Is having a full-time job while attending college a good thing?
January 23, 2011 1:17 AM Subscribe
Hired in 2 years ago as part-time help, promoted to key-holder, and now offered to opportunity to go higher up. Is a job promotion and the increased pay that comes with it worth delaying the amount of time it takes to complete post-secondary education? Really making money and going to school, are they compatible/desirable? How would taking a salaried job affect financial aid available to me?
Background: US citizen, ~24, high school grad, clean record, no kids, little debt, no mortgage.
I had started working for a corporate retailer for 2 years ago in an entry-level position as I was attending college. Within the last year I've been promoted to the key-holder and assistant manager positions and recognized in person for my work from my Store, Regional and District managers. As far as my current store manager is concerned, I could go as high as I wanted in the company, the next step being promoted to Store Manager within another year.
This progression sounds logical, and money-wise I would be better off (twice as much pay, maybe). It is a salaried position- my hours would go up from 40 or less per week to 45 per week minimum. The independence and autonomy that would benefit my personal life from this promotion would be great!
However, I'm really concerned about being stuck here doing retail in this small town, and even more concerned about my barely starting college and how accepting this promotion could affect my career- college and professional. I've barely started college and still don't know what I'm capable of intellectually or personally, and that bugs me. If I were to take the promotion, my time would be less flexible, and the responsibilities of school would be that much harder to fit in.
You are not my career or academic advisor, but I could use a reality check from anybody. Is a job promotion and the increased pay that comes with it worth delaying the amount of time it takes to complete post-secondary education? Really making money and going to school, are they compatible/desirable? How would taking a salaried job affect financial aid available to me?
Background: US citizen, ~24, high school grad, clean record, no kids, little debt, no mortgage.
I had started working for a corporate retailer for 2 years ago in an entry-level position as I was attending college. Within the last year I've been promoted to the key-holder and assistant manager positions and recognized in person for my work from my Store, Regional and District managers. As far as my current store manager is concerned, I could go as high as I wanted in the company, the next step being promoted to Store Manager within another year.
This progression sounds logical, and money-wise I would be better off (twice as much pay, maybe). It is a salaried position- my hours would go up from 40 or less per week to 45 per week minimum. The independence and autonomy that would benefit my personal life from this promotion would be great!
However, I'm really concerned about being stuck here doing retail in this small town, and even more concerned about my barely starting college and how accepting this promotion could affect my career- college and professional. I've barely started college and still don't know what I'm capable of intellectually or personally, and that bugs me. If I were to take the promotion, my time would be less flexible, and the responsibilities of school would be that much harder to fit in.
You are not my career or academic advisor, but I could use a reality check from anybody. Is a job promotion and the increased pay that comes with it worth delaying the amount of time it takes to complete post-secondary education? Really making money and going to school, are they compatible/desirable? How would taking a salaried job affect financial aid available to me?
Do you have an idea of what you want to major in college? Can you check to see what the job prospects are in those fields? If they don't look good, I'd hang on to what you were doing right now and fit in whatever amount of classes I could do sanely. I would also think that being able to put that you were a manager on your resume would give you that much more of an edge on your peers for future job prospects.
Does your workplace offer financial assistance for you if you took classes?
posted by Seboshin at 3:50 AM on January 23, 2011
Does your workplace offer financial assistance for you if you took classes?
posted by Seboshin at 3:50 AM on January 23, 2011
Many large corporations offer employees money for school, you could continue working for the company and go to night school. The potential loss in financial aid might be made up by classes paid for by the company.
You should ask what programs the company has available to employees that want to go to college.
posted by j03 at 5:40 AM on January 23, 2011
You should ask what programs the company has available to employees that want to go to college.
posted by j03 at 5:40 AM on January 23, 2011
However, I'm really concerned about being stuck here doing retail in this small town
That's where you're heading, unless you can find a way to keep up with your studies.
Hate to burst your bubble, but retail and restaurant management is notorious for turning someone with aptitude into a manager. Requirements include showing up on time consistently, appearing to be honest, and having a pulse. Since this appears to exclude 80% of the people who work in retail, congratulations, you show promise and we'd like to talk to you...
Management jobs in these fields consistently require MANY more hours, MUCH more stress, and can trap you into a cycle where you don't have the energy to look for another job, much less keep up with college.
