Mom earns two degrees while working full time as nurse

Western Governors University Washington

What: Part of WGU, a nonprofit, online university founded and supported by the governors of 19 U.S. states.

Programs: business, information technology, health care and education.

Degrees: bachelor’s and master’s.

Cost: About $6,000 flat-rate tuition and books for two six-month semesters. Qualified students can receive financial aid through the Washington State Needs Grant.

Total students: 7,500 statewide; 367 in Clark County.

Average time required: 20 hours per week.

Average degree completion: two years.

Average college debt for 2013 graduates of Washington universities: $24,418.

Average college debt for 2013 WGU grads: $21,102.

On the Web: http://washington.wgu.edu/

Source on college debt at state universities: Institute for College Access & Success at http://ticas.org/posd/map-state-data-2014#

Tuition and fees

For one year, resident, full-time undergraduate (either two semesters or three quarters)

Western Governors University Washington: $6,000 (includes books)

Washington State University: $11,386

Clark College: $4,080

University of Washington: $12,394

Central Washington University: $7,245

Eastern Washington University: $8,132

Western Washington University: $8,965

WGU’s 2015 graduates

Median age: 39.

Graduates: 1,700 statewide.

Bachelor’s degrees: 58 percent.

Master’s degrees: 42 percent.

Number of Clark County graduates: 59.

If any mom deserves breakfast in bed this Mother’s Day, it’s Vancouver’s Candace Hart.

On May 2 in Everett, Hart received a Master of Science degree in nursing education from Western Governors University Washington.

In 15 months, she earned first a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and her master’s degree. In three terms, she earned 18 credits, then 24 credits and, finally, 26 credits. She accomplished this feat while working full-time as a nurse at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center and caring for her family.

In 1999, when Hart completed her associate’s degree at Clark College and became a registered nurse, she believed she was finished with school. At that time, nursing emphasized experience over education, said Hart, a Hudson’s Bay High School graduate.

But expectations in the nursing field have changed.

“Now, education is a priority,” she said. “It’s expected to have your bachelor’s degree to get a good job. I wanted to make myself more marketable — and work around my children.”

Hart, 38, first considered returning to school when a nurse friend with the same degree and experience moved back to the area, but was unable to find a job because she didn’t have a bachelor’s degree. So Hart went back to school. She enrolled at Washington Governors University Washington, a nonprofit online college.

Hart said her biggest supporters are her husband, Jay, a lumber broker, and their daughters, Grace, 6, and Rachel, 4.

Juggling family, work and school was a balancing act. While her children slept, Hart squeezed in from 15 to 20 hours per week of studying, writing papers and taking tests. She woke at 4 a.m. to study.

“When my kids went to bed, I studied again,” Hart said.

“Sleep became a little secondary,” she added with a laugh.

She slept about five hours per night, but sometimes less.

“Sometimes, I didn’t think I could do it,” she said.

She succeeded with the help of a support system that includes her husband, mother, friends and neighbors.

Her mother, Mickie Johnson, who lives 15 minutes away, watched the children while Hart was at work. Sometimes, friends or neighbors offered to take the girls for an outing on the weekend, so Hart could do her homework.

“I hope my daughters can see me as a role model when they become adults,” Hart said. “Letting them see the challenges I went through will help them make better choices as adults.”

But for now, Hart said her daughters are just glad their mom has more time for them. Grace’s favorite activity is coloring, Hart said. When Hart was finishing her degree, Grace held a thick stack of coloring sheets and said, “Mommy, I’ve done all of these. When you’re done (with college), will you color with me?”

Since collecting her diploma last weekend, Hart has colored with her daughters and played with her family at a Columbia River beach near their home.

Making priorities

The stressors mounted during the 15 months while Hart was taking classes and working full time. Like any parent, she had to juggle responsibilities and priorities.

“We start our dinner, homework, bath time, clean the house, do laundry,” Hart said. “Just what everybody else does.”

The family faced difficult losses during that time, too. Hart’s brother-in-law unexpectedly died. A friend committed suicide. Within a two-month period, the family lost both of their dogs to cancer. They tried unsuccessfully to adopt a rescue dog, first one, and then another. Finally, they got a puppy, Lucy, a Bernese mountain dog-goldendoodle mix.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Harts added on to their home and landscaped the backyard, and they did much of the work themselves. During the same time, the couple also bought a rental house, gutted it and remodeled it.

She also worked out at Crossfit five or six days a week.

Hart had to carefully schedule her online tests so she wouldn’t be interrupted. All tests, even if she took them at 3 a.m., were closely monitored by a proctor who watched Hart via a video camera, with audio focused on Hart and her keyboard.

“I didn’t want to start the test, and then my husband would be in the backyard with a jackhammer,” she said with a laugh.

During one test, her youngest daughter entered the room and started talking to her mother. Hart was not allowed to speak during the test, so she waved her arm toward her daughter, who kept talking and advancing toward her mom. Finally, Hart said she was taking a test and Rachel would have to wait. The test proctor warned her that if she spoke again, she would fail.

WGU’s online model allows students to work at their own pace, completing as many classes as they’re able in any given term. Students can accelerate through material they already know and focus on concepts they have yet to master. WGU classes are graded either “pass” or “fail.”

Hart and two co-workers at Legacy cheered each other on and completed the degree program together … all in 14 to 15 months. It wasn’t until she met other nursing students at the WGU commencement that she realized most students took two to three years to complete the program.

Looking back, Hart said the online program worked for her busy schedule.

“I couldn’t have done it in a conventional school environment,” Hart said. “The flexibility of WGU made that quick timeline possible. I was able to work at my own pace and 100 percent from home. Going at my own pace and taking as many classes as I could squeeze in saved me time and money.”

She paid $3,200 per term for tuition and all books, which were e-books. She incurred about $3,000 in student debt. The average college graduate in Washington has $24,418 in student debt.

“There are incentives for people to do this,” Hart said.

Her employer, Legacy Health Systems, paid about $4,000 toward her tuition. She also received a 4 percent raise for earning the bachelor’s degree and will receive at least a 2 percent raise for earning the master’s degree.

WGU Washington’s all-online program offers a flat rate for tuition and books. The appeal of the program seems to be growing. The 2015 graduating class is about 70 percent larger than last year’s class and more than 750 percent larger than its first graduating class in 2011.

What’s next for Hart, who now holds a master’s degree with a focus on nursing education?

“I’d like to put that education piece into practice,” Hart said. “Maybe I’ll teach nursing at Clark College.”

Since graduating, Hart has been catching up on sleep and spending more time with her family.

“I’m enjoying every single second of it,” she said.