Are you a working professional who wants to advance your career in healthcare, business, or technology through continuing education? Here’s how to make an online, competency-based program work for you.
1. Choose a pace that fits your life. With competency-based education, you’re in control. Unlike traditional semester-based programs, you can complete coursework on your own schedule. With competency-based programs, like UW Flexible Option, you can start any month and your progress is based on your ability to show that you have mastered the content, whether that’s through prior coursework or job experience. What you know instead of how much time you spend learning is key.
2. Know that you can take breaks. With UW Flexible Option, you complete coursework during a ‘subscription period’ instead of a traditional semester. For all of our credit-bearing programs, a subscription period is 12 weeks long. Subscription periods start every month so you can get started when it works for you. That said, you can also take breaks when needed. Our students have taken breaks between subscription periods when they need flexibility to get married, buy homes, have children, change jobs, or other life events.
3. Create a visual plan to help you meet your goals. Whether you prefer a digital tool, like a simple spreadsheet, or a hand-written planner, mapping out what you need to accomplish in terms of assignments or projects can prevent you from becoming overwhelmed.
Addee Badwha recently completed the UW-Milwaukee Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Imaging through UW Flexible Option while working in a catheterization lab as a tech. During her last subscription period, Addee completed six courses while working full-time. To keep herself on track, Addee created a visual plan to ensure she was using her time efficiently.“I’ve always been very good at organizing and planning things,” she said. “So I took all of my classes and my assignments, and I put them in a spreadsheet. And I kind of thought, ‘OK, this week I’m going to do these three. This week, I’m going to do these three, and then work to get everything done that I need to.’ It is very hard, but I work very well with finishing assignments. If I have my goals, I will complete them at that time.”
4. Lean on your supporters. At UW Flexible Option, students are assigned Success Coaches. From your first day in the program, your coach is your point of contact—the person whose sole purpose is to guide, support, and encourage you along your journey. Success Coaches understand your needs as an adult learner, and they will:
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- Welcome you into your UW Flexible Option program and explain how it works
- Help you develop an Academic Plan of Study so you know what it takes to earn your degree
- Answer questions, offer advice, and check in periodically to see how you are doing
- Help you set priorities among work, family, and kids
- Connect you with the resources you need to succeed.
For Addee, connecting with her Success Coach, Sara Thor, made a huge difference in her education. “Sara was very good at organizing everything and keeping me updated,” she says. “If I had questions or concerns, I could go to her. Right before I decided to take six classes, I said, ‘I don’t know if I can do all of this.’ And she said, ‘If anything goes wrong, just reach out to your instructors and talk to them.’”
5. If you feel overwhelmed, don’t be afraid to start out slow. Jordan Smoldt, a recent graduate of the UW-Milwaukee RN-to-BSN program, offered some advice from her experience completing the nursing capstone project: “Try to break the project up into smaller pieces and work little by little at it. This is a large project which can be overwhelming when you look through the requirements…the hardest part is starting! Once you start working on the project, it really all falls into place. Also, do not be afraid to reach out to your capstone professor with any questions or concerns! They want to help you and see you succeed.”
And, give yourself some grace.
“Trying to juggle school with work is difficult because let’s be honest, being a nurse is mentally, emotionally, and physically challenging. I spent a majority of my days off working on school work which allowed me to have more of a mental break on the days I did work. I feel like that helped me keep my stress levels down. I recommend getting out of the house and doing some computer work at a coffee shop or bakery–food and good vibes made working on school work much more enjoyable!”
Are you interested in furthering your education through a competency-based online educational program? Contact an Enrollment Adviser to assess your unique situation and help you decide if the UW Flexible Option is the right fit for your life. Email us at flex@uwex.wisconsin.edu or call 608-800-6762 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT.