Midway College Tailors Programs to Assist Working Parents
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A few weeks after Mindy Gillespie returned to college in the fall of 2003, she learned she was pregnant.

Married with one son, Logan, now 11, Mindy was working full time at United Bank in Versailles. She also had just enrolled in an accelerated degree program at Midway College. Determined to graduate, Mindy decided to stick with her classes.

On April 24, 2004, during a two-week break from classes, Mindy’s second son, Mason, was born. She never missed a class.

The flexible schedule that Midway College provides its non-traditional students allowed Mindy to earn her bachelor’s degree in organization management.

“I could not have done it if Midway didn’t provide this kind of scheduling,” she said.

For two years, Mindy attended classes only one night a week, from 6 to 10 p.m., giving her the entire week to do research and complete her homework.
It also gave her time to be a wife and mother.

“Some nights I’d get in bed late, but it worked for me,” Mindy said. “Midway fit my schedule, and I could still attend Logan’s basketball games.”

She attended classes on Midway’s main campus, took two online classes and attended class in Frankfort in one of Midway’s 14 locations throughout the state.

Midway College is currently ranked 13 out of the 32 public and private institutions in Kentucky as a provider of baccalaureate degrees.

The college has 62 full-time faculty and an enrollment of 1,800 students.
Accelerated degrees are offered in business, computer information systems, health-care administration, homeland security, human resource management, nursing, sports management and teacher education.

The graduate school offers an accelerated 20-month MBA program.
Juggling her classes with a full-time job and her family made her a better time manager, Mindy said.

Previously, she had attended community college and Transylvania University, but Midway provided the scheduling and resources she needed as a working mother.

The classes are small and professors are always available, Mindy said.

“I wasn’t just a number waiting in line who may or may not get into a class,” she said.
“Midway made that simple, too. If I needed a class, I could pick it up and stay on track.”

Midway organizes its students into cohorts that move through their classes together.

The groups of students get to know each other, Mindy said, and work together on group projects and e-mail each other with questions.

“I made friendships. A lot of us who graduated together have stayed in contact after graduation,” she said.

Mindy graduated in December 2005 and walked in the graduation ceremony the following May.

Her son Logan was there to see her receive her college diploma.

“He was proud and I was proud. I had a great sense of accomplishment,” she said.
In part, thanks to Midway College.