Online College Moms

ANCHOR LEAD IN:
WHEN YOU THINK OF TODAY'S COLLEGE KIDS, DO VISIONS OF 'CO-EDS GONE WILD' DANCE IN YOUR HEAD? YOU'RE A LITTLE BEHIND THE TIMES! MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, MOMS WITH YOUNG KIDS ARE HEADING BACK TO SCHOOL - AND THEY'RE DOING IT ONLINE! IN TODAY'S HEADS UP - CO-EDS GONE 'MILD'....

TRACK ONE Length: :10
THINK YOU KNOW A MOM WHO JUGGLES LOTS OF REPONSIBILITIES? WHEN CARLYN (CAR-lin) BLAKE DECIDED TO GET HER MASTER'S DEGREE, SHE HAD TWO KIDS UNDER FIVE AND A FULL TIME JOB!

SOT:
KEY @: :12 Carlyn Maria Blake, Online College Graduate
"My primary study time was from 9 pm after they were in bed and asleep to about 1 in the morning."

TRACK TWO Length: :11
FOUR YEARS LATER, BLAKE HAD HER DEGREE. ACCORDING TO THE U-S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, THE NUMBER OF PARENTS WITH KIDS UNDER TEN TAKING COLLEGE COURSES OF ALL KINDS IS SKYROCKETING. WHAT'S MORE...

SOT:
KEY @: :31 Frank Mayadas, Program Director, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
"In online programs, the number is more like 70% of the online programs are women."

TRACK THREE Length: :03
WHAT'S GETTING ALL THESE MOMS BACK INTO THE 'VIRTUAL' CLASSROOM?

SOT:
NO KEY (Covered) Frank Mayadas, Program Director, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
"Many, many now women find that their office jobs are not going to take them far enough. For them, this is the perfect way to continue education."

TRACK FOUR Length: :08
FOR BLAKE, WHO'D WORKED FOR THE SAME COMPANY FOR 16 YEARS, SEEING THAT EVERY NEW HIRE HAD A MASTER'S DEGREE WAS A HUGE MOTIVATOR...

SOT:
KEY @: :58 Carlyn Maria Blake, Online College Graduate
"I started to think, I've only got a bachelor's, things are changing so much in the financial services industry that you know, downsizing happens all the time."

TRACK FIVE Length: :05
ORIGINALLY SHE THOUGHT SHE'D GO TO A TRADITIONAL - SOMETIMES CALLED A 'BRICKS AND MORTAR' -- SCHOOL.

SOT:
KEY @: 1:11 Carlyn Maria Blake, Online College Graduate
"I wasn't necessarily thinking online but I knew because I traveled so much for work that I was going to have find something that was going to be flexible."

NATS Length: 02
Nat sting with family playing cards 'I'm out!'

TRACK SIX Length: :08
THOUGH OTHERS TOOK A QUARTER OF THE TIME TO COMPLETE THE SAME MASTER'S PROGRAM, BLAKE PACED HERSELF SO THAT SHE COULD SPEND MORE TIME WITH HER FAMILYAND IMPORTANTLY...

SOT:
NO KEY (Quick!)Carlyn Maria Blake, Online College Graduate
"My career has taken off, it's absolutely taken off."

ANCHOR TAG:
YOU MIGHT THINK THAT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE GOING BACK TO SCHOOL ARE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE CAREER LADDER...BUT THE RESEARCH ACTUALLY SHOWS THAT THE HIGHER YOUR INCOME, THE MORE LIKELY YOU ARE TO BE TAKING A WORK RELATED OR A DEGREE PROGRAM! SO IT REALLY IS LIFELONG

SOURCE INFORMATION:

Frank Mayadas
Program Director, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
212-649-1649
mayadas@sloan.org

Assistant: Ellie 212-649-1634
olazabal@sloan.org

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation works with more than 900 institutions and organizations of higher education engaged in online learning.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND/SOURCE INFORMATION
Adults who had children under the age of 10 in their households were more likely to participate in adult education activities than their counterparts. In 2001, 52 percent of adults with children under 10 in their households participated compared with 44 percent of adults without children under age 10.

Also, higher levels of household income are associated with overall adult education participation, and participation in work-related courses, personal interest courses, and work-related informal learning.
Source: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/quarterly/vol_6/6_4/6_1.asp