I'd talk to some existing store managers in your company, perhaps outside your chain of command, because many of them probably are eager for you to come on board, so that they can get a weekend off once a month. Until THEY quit, that is... perhaps visit a store up or down the road?
I'd also talk to your managers and ask what are the expected hours. You said 45 hour MINIMUM. What is the MAXIMUM? How would you have independence and autonomy? Would it give you better flexibility as to hours, or would you be more responsible to keep the store open no matter what, therefore more at the mercy of someone failing to show up for his shift, therefore obliged to cancel other obligations (like class) and go to work.
posted by randomkeystrike at 5:46 AM on January 23, 2011 [3 favorites]
That's where you're heading, unless you can find a way to keep up with your studies.
Hate to burst your bubble, but retail and restaurant management is notorious for turning someone with aptitude into a manager. Requirements include showing up on time consistently, appearing to be honest, and having a pulse. Since this appears to exclude 80% of the people who work in retail, congratulations, you show promise and we'd like to talk to you...
Management jobs in these fields consistently require MANY more hours, MUCH more stress, and can trap you into a cycle where you don't have the energy to look for another job, much less keep up with college.
I'd talk to some existing store managers in your company, perhaps outside your chain of command, because many of them probably are eager for you to come on board, so that they can get a weekend off once a month. Until THEY quit, that is... perhaps visit a store up or down the road?
I'd also talk to your managers and ask what are the expected hours. You said 45 hour MINIMUM. What is the MAXIMUM? How would you have independence and autonomy? Would it give you better flexibility as to hours, or would you be more responsible to keep the store open no matter what, therefore more at the mercy of someone failing to show up for his shift, therefore obliged to cancel other obligations (like class) and go to work.
posted by randomkeystrike at 5:46 AM on January 23, 2011 [3 favorites]
I worked full time while going to school full time, getting through university in the US. It is possible. It *definitely* takes planning. I switched to the evening degree program at my university; if you know what you want to study, check and see if that's an option. So I worked 6:00am-2:30pm, hopped the bus to campus (was working in the suburbs and studying in the city), went to school from 4:00ish until 9:00ish with a dinner break.
So it is possible. I don't recommend it. I'm pretty sure it took a toll on my health. It definitely took a toll on things like social development; I more or less missed all of that stuff through my mid-20s, because I just didn't have time.
My point in all this: there's more to think about here than just the financial side of things. The social costs are huge; the health costs are probably there; and, as you note, financial aid will be affected.
My suggestion: figure out your priorities now. Is it school? Is it money? Is it getting out of there? Then maybe give it a try and see how it goes--but if you have your priorities firmly established in your head, you know what decisions to make if it doesn't work out.
Good luck!
posted by criacow at 6:03 AM on January 23, 2011
So it is possible. I don't recommend it. I'm pretty sure it took a toll on my health. It definitely took a toll on things like social development; I more or less missed all of that stuff through my mid-20s, because I just didn't have time.
My point in all this: there's more to think about here than just the financial side of things. The social costs are huge; the health costs are probably there; and, as you note, financial aid will be affected.
My suggestion: figure out your priorities now. Is it school? Is it money? Is it getting out of there? Then maybe give it a try and see how it goes--but if you have your priorities firmly established in your head, you know what decisions to make if it doesn't work out.
Good luck!
posted by criacow at 6:03 AM on January 23, 2011
FWIW, I got my MBA (from State U, going in person to every class - not online) while working full time. I also got married, bought a house, and my wife was 7 months pregnant when I finished school. So it can be done. It's definitely going to be easier as a young single person though.
Given how crappy the economy is, I don't see any harm in slowing down the school work to take the promotion. It's not like your job prospects are that awesome in the immediate future with a degree anyway. The management experience will be helpful when you are looking for real job at graduation. The ability to hold done a retail management job and school will be impressive to employers. It shows commitment, time management skills, etc.
They apparently like you. That gives you some negotiating leverage. I would make sure it was clear to your employer that school is very important to you. In theory, employees trying to better themselves should be important to the company. In reality, quarterly profits are all they really care about. Have a talk with the regional manager or whoever you will be working for. Make sure they understand that you are willing to lighten up the class load to take the job, but if the job gets so crazy that it makes it impossible to keep up with even a part time class load, you are going to want to drop back to a common retail employee. And get it in writing from them that they will let you do that if needed.
