Single parents face many challenges that earning a degree can help them to overcome. Earning a degree can open doors to a better financial future, can lead to better career choices, even advance you up the social ladder. Many online schools offer assistance to single parents when it comes to achieving a degree because they recognize the need for single parents to achieve their educational goals and understand the challenges that they may encounter while going back to school.

Earning a degree requires both an investment of money and an investment in time. Both of these are usually strained for single parents these days. Single parents are often working multiple jobs just trying to make ends meet. To help single parents online schools are now offering evening, weekend and online classes to accommodate single parents who desire to earn a degree. The online programs offer the flexibility of taking classes when it fits into the single parent’s schedule. Typically a more traditional college schedule is inflexible because it revolves more around the needs of the school and professors and on availability of classrooms.

A single parent attending a traditional class more than likely will need to have childcare on campus or be able to lineup someone to watch the kids at home. Kids getting sick or the caregiver getting sick can disrupt the ability of the single parent to have a good attendance record. Missed class time means a higher chance of not doing as well in the class. Online classes typically have online seminars, which are recorded for later viewing if the student is unable to attend during the scheduled time. Most of the class work is done online when the student is able to do the work, within certain guidelines.

Many employers offer tuition reimbursement for earned credits; so ask your human resources department if this is the case. Many local organizations offer scholarships and grants for single parents and the U.S. government offers tuition assistance such as Pell Grants for those who qualify.

Your academic advisor can listen to your concerns and help point you towards solutions available right there at the university or college you are attending or they can give you information about programs and services available in your local area, through the government or programs that can be found online that are set up to assist students going back to school. OEDb Online Education Database is one such place that can be found online.

Even if it is challenging, it is possible for single parents to easily earn a degree online. It may take a little research time to discover programs, financial assistance and just the right college or university but getting your degree online is something that is quite possible even for older single parents to accomplish.