Although my career has been in traditional universities, I am a big proponent of education alternatives for individuals who do not have access to college because “life gets in the way.” I am a first generation college graduate and have siblings who were unable to attend college, and I know they struggle to get additional training in order to become eligible for better jobs and to get promotions. I also saw my father struggle to become a supervisor with only a high school education. With five kids to feed, bringing home a paycheck took most of his time, and he and my mother put enormous energy into their volunteer service as scout leaders, which was a contribution to our entire community.

Dad was always taking correspondence courses by mail. Today he would be taking online courses. When I was in graduate school, he was taking a management course, which is my PhD concentration. Curious, I took a look at what was in the course, and I was dismayed to see how out of date the content was. This was in the late 1970s, and the content in the materials he was studying was from the 1950s. He was paying a modest amount of money for the course and putting a lot of effort into studying and doing the exams, and I am sure he was learning the material. But what was he learning? This was the “opportunity cost”: what he was not learning that he should have been learning.

Human beings are learning machines. They will learn in every circumstance, and they will learn things in every “education program,” regardless of the cost, quality of materials, or how good the instruction is. A motivated individual will get something of value in every learning opportunity. The opportunity cost is what is not being learned because the learning option includes out of date materials, the instruction is poor, or expectations are low. In addition, unlike Dad’s correspondence course, many current “alternative formats for working adults” are more expensive than higher quality options from traditional universities. Pay more and get less is not a great value proposition.

The good news is there are now many options for working adults that did not exist 30 years ago. Many AACSB-accredited — the standard for business education accreditation — business schools offer programs in the evening with schedules convenient for fulltime working adults. Yes, they are a lot of work, but most allow a motivated student to complete a graduate degree in two years taking classes two nights a week. Undergraduate degrees take more time, but there are more options because much of the lower division material for the degree can be taken at a community college and transferred to a university. For someone who can maintain the discipline of staying on top of the material and taking courses every semester, these are great options.

I know family responsibilities can make it difficult to attend classes at night, but think about the role model you are for your children. Some of the most inspirational stories I know about individuals finishing degrees are parents hitting the books with their kids every evening. This has a huge impact on a child at every age. When a kid sees a parent, or both parents, devoting evenings to studying and writing papers, the kid sees just how important education is. The example is worth a thousand lectures. I also know of parents who are attending school at the same time their kids are in college, and the bonding that comes from the shared experience can transform the parent-child relationship into an adult relationship of great depth. Just do not go to the concerts with the kids and expect to sit with them at football games. You are, after all, still the parent.

Another option worth considering is taking concentrated short-course programs. While these do not result in a degree, they do allow individuals to pick up the basics of accounting, finance, and management in courses taught by fulltime professors in a classroom with other working professionals. These programs are typically 2-3 full days and are sometimes organized into several modules that result in a certificate of completion that shows employers you are familiar with basic business concepts and have skills that may well be equivalent to those of current employees (who may well have attended the same short course program). A certificate program is a fraction of the cost of a full degree program, and it is a good supplement if you already have a degree in an area other than business.

Individuals can also pick up a lot of business knowledge, and especially a lot of business vocabulary, by regularly reading business periodicals. Fortune and Business Week are very accessible, well written, and they cover a lot of topics over the course of a year. Utah has several good business magazines like Connect and Utah Business that cover companies and industries that are likely familiar to you. The Wall Street Journal also has a lot of meat, but because it is a daily, it is a big commitment. Still, it is worth subscribing and reading the sections that deal with general business topics if you want to get more depth. Finally, the daily newspaper typically has a few articles about business, but the articles tend to be just the news, so they are not enough to build a real foundation. They are, however, good for keeping track of what is going on in the local community.

There is no shortage of companies and providers willing to offer business education. These range from outfits that will send you a diploma based on “life experience” for $59.99 to very expensive programs that feature residential sessions at luxury resorts coupled with online group-based learning. Expensive is seldom an indicator of quality in business education, however. What is? First, go with an AACSB accredited institution. There are many “agencies” that provide accreditation, and most schools have the regional accreditation required to offer federal financial aid. AACSB is the only accreditation that really matters for business education. Many employers only recognized and reimburse degrees from AACSB accredited institutions, so make a choice that you know will serve you for your entire career.

Second, talk to individuals who are currently in the program and find out what their experiences are. You will find those currently in a program are brutally frank and will tell you the positives and the negatives.

Finally, visit a class if possible. You are looking at a major commitment of your time. Spend a few hours making sure your time will be well spent over the long haul.

There are a lot of advantages associated with finishing up a college degree from a university when you are young. But if for some reason this passed you by, there are other learning options that can enhance opportunities for career progression. If nothing else, your motivation to pursue these options is a signal to current and potential employers that you are going to work hard to achieve career success.

Later.