Financial aid is proportional to your income - so getting a raise can reduce the available aid. That is not a bad thing. The less debt you graduate with, the better. It took me 10 years to pay off my student loans, and I'm old. College costs were still sort of reasonable when I was in school.
posted by COD at 6:10 AM on January 23, 2011
Given how crappy the economy is, I don't see any harm in slowing down the school work to take the promotion. It's not like your job prospects are that awesome in the immediate future with a degree anyway. The management experience will be helpful when you are looking for real job at graduation. The ability to hold done a retail management job and school will be impressive to employers. It shows commitment, time management skills, etc.
They apparently like you. That gives you some negotiating leverage. I would make sure it was clear to your employer that school is very important to you. In theory, employees trying to better themselves should be important to the company. In reality, quarterly profits are all they really care about. Have a talk with the regional manager or whoever you will be working for. Make sure they understand that you are willing to lighten up the class load to take the job, but if the job gets so crazy that it makes it impossible to keep up with even a part time class load, you are going to want to drop back to a common retail employee. And get it in writing from them that they will let you do that if needed.
Financial aid is proportional to your income - so getting a raise can reduce the available aid. That is not a bad thing. The less debt you graduate with, the better. It took me 10 years to pay off my student loans, and I'm old. College costs were still sort of reasonable when I was in school.
posted by COD at 6:10 AM on January 23, 2011
Best answer: I teach at a community college. In fact, my semester starts today -- we have weekend classes for working people!
About half of my students are right out of high school and doing a 2+2 program (2 years at CC, then transferring to a state U). About half of my students are working adults fitting classes around full-time work and often around kids as well (also typically looking at 2+2, but in a more non-traditional fashion). I have an ASTOUNDING number of students who manage a full load of classes, a full-time job, AND parenting. It can definitely be done.
First, this is a "corporate" retail chain -- national? Do they have programs to bring people into corporate management from the stores? Do they have a history of promoting from inside the ranks? Do they do internal training to bring people up the chain? If yes, find out some more about these programs, and I think you're much less likely to be "stuck" in your small town or as a retail manager for life (the current CEO of McDonalds actually came up through a store manager trainee program ... and never went to college, for that matter; he did a stint in the Navy instead). If it's a regional or local chain, you may have far fewer options. And if it's a chain that doesn't promote people up the ranks but freezes them at store management, there's not a lot of places to go.
Second, I would carefully look over Gen Ed requirements and transfer policies for your flagship state university (because whatever the flagship takes, the directional state universities will probably take, and many "elite" colleges will also accept), and begin knocking those off, a class or two at a time, at your local community college. Many students actually feel they get higher-quality freshman classes, in particular, at a CC -- the classes are smaller, the teachers are specialized in teaching (not research) and in teaching intro-level classes. You're going to have to knock off some distribution requirements anyway -- some of which will interest you, some of which won't -- so you might as well do it cheaply at the CC. That may help you get some idea of what interests you. Maybe you knock off two full years of credits while working full-time and saving money and can enroll at the state U as a junior and be done in two years. Maybe you do a year and are ready to go to school full time and be done with retail. Or maybe you do three or four classes and say, "meh, this isn't the time" ... or you say "MUST ENROLL AS RESIDENTIAL STUDENT AT TONY LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE NOW."
Anyway, start knocking off some credits now. It'll give you some traction towards your dream of college, reduce the financial blow when (if) you are ever ready to go full-time, and give you a chance to find out what interests and excites you without spending a ton of money.
At the CC where I teach, incidentally, it is possible to knock off your 2-year diploma in 5-6 semesters, instead of 4, by taking ONLY weekend classes or ONLY night classes. If you take summer semester classes, that's still just two years. And we have ever-increasing online offerings, which are obviously super-flexible for students with changeable job hours.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:47 AM on January 23, 2011
About half of my students are right out of high school and doing a 2+2 program (2 years at CC, then transferring to a state U). About half of my students are working adults fitting classes around full-time work and often around kids as well (also typically looking at 2+2, but in a more non-traditional fashion). I have an ASTOUNDING number of students who manage a full load of classes, a full-time job, AND parenting. It can definitely be done.
