The Night Shift

(Photo illustration by Mary Kocol)

Despite the lackluster response, Johnson later describes the students in the political management program as "dead serious," although younger than in the past. GWU is not the only school in the region that has seen the average age of its part-time students drop in recent years. Looking for a jump-start, more students are coming to the adult programs nearly fresh out of college. That, instructors say, changes the nature of the classes, because discussions focus less on real-world experiences.

Getting into a part-time adult program is often a breeze, although the standards for some, particularly law school, are as tough as full-time programs. With colleges trying to squeeze the most revenue out of every course, they essentially take everyone who meets their minimum admissions criteria.

While universities have a vested interest in ensuring the quality of their adult programs -- if for no other reason than to protect their brand name -- part-time students realize they may be paying for a slightly inferior education compared with full-timers, who get the regular faculty and the trappings of a main campus. Even so, part-time students have motivation to take their studies seriously. After all, they're usually the ones footing the tuition bill. "They choose to be here," Johnson says. "They can't just blow it off because Daddy isn't paying for it this time around."

Few schools set aside their own financial-aid dollars for part-time adults. So those students either apply for loans, tap financial assistance from their employers, or pay as they go. Krumm, already $40,000 in debt from her undergraduate and first master's degrees, is taking out another loan to pay the $5,500 in part-time tuition this semester at GWU. "My mom, who is a CPA, wasn't really thrilled when I told her," Krumm says.

Stephen Whetstone is paying out of his own pocket for his second master's degree, in health care administration and informatics from the University of Maryland University College. At 57, many of his friends think he's foolish to waste $15,000 on another credential. "They say I should spend it instead on improving my golf game," says Whetstone, who is director of informatics and biomedical communications at Howard University's medical school. "But I wanted to go back to school to retool. Knowledge becomes dated."

In the future, adults like Krumm and Whetstone may have another way to pay their tuition bills. The federal commission appointed by the Bush administration to study the country's higher education system is discussing a proposal to establish lifelong learning accounts for individuals. Similar to 401(k) retirement plans, employees, and possibly employers, would contribute money that could be used later for educational expenses.

University officials predict such accounts will trigger a growth spurt in adult education. And local schools are ready. Last fall, the University System of Maryland broke ground on a third building in Shady Grove, just off Interstate 270, at a complex where eight public universities offer degree programs to 2,000 adults. When the building opens in the fall of 2007, it will double student capacity, says the campus's executive director, Stewart L. Edelstein.

Degree offerings continue to expand as well, especially in areas that cross traditional academic disciplines. Johns Hopkins, for instance, recently announced a joint part-time master's degree in government and business administration at its Washington campus. "Jobs today draw on knowledge and skills from a multitude of disciplines," says Sarah B. Steinberg, an associate dean. "So we need to provide opportunities for students to learn in the same way."

Krumm knows she will likely apply her experience as a schoolteacher in her next career. When she graduates in December 2007, she's leaning toward working on education policy, either on the Hill or for the Department of Education. While she realizes that she might have been able to parlay her current job into a position without the second master's degree, the political management program at GWU gave her an opening to explore.

"Here I was, a school teacher from New Orleans who spent one summer interning on the Hill," Krumm says. "I liked politics, but I didn't know all my options. That's what school is supposed to be about. It gives you a chance to look around, to find out what avenue I want to go down and be knowledgeable going into another job."

Jeffrey Selingo is an editor at the Chronicle of Higher Education.