One out of three student moms feel their colleges do not currently offer enough scheduling flexibility, according to a survey sponsored by the online-based Ivy Bridge College of Tiffin University.
Nearly 80 percent of the mothers surveyed cited flexible scheduling as the top variable to the success of their college education. The survey asked 500 student mothers questions relating to their college education experience.
The most flexible scheduling available for students today is offered by online degree programs. Taking courses online gives student moms the opportunity to pursue their educational goals with schedules that are flexible enough to accommodate all of their responsibilities outside of school.
Online students can access their courses whenever they want at any location via the Internet. And scheduling flexibility is especially important to students who have both children and jobs. More than half of the mothers in the survey said they work at least 30 hours per week in addition to their parenting duties.
Online classes are allowing more mothers to take advantage of educational opportunities than ever before. According to a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Data by the Pew Research Center, 66 percent of mothers with infant children had at least some college education in 2011. Mothers who have at least a high school diploma are eligible to further their education with college classes.
Pew discovered that the number of young mothers with less than a high school diploma went down 17 percent from 2008 to 2011. This significant improvement means that a lot more young mothers can take advantage of online degree programs that offer flexible scheduling.
Although scheduling was clearly the most important concern of student mothers in the university-sponsored survey, another concern was a lack of academic advising and career services. Eighteen percent of the student moms said that improvements in these services would also be an important factor for their success in college.
In the survey, 52 percent of the student moms said they have trouble meeting other student parents. One out of four voiced their desire to form online communities to help them connect with other moms enrolled in college. Jennifer Ruggiero, a career counselor at Ivy Bridge College, an online school where moms make up half of the student body, says that her school recently started an online community for student moms. “They post weekly study tips, ask questions, and share common interests,” she said in the survey.
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