First, this is a "corporate" retail chain -- national? Do they have programs to bring people into corporate management from the stores? Do they have a history of promoting from inside the ranks? Do they do internal training to bring people up the chain? If yes, find out some more about these programs, and I think you're much less likely to be "stuck" in your small town or as a retail manager for life (the current CEO of McDonalds actually came up through a store manager trainee program ... and never went to college, for that matter; he did a stint in the Navy instead). If it's a regional or local chain, you may have far fewer options. And if it's a chain that doesn't promote people up the ranks but freezes them at store management, there's not a lot of places to go.
Second, I would carefully look over Gen Ed requirements and transfer policies for your flagship state university (because whatever the flagship takes, the directional state universities will probably take, and many "elite" colleges will also accept), and begin knocking those off, a class or two at a time, at your local community college. Many students actually feel they get higher-quality freshman classes, in particular, at a CC -- the classes are smaller, the teachers are specialized in teaching (not research) and in teaching intro-level classes. You're going to have to knock off some distribution requirements anyway -- some of which will interest you, some of which won't -- so you might as well do it cheaply at the CC. That may help you get some idea of what interests you. Maybe you knock off two full years of credits while working full-time and saving money and can enroll at the state U as a junior and be done in two years. Maybe you do a year and are ready to go to school full time and be done with retail. Or maybe you do three or four classes and say, "meh, this isn't the time" ... or you say "MUST ENROLL AS RESIDENTIAL STUDENT AT TONY LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE NOW."
Anyway, start knocking off some credits now. It'll give you some traction towards your dream of college, reduce the financial blow when (if) you are ever ready to go full-time, and give you a chance to find out what interests and excites you without spending a ton of money.
At the CC where I teach, incidentally, it is possible to knock off your 2-year diploma in 5-6 semesters, instead of 4, by taking ONLY weekend classes or ONLY night classes. If you take summer semester classes, that's still just two years. And we have ever-increasing online offerings, which are obviously super-flexible for students with changeable job hours.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:47 AM on January 23, 2011
Best answer: It doesn't seem like the answers above are taking into consideration your previous question you linked.
I think you should DEFINITELY take the job. It will 100% lead you towards familial independence, and it is absolutely possible for you to finish your education while working full-time, even if it takes a little longer. But wouldn't you be happier knowing you were independent and doing it on your own than continuing to live under the thumb of your controlling mother?
posted by Brittanie at 8:35 AM on January 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think you should DEFINITELY take the job. It will 100% lead you towards familial independence, and it is absolutely possible for you to finish your education while working full-time, even if it takes a little longer. But wouldn't you be happier knowing you were independent and doing it on your own than continuing to live under the thumb of your controlling mother?
posted by Brittanie at 8:35 AM on January 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
Additionally, your employer might offer programs to help you finish school. This is worth looking into, as are the questions Eyebrows McGee asks about your employer.
posted by Brittanie at 8:36 AM on January 23, 2011
posted by Brittanie at 8:36 AM on January 23, 2011
If they promise you "flexibility" or "scheduling around classwork", I'd get it in writing.
posted by amtho at 8:47 AM on January 23, 2011
posted by amtho at 8:47 AM on January 23, 2011
Take the promotion and really explore all education options available to you locally. Like others have said there will be numerous things you can do even with this job. But, given your previous question, I think the benefits you would gain from the job in terms of liberating yourself are considerable. After all the actual manager promotion with the significantly increased time commitment would not be for a while per your question. Try to save some of this payrise though and build a little cushion for you. Savings will give you freedom to walk away from the more committed job should the need arise.
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:58 AM on January 23, 2011
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:58 AM on January 23, 2011
I worked over 45 hours a week at night and the weekends while getting my undergraduate degree. Many times I was forced to choose between the two and work usually won, unfortunately. To keep this short, I would say that it can be done, but there is no way I would ever do it again unless I absolutely had to.
posted by Silvertree at 9:20 AM on January 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Silvertree at 9:20 AM on January 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
What are your school plans? Get some degree and try to find a job? Or do you have specific career goals?
If you don't have specific goals, definitely keep the job and work on college part time.
Now, this depends on the organization you work for and to a great degree what size the stores are, but retail can be great for college people because the hours are more-or-less flexible.
When I was a fast food manager, my schedule could fall anywhere between 5am-1pm, all the way to 3pm- midnight. There were 10 other managers who filled the other shifts, and 5-20 crew people to do the working. You can fit a lot of schooling in there.
