Traditional on-campus college classes that take place during regular business hours don't work for all students.
But those interested in earning two-year degrees in more than 30 subject areas are now able to do so with the flexibility of fully online programs through Chattanooga State Community College's new ChattState Online initiative.
The new initiative, officially launched in December, "is designed to provide busy adults with the opportunity to fit a high-quality college education into their lives," according to Rebecca Ashford, president of Chattanooga State.
Educators and lawmakers have been pushing to increase the number of Tennesseans earning degrees across the state in recent years, first under former Gov. Bill Haslam's Drive to 55 initiative and with the help of financial aid programs like Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect.
Tennessee Reconnect specifically targets nontraditional or older adult students who never earned a degree and encourages them to go back to school, but those students often need flexibility as they juggle full-time jobs and families, said Chattanooga State's Adult Student Services Director Marsha Barker in a statement.
"The majority of adult students are juggling multiple responsibilities, such as work, family and school. Most online courses are accessible 24/7, which allows students to study around their work schedule from anywhere in the world," Barker said.
The new programs include associate's degrees in areas including health, business, humanities, education, social work, political science and math and science areas. Online programs can vary and might include online courses only, video conference sessions, or both online and traditional classroom settings.
"Online courses can provide real value to working adults because they are flexible, and because of that, it allows students to pursue the career of their dreams at a time and place that is convenient for them," Barker added.
More than 2,000 students already take online courses at Chattanooga State, whether just one or two courses to supplement their course load or to create their own flexible programs. Online courses do have additional fees, but are eligible for the same financial aid that traditional courses are.
Lonnie Williams, a business major in his second year at Chattanooga State, said online programs still allow him to receive support from staff and faculty and participate in other activities.
"The amount of support I received from teachers and staff, as well as other online students, was overwhelming," Williams said in a statement. "I travel in my job and am involved in other outside activities, so it is so important to balance your study/class time with your everyday work/home life. ChattState Online makes that easy by providing assignment due dates from the very first class."
Other colleges and universities in Tennessee, including the 13 community colleges and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology, offer online courses and programs. Through a partnership with the TNeCampus system, six universities also offer online programs through the same platforms. Those universities are Austin Peay State University, East Tennessee State University, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University and The University of Memphis.
In 2013, Haslam also helped launch Western Governors University, an online "competency-based" university intended to help boost working Tennesseans' access to low-cost college.
For more information on ChattState Online's programs, visit: chattanoogastate.edu/chattstate-online.
Contact Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.