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K-State Distance Education Student Completes Third Program at K-State

December 08, 2008

Patty Pedersen knows all about putting school on the back burner when life gets in the way.

After leaving college as a junior to raise her family, she came back 20 years later to complete a bachelor's degree in social science, a certificate in academic advising and a master's degree in academic advising at Kansas State University.

Now that she serves as the student services coordinator for the Carbon County Higher Education Center in Rawlins, Wyo., she helps her advisees return to school, and she knows just what to say to them when they have to postpone their education.

“I tell them, ‘I know you'll be back,’ because they will,” Pedersen said. “I've been in their shoes and I know how hard it is to work and have a family. I really understand my students.”

The center is one of 11 outreach sites supported by Western Wyoming Community College. Pedersen supports students through their academic career from admissions to graduation. She finds assisting her fellow nontraditional students very fulfilling.

“Every year, graduation is exciting. It means so much to these students because it takes them a while. To see a student through to graduation is very gratifying,” she said.

Pedersen began working as a student services coordinator in 2001. She joined the National Academic Advising Association in 2003 and attended a professional development conference, where she first learned of the graduate certificate in academic advising available through an online program at K-State.

“I took to that idea like a duck to water. I said to myself, ‘That degree is what I need to be a better advisor for my students.’ And that is some of the best information I've ever learned in my life,” Pedersen said.

The certificate program consists of 15 credit hours and was a perfect way for Pedersen to solidify her skills in academic advising. She completed the program in 2005 and then enrolled in K-State's online master's degree program in academic advising.

Unlike most students, Pedersen was not required to submit Graduate Record Examination scores to apply for the master's program in academic advising. In addition, all 15 of the graduate certificate credit hours could be applied toward her master's degree.

“I looked into it and decided to start preparing myself,” Pedersen said. “The experience has been stellar. The instructors are very good about being available and my adviser has been so helpful. Every class is so different and so full of information. It's never boring.”

Pedersen had planned to complete her master's program this fall, but she ended up finishing in the summer, one semester early. She will be participating in the K-State distance education virtual commencement at http://www.dce.k-state.edu/students/commencement

Pedersen couldn't be happier to aid her students in planning and executing their own educational choices.

“I would never have gotten my master's if it weren't available online,” Pedersen said. “It's given me more confidence in what I'm doing, and I can pass that confidence on to my students in their academic career.”

More information on K-State's online master's degree in academic advising and other programs is available by contacting the K-State Division of Continuing Education at 1-800-432-8222 or http://www.dce.k-state.edu