OTOH, when I was a retail manager in a strip mall kind of place, it was a little more difficult. I basically had to be there all day- the store was only open from 10-8. Five days a week EASILY turned into 6 or 7, because there was only one other manager. And 0-3 other employees working. I made a lot more money, but it sucked the life out of me.
(Note: get promises in writing, and hold them to their promises. 10% of my day at the second place was arguing with the owner about him trying to stiff me on something he promised. Especially when it comes to staffing issues- if someone leaves and you pick up the slack, don't let it stay that way for long, or you will never get it back.)
(Note2: I'm now a quasi-professional. I would be making more money and likely have a really cool job if I had stayed with the first place. If yours is a big organization, there is tons of room for growth, and experience in retail management is very valuable. If not on paper, in job performance and work-ethic.)
On the other, other hand, you could work toward getting promoted out of the store and into some kind of supervisory position, where your time commitments aren't so heavy, and return to school for your degree then.
posted by gjc at 9:29 AM on January 23, 2011
If you don't have specific goals, definitely keep the job and work on college part time.
Now, this depends on the organization you work for and to a great degree what size the stores are, but retail can be great for college people because the hours are more-or-less flexible.
When I was a fast food manager, my schedule could fall anywhere between 5am-1pm, all the way to 3pm- midnight. There were 10 other managers who filled the other shifts, and 5-20 crew people to do the working. You can fit a lot of schooling in there.
OTOH, when I was a retail manager in a strip mall kind of place, it was a little more difficult. I basically had to be there all day- the store was only open from 10-8. Five days a week EASILY turned into 6 or 7, because there was only one other manager. And 0-3 other employees working. I made a lot more money, but it sucked the life out of me.
(Note: get promises in writing, and hold them to their promises. 10% of my day at the second place was arguing with the owner about him trying to stiff me on something he promised. Especially when it comes to staffing issues- if someone leaves and you pick up the slack, don't let it stay that way for long, or you will never get it back.)
(Note2: I'm now a quasi-professional. I would be making more money and likely have a really cool job if I had stayed with the first place. If yours is a big organization, there is tons of room for growth, and experience in retail management is very valuable. If not on paper, in job performance and work-ethic.)
On the other, other hand, you could work toward getting promoted out of the store and into some kind of supervisory position, where your time commitments aren't so heavy, and return to school for your degree then.
posted by gjc at 9:29 AM on January 23, 2011
A secondary degree should be goal orientated. If you finish the degree, will you make more money?
Do not continue to spend thousands of dollars on a degree just because you think you should finish it - a degree is an investment, it is only as good as the financial outcome it creates.
Is this the job you are trying to get by completing the degree? If you can get the job, and remain stable in the field (meaning if you had to search for another job, you could get something comparable), without the degree - then you you don't need the degree.
posted by Flood at 10:04 AM on January 23, 2011
Do not continue to spend thousands of dollars on a degree just because you think you should finish it - a degree is an investment, it is only as good as the financial outcome it creates.
Is this the job you are trying to get by completing the degree? If you can get the job, and remain stable in the field (meaning if you had to search for another job, you could get something comparable), without the degree - then you you don't need the degree.
posted by Flood at 10:04 AM on January 23, 2011
Best answer: It's not easy, but you can do it. Your level of progress at work suggests that you have plenty of motivation. College offers a social life, a network of contacts that you may (or may not) keep for a long time, the degree and the education itself. Salaried work offers salary, health care and on-the-job training. Use some of the increase in pay to save and/or to pay off college debt. Your company obviously likes you. Tell them you are going to continue your education, and want the company's support. Long-term, the degree and education are very valuable, but in this economy, I'd take the promotion.
posted by theora55 at 10:49 AM on January 23, 2011
posted by theora55 at 10:49 AM on January 23, 2011
Response by poster: Thank you for all the replies! I can see there is much for me to look into and take action on.
This is a Fortune 500 company with a strong presence in its market, nationally and abroad. I will make sure to ask about educational benefits they could provide, but staying in the run up the corporate ladder isn't my aspiration. Making enough money to support myself through college and beyond is, and I want to make sure my scope isn't too narrow and miss the big picture.
My chosen major is biology, and has little to do with my current job. However, I have only 9 credit hours completed through the community college and haven't experienced enough to know if biology is something I want to follow through to a career, yet. College seems like one ideal environment to experiment with that.
