Homeschoolers are excited about distance learning options that earn students college credit while they are still in high school.  But not all distance learning programs are created equal. Recently, Wanda Burdick agreed to chat with me about her excellent CollegeWorks program – a distance learning option that really does go the distance. CollegeWorks aims to assist parents as a yoke-fellow rather than as a replacement, providing options and tools to families to make the high school years both challenging and productive for motivated students.

CollegeWorks provides great flexibility in preparing students for CLEP exams across the curriculum.  CollegeWorks helps students negotiate non-traditional degree paths with hundreds of colleges, not simply with the few colleges which have whole-heartedly embraced the credit-by-examination phenomenon. Families can begin by taking a consultation with Wanda to lay out a multi-year agenda for maximizing the impact of credits by examination on the degree programs at the top three colleges of the student’s choice.  Alternatively, students can simply take one of the 2-week CLEP preparation courses to see if it actually suits their learning style and schedule. In any case, the courses are offered on a pay-as-you-go basis, so they are supremely affordable compared to other distance learning institutions that charge a large up-front fee for a long-term program.

Wanda has a passion to make college affordable for as many homeschoolers as possible.  Typically, a credit-by-examination (CBE) program costs about 50% less, and gets the student out into the work world or graduate study about two years earlier than a traditional degree program. Many homeschooled  seniors graduate from high school with an Associates degree. Growing up as the daughter of a migrant worker, Wanda understood that her ability to get out of the fields would be absolutely dependent on her ability to get a college education. Now she helps homeschool families negotiate the complexities of credit by examination, while avoiding crushing indebtedness.

Over the course of her 25 years in the field, Wanda has developed relationships with nearly 400 colleges. Some have been eager to work with non-traditional students, but most have had to be persuaded. The University of Nebraska was the school most hostile to CBE students.  Mrs Burdick managed to get a meeting with the college Regents, and after her presentation, the university softened its position on CollegeWorks students.

An accomplished advocate for outside-the-box education, Wanda trains students to advocate with the college of their choice for the educational experience they want. “At the end of the day, colleges are businesses. Their product is over-priced for most people.  Non-traditional students are modern colleges’ best hope for financial survival.  We just have to make them see it,” says Wanda. CollegeWorks  prepares students to make a smooth transition to the final college, directing the student to establish personal relationship  with his top choice colleges by checking in with  admissions representatives about once a month.

A typical criticism of credit by examination is that the learning will be sub-standard. Since students transfer 30 to 60 credits earned by examination toward a degree, the concern is not trivial. Wanda emphasizes that the quality of learning in a CBE program is determined in the same way as the quality of any homeschool curriculum – by the investment of the parent and the student. CollegeWorks does its part to see to it that students have the opportunity to excel. Instructors with CollegeWorks have advanced degrees or professional experience. And the two-week intensive courses pack as much instructor contact as a traditional one hour semester long class, with homework and nightly quizzes.

Savvy homeschoolers know that academic credentials are not enough for professional advancement or business success. Public service, business experience and personal contacts are essential – and are often missing in CBE programs. Mrs. Burdick encourages her students to seek internships and professional apprenticeships to enhance their examination records and to begin to network in their chosen fields. She herself has negotiated internships for her students with GM, state and local government. She advises families to find out what companies in their regions do the sort of work that their students wish to pursue,  then “go to the top” to negotiate some kind of internship for their youth. As a result of her efforts to connect students with businesses, professionals now seek out her students for entry level positions.

Do CollegeWorks’ students advance? You bet they do! For students who are local to her, Wanda has established public speaking “Prestigious Tournaments” which allow students to showcase their talents for in-state college scouts. These events have resulted in scholarships for participants. Her students have been accepted in prestigious law schools like Georgetown. They have ended up employed at NASA, National Right to Life, even at the White House.  But the advancement Mrs Burdick most desires for her students is progress in godly character; no education is truly excellent or even complete without it.