Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - For Amanda Burkhalter, a resident of Tomah, all it took was a referral from a friend to introduce her to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's distance education on-line program. Now she has successfully completed her master's degree in criminal justice.

For Burkhalter, balancing family, work and school was not always the easiest thing to do, but attending the classes on-line helped her manage her time,

"Having the on-line program made life easier in that I could do the work when I had time," Burkhalter said. "There were deadlines, but I also had the information and homework ahead of time, so I tried to stay ahead of schedule in case there was a hectic week at work or with my family."

Burkhalter found that having a supportive family also helped her balance her life.

"I am lucky to have an awesome husband who kept my son busy when I had to get homework done," Burkhalter said. "He is also a big help around the house, so that lessened my load."

One of the things that Burkhalter enjoyed most about her experience with the UWP on-line education program was the interaction with other students who were enrolled in her classes and the different backgrounds and experiences that they brought with them.

As for how a person can successfully complete a degree on-line, Burkhalter's answer was simple.

"Keep up with your homework," she said. "I would suggest that you sit down and find out how much free time you have per week to spend on school work. From there, figure out how many classes you can take."