Regardless of your background, you have a substantial range of opportunities to enhance your academic experience: even without a traditional campus.
First, let’s take a look at the benefits of being a non-traditional online student.Flexibility
This will forever be my favorite facet of my CSU Global education. I’ll explain why: I work full-time, I’m a mom, I'm a military spouse, and I run my own business. I also wanted to continue my education, but I lacked the set blocks of time required by traditional brick-and-mortar schools within commuting distance. As an online student, I can study on my schedule. I have the freedom I need to accommodate my work schedule, my family life, and my coursework (with proper time management). Many of the students I’ve spoken with share similar stories of juggling life, responsibilities, and the desire to earn their degree. The flexibility of your CSU Global degree program will help you succeed in this endeavor. You get to shift your program to fit your life as it is now, not the other way around. While you do have assignment deadlines, you have a great deal of freedom on how you work through your lectures, reading, and assignments. You have the option to work ahead on your studies through the weekend, or spread it out across the week. You can tailor your schedule to work for you!"Instant" Real-Life Application
A recent study shows that a majority of employers place high value on an employee’s ability to apply academic learning in real-world settings. For those of you who currently work in a field related to your degree, this gives you an excellent advantage! You have the enviable opportunity to take the initiative and talk to your employer about your academic goals. You don’t have to go and seek out new ways to use your degree, because you have the perfect set of opportunities right where you are! As you progress through your degree program, find new ways to use what you are learning in your day-to-day operations. If you are learning something that is outside of your job description, even better! This is your opportunity to show your employer how much you are growing professionally and increase your value to the company; no interview jitters necessary!If you are looking to move from your current career, or if you’re starting out completely from scratch, look for volunteer positions or internships to complement your degree.
The flexibility of your online program at CSU Global will help you schedule your education around your life, leaving room for professional development. We’ll discuss various methods of finding these applied learning opportunities in Part 3 of this series.