I have a child going into her senior year in high school, and she's excited about college. I remember when it was my time for college, I thought I would never get there, and once I was there, I thought I would never get out. Eight years later the Regents of the University of California finally decided to give me a Bachelor's degree and send me out into the real world. The decreased revenues from the campus brewpub that subsequently occurred notwithstanding, I'm sure they believe they made the right decision and perhaps even had a little celebration over my departure. 

Lack of money, the prospect of no longer having to read thousand-page Russian novels in one weekend, and the lure of diving full-time into some strange and intangible thing called the "Internet" tempted me more than once to abandon my attempts at becoming degreed in favor of more ignoble and materialistic goals. Nonetheless, I stayed the course and earned the sheepskin.

Not everyone is able to do so, and there are thousands of tech workers out there who have experience, maybe a certification or two, and about half of a Bachelor's degree. If this describes your situation, you know how difficult it is, once you've left the Ivory Tower and settled into the duties of work and family, to go back and finish the degree.

For a brief while, the demand for skilled tech workers to fuel the emergent dotcoms was so great, a full degree was no longer considered essential. Indeed, most of Silicon Valley's startups were founded and staffed by college dropouts. (Perhaps that speaks to at least some explanation as to why the dotcom boom went bust?) With the economy and new technical innovation currently running on empty, those employers that are still in business are in a position to pick and choose. They may now require a college degree where one was not required before, simply because they can.

The Persons School of Marlboro College in Vermont
(www.persons.Marlboro.edu) has, in the same spirit of innovation that fueled that brief but exciting dotcom boom, created a solution to fill an increasing need. Their "adult Bachelor's degree completion program in Managing Information Systems" is targeted at those of us who started a degree, but have never been able to finish it. Students must have at least 60 credits from one or more other institutions. The two-year program is fully online and is very flexible. This isn't just a piece of courseware-you get to interact with real instructors, have some real-world practice, and collaborate with other students. You don't have to move to Vermont to take advantage of it, you can enroll and participate from anywhere.

The program is one of a handful of online degree programs that are fully accredited (and because it is, you can qualify for financial aid). The 60-credit program can be tackled full-time or part-time, and the next set of classes start on September 23.

Persons School also offers Master's degree programs (you have to go sit in the classroom for these), as well as an incubator for start-ups, and a "launching pad" for alumni with viable business plans for new tech companies.