I am currently working towards my masters degree in recreation and athletic administration at WKU. I remember when I graduated from OWU, I thought I would never go back to school. But, after a few years I decided it was probably necessary for the work that I want to do. So, I looked into a few different options. I was a little skeptical of the online degree, but it was the only way that I could get my masters while continuing to work. It has turned out great and I would recommend it to anyone who needs flexibility but wants to continue with their education.
One of the things I love about this program is that they only accept 15-20 people in each cohort. You travel through the program with these same people and end up making great connections with people all around the country. For instance, one of the people who is in the program works at Penn State, and another works in the recreation department at a prison (he sees a lot of sex offenders). This has made our Sports Ethics class this semester pretty interesting!
Another thing I like is that each class is totally different. I figured it would be mostly just writing papers, but it is much more interactive than I ever imagined an online program to be. Some classes are more research oriented with lots of papers. But, we also have classes that require watching online lectures followed by online discussions and chat room sessions. Also, you get to know your professors much more than I thought would be possible. One thing that I loved about OWU was that classes were small and you got to know your professors really well. In fact, I remain good friends with a number of my professors today. The same has happened with my professors at WKU. My professor of my Fiscal Practices in Rec Sports even gave me advice and helped me get Payson's 529 college fund started.
The best part of getting your masters degree, whether online or on campus is that every class you take actually pertains to what you enjoy. It has really been a great experience and I look forward to my final two semesters. Who knows, maybe someday (way down the road) I will go for my PhD. Dr. Coughlin has a nice ring to it... :)
Story Time:
I had Payson a week before my exam in my Legal Issues in Recreation and Sport class. For some reason (namely because Time Warner is terrible), our internet would cut out, and when that would happen it would lock me out of a test/quiz if I was in the middle of it. So, I would have to go to the library anytime I was taking a test/quiz. One week after he was born I was still pretty sore down there (enough said). So, when taking my final exam, I took my big doughnut to the library and sat on it while I took my two hour final. Of course that was the day I saw about seven people I knew. Luckily most of them were moms and totally understood.
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