Andrea Ehmen
Meet Andrea Ehmen
Name: Andrea Ehmen
Age: 30
Marital Status: Married
Kids: One 2 year old girl
Big Transition: Taking time off to have her daughter
School: West Virginia University
Target: M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications, 2007
Andrea, 30, lives outside Chicago and is married with a 2-year-old daughter. She completed her undergraduate degree in public relations at West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1998. Currently, she is employed as an account executive at Newspaper Services of America, a major print media buying and planning service provider for national and regional advertisers.
But it was the appeal of West Virginia University's Integrated Marketing Communications program that really brought her back to Morgantown, W.V.
Now armed with her master's degree, Andrea is looking to enjoy a summer break with her husband and daughter, before beginning a new job hunt. "I am hoping to find a position that allows me to utilize both my schooling and background in the advertising/marketing arena," says Andrea confidently.
We caught up with Andrea to find out what it is like to go back for a graduate degree as a working mother, and what it means to do it all where you grew up.
When and why did you start to consider going back to school?
I had been looking into an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program offered locally at a school in Chicago. But then I had read an article in a Morgantown newspaper that West Virginia University would be offering the same program online, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity.
Why didn't you choose to go to an on-campus program? Why did you decide to go with distance learning?
The attraction to the online program through West Virginia University was two-fold for me. The ability to not travel to and from campuses all over the Chicago area appealed to me. Also, I was excited to become an alumnus of my hometown school.
So what is Integrated Marketing Communications, anyway?
The IMC program's definition goes like this: "Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is the process of creating and maintaining profitable relationships with consumers and other important stakeholders by strategically controlling and influencing the communications sent to them while encouraging meaningful dialogue with them."
"IMC offers a new way of looking at the entire marketing puzzle, which once was viewed in terms of pieces, such as advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, public relations, investor relations and employee communications."
And why did you select this particular field of study?
The Integrated Marketing Communications program interested me because of the variety of classes offered. After receiving my undergrad degree in Public Relations and now working in advertising, I love the creative and marketing aspects of the field. The IMC incorporated all of these into one program.
How many other schools did you look at?
I was also considering an traditional, on-campus Integrated Marketing Communications program at Roosevelt University in Chicago.
What criteria was important to you in selecting a school?
First, I was looking for an IMC program specifically. Also, because I work full-time, I needed to find a program that could adapt to my schedule. The staff was important to me, and I already knew of the P.I. Reed School of Journalism because I had actually looked at the program for my undergrad degree.
Finally, location was important. West Virginia University is actually about 10 minutes from my childhood home. While I wasn't at WVU physically during my graduate degree education, my Mountaineer spirit was alive and well!
What was your course load this semester?
I just completed my last two classes. The entire master's degree is 39 credit hours, which breaks down to a total of 13 three-credit courses. Each course is nine weeks long.
How many students were there usually in one of your classes?
It varied. Usually there were between 12 to 15 students. Overall, I think there are about 200 students currently enrolled in the IMC program.
What technologies/tools were used to deliver your program?
I would login to WVU's eCampus to access my courses. My courses would include reading assignments from assigned textbooks and articles, as well as a discussion board for collaboration between other IMC students and written assignments, too. I ordered all my books over the Internet, mostly through Amazon.com.
While you were in the program, how did you manage balancing work/school/personal life?
This was a little tricky at times. The online program allowed me the flexibility to work on my papers and projects in between work and family life. That is the main reason that I chose to go with an online degree.
Having my daughter in the middle of the IMC grad program added a whole new realm of "insanity" to trying to finish my degree. I took the semester off when I had her, and went back the next fall. It took me four years to complete the program online.
How did you pay for your education?
I paid for school via personal funding and through my employers' reimbursement program.
Can you estimate what it cost you to get your degree?
My graduate degree cost between $15,000 and $16,000.
What was the best thing about distance learning?
Flexibility. Because of my hectic schedule with work and spending time with my family, I wanted a program that could be custom-tailored to my schedule. The online program at WVU offered the flexibility that I needed in order to manage a personal life with finishing grad school.
Worst thing about distance learning?
No face-to-face interaction was a different twist on the "college experience". I think the hardest thing (not necessarily the worst) about online classes is that it's hard to tell from reading a posting or comment from a classmate how they will react or respond if it were an in-class setting.
Having conversations face-to-face allows for the interpersonal communications to affect the outcome of the conversation. With an online program, you can't react to an expression as easily. The only time I went to WVU campus was to turn in a paper, which happened to correspond with a trip home to visit my family.
What was the most surprising thing about distance learning?
The level of commitment and involvement in the classes from students and professors was fantastic. In every class that I took, the students and professors really got involved in each others postings and comments. When conversations got "heated", it sparked new ideas and information, without getting frustrating.
What, in your opinion, is the biggest myth about online learning or an online degree?
That you won't get the same level of education as a traditional classroom. This is completely not true.
Being able to bounce ideas, experience and general comments off of each classmate online enhanced my knowledge about the particular subject being discussed. It gave both sides of the story for every idea.
Would you pursue another online degree in the future?
If time and finances permitted. I haven't really considered going back to school again, especially so soon after finishing.
If I did go back to school, it wouldn't be for a few years because my husband and I want to grow and enjoy our family. Programs that I might consider in the future include a MBA degree or perhaps a Ph.D. program in IMC/Advertising/Marketing.
Do you have any advice or warnings for prospective students who are considering distance learning?
Be dedicated! In order to finish an online program, you really need to be focused and able to work at your own pace, while completing the assignments on deadline. The flexibility is great for any personal schedule.
What have you learned about yourself throughout this process?
That I can handle a lot more going on at one time than I thought I could. Time management and conflict resolution were two big gains personally. Trying to balance work, a family, school, and (recently) selling our house became a huge undertaking, and I had to be organized in order to work all of them into my schedule.