As far as scheduling would go, 45 per week is the minimum requested for the position, but I have seen my store manager work 55-65 hours a week often, especially during the holidays. We operate with small teams per store: the SM, 2 key-holders, and 2 or 3 regular part-timers. I do know there is a lot of stress and work involved with the position, but it's something I've been observing for 2 years so it wont be entirely foreign to me.
Your answers are a wealth of information, any further insight is still appreciated!
posted by Giggilituffin at 12:41 PM on January 23, 2011
This is a Fortune 500 company with a strong presence in its market, nationally and abroad. I will make sure to ask about educational benefits they could provide, but staying in the run up the corporate ladder isn't my aspiration. Making enough money to support myself through college and beyond is, and I want to make sure my scope isn't too narrow and miss the big picture.
My chosen major is biology, and has little to do with my current job. However, I have only 9 credit hours completed through the community college and haven't experienced enough to know if biology is something I want to follow through to a career, yet. College seems like one ideal environment to experiment with that.
As far as scheduling would go, 45 per week is the minimum requested for the position, but I have seen my store manager work 55-65 hours a week often, especially during the holidays. We operate with small teams per store: the SM, 2 key-holders, and 2 or 3 regular part-timers. I do know there is a lot of stress and work involved with the position, but it's something I've been observing for 2 years so it wont be entirely foreign to me.
Your answers are a wealth of information, any further insight is still appreciated!
posted by Giggilituffin at 12:41 PM on January 23, 2011
Best answer: "As far as scheduling would go, 45 per week is the minimum requested for the position, but I have seen my store manager work 55-65 hours a week often, especially during the holidays."
Another thing you can look at is, at my CC we have classes that run the first 8 weeks of the semester; the 2nd 8 weeks of the semester; we have summer classes; we have "minimesters" (week or two-week intensives, like 8 hours a day). You could try something like taking two first-8-week classes during the fall semester, so you'd be done before the holidays start; maybe they'd give you a little more flexibility in September and October so you could be completely available in November/December. You could combine two first-8-weeks classes with a semester-long online class. You might want to aim to take your lab classes in the spring when you can spread them out 16 weeks more comfortably. Etc. You can definitely "massage" your schedule so you have little schoolwork during the holidays, while still getting your classes in.
You can ask other students, advisers, even your professor, about these more "compressed" classes and what works well in that format. For example, I think the World Religions class I teach works fine as a compressed class, though the reading load is a bit intense. It's mostly factual and the reading isn't heavy, and there isn't a ton of writing. However, I think Intro Philosophy as a compressed class is difficult; the reading is much harder to digest, there's a lot of writing, and I feel like students don't get as much time to mull the material over. (I'm teaching it both as a 16-week class this semester and as an 8-week class this semester, so I'll get a good comparison!) I also have opinions on which classes work well online and which don't. Don't ask professors whether students can succeed in that format -- students CAN succeed in any format -- but ask whether they think students get more, personally, out of a particular format.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:52 PM on January 23, 2011
Another thing you can look at is, at my CC we have classes that run the first 8 weeks of the semester; the 2nd 8 weeks of the semester; we have summer classes; we have "minimesters" (week or two-week intensives, like 8 hours a day). You could try something like taking two first-8-week classes during the fall semester, so you'd be done before the holidays start; maybe they'd give you a little more flexibility in September and October so you could be completely available in November/December. You could combine two first-8-weeks classes with a semester-long online class. You might want to aim to take your lab classes in the spring when you can spread them out 16 weeks more comfortably. Etc. You can definitely "massage" your schedule so you have little schoolwork during the holidays, while still getting your classes in.
You can ask other students, advisers, even your professor, about these more "compressed" classes and what works well in that format. For example, I think the World Religions class I teach works fine as a compressed class, though the reading load is a bit intense. It's mostly factual and the reading isn't heavy, and there isn't a ton of writing. However, I think Intro Philosophy as a compressed class is difficult; the reading is much harder to digest, there's a lot of writing, and I feel like students don't get as much time to mull the material over. (I'm teaching it both as a 16-week class this semester and as an 8-week class this semester, so I'll get a good comparison!) I also have opinions on which classes work well online and which don't. Don't ask professors whether students can succeed in that format -- students CAN succeed in any format -- but ask whether they think students get more, personally, out of a particular format.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:52 PM on January 23, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by k8t at 3:33 AM on January 23, 2011