It was the culmination of multiple learning modes that got Lucinda Allen to the point of finally earning her baccalaureate degree from RIT.

During her final senior quarter, Allen, who can be considered an adult learner at 44 years of age, took two classes in the traditional on-campus mode at RIT, one independent study guide course from the University of Iowa and one online asynchronous course from RIT’s Online Learning Program.

"I’ve tried all modes of education," says Allen, who earned her associate’s degree in computer science in 1984 from Tompkins-Cortland Community College (TCCC), located near Ithaca, NY, where Allen currently lives. She adds, however, that RIT’s online asynchronous (anytime, anyplace) education program was what really gave her the flexibility to finally earn her bachelor’s degree eighteen years later.

"I thought I would earn my bachelor’s degree part time (after graduating from TCCC in 1984), but I was single parenting and my career was progressing to the level of director," she says. The load of both responsibilities coupled with part-time evening higher education as her only option (in the mid 1980s) made it impossible for her to move forward with her educational goals at that time in her life.

When she learned about online higher education in the late 90s, Allen says "it really made sense; it really gave me the focus and opportunity to finish. I knew I had the technical aptitude (from her education and 17 years of management-level job experience, working for New York State Electric and Gas and other Central New York employers), but I had to go back and upgrade my skills. RIT was attractive because they had the distance learning programs along with the technical clout." So, in 1998, Allen enrolled through RIT’s Center for Multidisciplinary Studies (CMS) program and began to tailor a customizable degree path around her career goals.

"The beauty of the (CMS) program is that if you are an individual who knows what makes sense for your future career goals, you can build a program around that," Allen says. "You take ownership of what your degree program is and why it should be what it is. That’s really the key. It’s a beautiful program."

Allen chose a degree emphasis in business management and a liberal arts concentration in psychology. She also earned a certificate in e-business along the way. "I purposely went after psychology because I think it is so critical to management," she says.

Being able to customize her degree path coupled with courses being available online was "the greatest fit," she adds.

Although the majority of her time at RIT was spent taking online courses, Allen made the two-hour drive in from Ithaca twice each week during her last quarter to attend two on-campus classes in order to graduate this May 2002. Being geographically close to the RIT campus, Allen proudly picked up her sheep skin at this year’s Commencement exercises. Since she quit her day job during her final quarter to accommodate her educational goal, she’s preparing herself for the inevitable job search. "I’m a true graduate," she says. "I have put my resume together and am going out to find a job."

If her success in academia is any indicator of the future, Allen should not have any problems getting hired. She earned a straight 4.0 GPA for her time spent at RIT and was a 2002 RIT Kearse Writing Award recipient for a paper she wrote on globalization and world human rights.

Overall, Allen relates the online learning experience to the numerous online discussion boards she has participated in that have really made a difference in her education. "For people who need time to digest and think, they can read a discussion thread, think about an answer, come back and respond, and the class has not gone beyond the topic under discussion," she says. "People with different learning styles now have the ability to contribute (through online education). Some of the discussion threads in online courses I have taken have been the richest, most stimulating and challenging discussions I’ve seen in any course."

Ó Copyright 2002. Rochester Institute of Technology. All Rights Reserved.