Renee Brobst, like many University nontraditional students, struggles to balance the demands of being a student with the demands of being a parent. A mother of three, Brobst depends on a University Child Care and Development Center program to look after her children while she attends school and her husband works.
The University’s proposal to offer tuition discounts for students who take classes later in the day is appealing to many on campus, but for nontraditional students like Brobst, the proposed tuition model is a double-edged sword.
In order to enroll in the later classes, many student-parents would need extended hours at one of CCDC’s seven programs for toddlers, pre-schoolers, kindergartners and first graders. “It’s a great idea in theory, but it does raise concern as far as child care,” Brobst said. “I don’t know if the University is going to accommodate my needs as far as child care goes.”
Brobst, an education major, has three children younger than the age of five. Haley, 4, and Ryan, who is almost 3, attend the Westmoreland toddler program. Jason, 11 months, attends off-campus child care but will attend University’s center when he turns 1.
“Taking later classes is difficult,” Brobst said. “I get out of class at 6 (p.m.), and I go and pick them up. I take them home and feed them. Sometimes I only see them for 15 minutes and then have to put them to bed.”
Brobst needs to take a class from 5 to 7 p.m. spring term and is uncertain about the available childcare hours. But this term the program was helpful and was able to accommodate her class schedule.

Prior to winter term, Westmoreland stayed open until 5:30 p.m., but the program agreed to remain open for an extra half-hour to work with later afternoon classes.
“We always try to accommodate student parents,” said Keven Reijonen, lead teacher for the Westmoreland toddler program.
Reijonen said it is Westmoreland’s policy to extend its hours if there are at least three children who need later hours.
“The day care has been great,” Brobst said. “They were very willing to stay open later so I could attend my class. ”
The University proposed the new access-based tuition model in response to increasing enrollment and decreasing state support. The proposed tuition model focuses on dispersing teaching hours and classes more evenly throughout the day, providing lower cost tuition alternatives and providing more choices for students in terms of cost, time of day and number of available courses.
“It makes sense for the majority of students, but as a nontraditional student with young children, it concerns me,” Brobst said. “I like the idea, but anytime you have people with young children, it will be tough.”
Susan Lesyk, director of Academic Learning Services, said that it is difficult to predict the impact this tuition model could have on nontraditional students. While it could be a disadvantage for some students who have children, it could also be an advantage for other students.
“I don’t know how it will all play out,” Lesyk said. “It could go either way.”