Now that's dedication: Dealing with the HES residency requirements

These days, a lot of people are taking advantage of the Extension School's distance education offerings. Courses are mostly offered as a combination of streaming video, class websites, and online discussions via email and other tools (there are a few exceptions -- see my earlier discussions of virtual world-based instruction at the Extension School).

But it's currently impossible to get an ALB or ALM degree just by taking online courses. For instance, the undergraduate ALB degree has a 16-credit residency requirement. Students who live far away -- and many of them do -- have a few options to attend classes in person, short of moving to the Boston area for two semesters. One is by taking four classes through two terms of the Harvard Summer School, which has shorter sessions and on-campus housing. Another, as Richard over at ClueHQ describes, is commuting ... by plane!

It’s not easy. From my front door to Harvard Square, it’s about 4 hours if everything goes right. When it doesn’t, it’s about 6-8 hours. That leaves me with about 12-24 hours in Boston before I was on another flight back. My days were about 36 hours straight, after which I would crash into bed.

Richard tried a bunch of strategies to handle the evening classes, including sleeping at the airport (not easy), hanging out at an all-night cafe, and eventually, springing for a hotel. It was expensive (he says commuting costs were about $4000 per semester) but worth it, as he describes in this paragraph:

It’s amazing what we can do when we really want something. It isn’t often that you hear of self-sacrifice when it comes to attending school, but it isn’t entirely uncommon either. Many, many people work long day jobs and then spend all evening on-campus in class to finish a degree. Students at HES are no exception.

But it is instructive to see just how far a person will go to attend this prorgram and that speak volumes about its quality and the experience it offers. If you live within a plane flight of Boston and you think you might be willing to give it a try, I encourage you to contact me and ask what I think of your plans.

Richard also relates the story of another ALB student who is commuting from Detroit every week to attend classes in Cambridge for his residency requirement, on top of having a full-time job and a family with young children.