The SNU Adult Education Blog

Your peers will one day be your professional network. They might help you get a job, partner with you to start a business, or connect you to new workplace opportunities. Getting to know them while in school allows you to begin networking well before you graduate. But these cohort relationships aren’t just instrumental. The people you attend school with understand the challenges of balancing work, life, and school. They may share your anxieties about returning to school and graduating. Lasting relationships with this group offers support, employment opportunities, and a chance to commiserate when the going gets rough. 

The right routine can make your life feel like a well-oiled machine, even if you’re struggling to extract the most time from each day. But when the kids are home from school, even the best family routine can fall into total disarray. Time management for students must include a contingency plan for sick days, unexpected breaks, and any other time when your usual schedule just isn’t going to work. Here are some strategies to preserve your sanity and your study time while your kids are home with you full-time. 

Your education is the fastest path to achieving the life you want. This can be tough to remember when your kids are bouncing off the walls and you want to spend time with them. Remaining focused on your work gets you closer to your goals and a better life for your kids. If you feel like studying tips rarely consider the distractions parents face, you’re not alone. 

Think back to elementary school, high school, or even your prior college experiences. You might not be able to remember much about the daily lessons, or even recall the names of all your teachers. But you almost certainly remember the friends you made. Friendships make life worthwhile. They make digging into challenging material feel easier. And they give you an incentive to keep going when you encounter one of life’s seemingly endless difficulties. Your classmates are important in your online degree program too. Not only can they serve as cheerleaders and empathetic ears, but they will also one day become your professional network. Networking begins long before you graduate, so get to know the people who will one day become your colleagues.  They may help you find a job, hire you, get you a speaking gig, or keep you abreast of critical industry shifts. 

An exceptional education can prepare you for a great career, and even arm you with skills you’ll use in your family or personal life. School prepares you for the real world, but it’s also a unique universe all its own. The right mindset is a key ingredient in the recipe for student success. If you want to thrive when you return to school, you must be prepared to tackle your classes head-on, even if you’re juggling numerous other responsibilities. 

The dawn of a new decade presents the ideal opportunity to take stock of where you’ve been and where you’re going. You spend much of your life at work, so your job is a good place to begin your assessment. If you’re seeking an opportunity to increase your salary, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a sound investment. A Wall Street Journal survey found that 75 percent of MBA graduates switch careers, and that doing so can double their salary. An MBA sets you apart from an increasingly crowded and competitive applicant pool. There’s no real limit on what you can do with an MBA, because this specialized training can open doors in just about every field. 

As healthcare spending increases and more baby boomers age into retirement, there are a wealth of healthcare positions available. Professionals with a desire to serve others, make a difference in the world, and put their skills to use in the healthcare field have virtually unlimited opportunities to grow their careers and work into leadership roles.

Whether you lead a team in retail, a small business or a large firm, strong managerial skills are vital. Being a good manager can mean increased employee retention, less stress in the workplace, and even better customer experience.  Both first-time managers and those who have been at it for a long time can work to improve their skills and how they interact with those working under them.

About 5 percent of current college students are veterans. If you’re considering joining their ranks, you should know that the right college for veterans can shape a brighter, more meaningful future and permanently increase your earning potential. Yet many veterans find the transition to college daunting and worry that they will be poorly equipped for higher learning. You may be recovering from physical injuries and psychological trauma, or feel adrift without the military giving shape and purpose to your life. Perhaps you worry that you won’t understand other students, or they won’t understand you. 

Going back to school for your degree can be an amazing investment in your future and help you develop professionally. Many students in Northeast Oklahoma choose SNU-Tulsa as the location to earn their degree, and successfully graduate, even when other options haven't been successful in the past. Here are some ways that SNU-Tulsa helps students succeed on their path to graduation.