College Satellite Options for Working Adults

Last year I decided to go back to school and actually attempt to do something with my life. I tried college once before, I was taking some radio broadcasting courses, but just didn't really have the time to become a full-time student. That fact caused me to just give up on school for awhile and stick to working my retail jobs, until last summer, that is.

There was an ad in the newspaper for a new school opening up in my area, Cardinal Stritch University. I checked into it a little bit, and found out that Cardinal Stritch University was an actual school out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but they have College of Business satellites in a few areas. These satellite sites are buildings, or campuses, that are in surrounding cities, for those working adults who want to go to back to school, but just don't have the time for a 'regular' college schedule.

Since these college satellites are part of the actual school, they carry the same credentials as the main campus, which is something that you should be very concerned with when deciding what to do. College accreditation is way to measure the quality of the lessons and teaching staff for colleges and universities, and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Why should you care about any of this? Accredited colleges are the only ones that can hand out degrees, as opposed to licenses or permits. This means that the Bachelor's Degree in Business Management I will obtain from my college will, theoretically, help net me a better paying and more respected position.

For those of you that don't think you have time for college, think again. This was one of the biggest factors in my returning to school. Many colleges that have satellite sites, offer some form of a working adult schedule, especially for business type courses. Take my college for example: I go to class one night a week, which lasts four hours. The class starts at 6:00 PM so it doesn't interfere with most work schedules, and if it does, it's fairly easy to get one night off a week. That's it as far as in class time goes. There is much more out of class time and work that goes into these type of college schedules, but that time is flexible since it is up to you to decide when you want to get stuff done.

The way these college satellites are able to cram all the teaching and learning of a full-time, semester-style college schedule is by going year-round. Since each class is anywhere from five to eight weeks long, most being around five, breaks aren't scheduled as long or often as they are in other college styles. For example, getting two weeks at Christmas off, instead of a month or so, is a common scheduled break.

If you are a working adult who is thinking about going back to college, I highly recommend this type of schedule. It is a fast paced schedule, so if you don't do well under pressure or meeting deadlines, maybe this wouldn't be the ultimate choice for you. But if you like the pressure of a business atmosphere, and want to get used to the go-go-go pace, then check out the working adult college courses.