no degree. However, in the global economy in which we operate, a degree is becoming more and more necessary to compete for high-paying jobs.

It’s been shown that a degree can equal up to a million dollars more in earnings over the course of a person’s lifetime.

There’s no better time than the present to come back to school—and you’re not getting any younger.

That’s the message of a new campaign the department has produced—Come Back 2 Go Forward, a lighthearted look at what’s holding people back from going back to college.

Ads direct the public to www. comeback2goforward.com, a onestop website that helps determine the next course of action in going back to school and completing a degree.

The website was created to cater to what we call the nontraditional student, those who are a few years out of high school but still have the potential to be successful in the college arena.

There are obstacles, ranging from time constraints to finances, but there are also ways to overcome those.

There are 33 public four-year universities and two-year colleges in the state, plus 11 private institutions, meaning there’s one within a 30-minute drive of almost all Arkansans.

Don’t want to make the drive? Can’t take time off work during the day? Need some flexibility? More courses and degrees than ever before are offered online through the state’s public colleges and universities.

At the website, people can find resources specific to their situations, from Single Parent Scholarship information to Prior Learning Assessment—a way to get college credit for work experience and other training.

Also among the information available is how to contact registrars at institutions across the state to gather old transcripts. They’ll be useful in figuring out the best coursework to get you where you want to be.

Maybe you were a psychology major a few years ago. That doesn’t mean you can’t end up with a business degree.

For those in a job now that doesn’t fulfill their career desires, going back to school and getting a degree can put them on track for a promotion or a career change.

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Shane Broadway is the interim director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.

Editorial, Pages 17 on 07/28/2012

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