For thousands of students, the University extends far beyond Charlottesville. The University's School for Continuing and Professional Studies offers undergraduate and graduate programs across the Commonwealth for part-time students.
According to Lynda Phillips-Madson, SCPS associate dean for academic affairs, there are between 15,000 and 16,000 students enrolled part-time in seven different Virginia locations.
"There are seven U.Va. academic centers -- in Abingdon, Roanoke, Richmond, Hampton Roads, Quantico, Falls Church and then there's one in Charlottesville that serves all of Central Virginia," she said.
Part-time students vary in their courses of study; some are in a degree program, while others just take a course or two out of interest.
"The credit-bearing courses we have at all different levels, from a doctorate-level course to an undergraduate class," Phillips-Madson said. "And the one degree program that this school has for undergraduate students is a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies -- essentially, a liberal arts based program just like the kind of program students take in the College of Arts & Sciences."
She said the program is designed for students who are currently working adults and often have to juggle the responsibilities of a job and family along with their education.
"Maybe they started college 10 or 15 years ago and for whatever reason could not finish right then," she said. "Often they are married and have full-time jobs, predominantly in the evening, and [are] working toward a bachelor's degree."
The various SCPS centers offer different kinds of programs, according to Phillips-Madson, who noted that the only two locations that offer the BIS program are the main Charlottesville campus and the Tidewater center in Hampton Roads. Any part-time student seeking an undergraduate degree enrolls in the BIS program.
"The degree itself is awarded through the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, but all the other degrees we offer are graduate degrees," Phillips-Madson said.
The SCPS offers the graduate programs in collaboration with other schools, she said. For example, part-time students enrolled in graduate programs earn their degrees through the University's graduate schools; if a part-time student earns a master's degree in education, the degree is granted by the Education School.
Although the average age of a part-time student is older than that of a full-time student, Phillips-Madson said part-time students fulfill the same admission requirements as regular students.
The BIS program is a transfer program, so applicants already have completed two years of college work before applying, according to Phillips-Madson, with many of them coming from Piedmont Community College.
Yet because part-time students do not pay the Student Activities Fee, so they do not have meal plan options or on-Grounds housing opportunities offered to full-time students.
Part-time and full-time students do not often interact because the School of Continuing and Professional Studies is not located on Central Grounds. The school is on University property but has a distinct set of classrooms located off Alderman Road in Zehmer Hall.
The close proximity of Zehmer Hall to Central Grounds does, however, make it convenient for part-time students to find employment within the University community.
"We are well represented by U.Va. employees among our student body and alumni," SCPS Director of Admissions Kathryn Buzzoni said.
Buzzoni said part-time student Shelley Tattersall is one example of a University employee and student who has taken advantage of the BIS program.
Tattersall, who works full time at the University Medical Center in Organizational Development, said she has had a very positive experience as a part-time student.
"I started in fall of 2003 and I'm a business concentration," Tattersall said, adding that the BIS "has been a great program."
Planning to pursue a graduate degree in Distance Education, Tattersall said the ability to take courses outside the BIS program has helped her determine what she wants to do after she graduates this spring.
"I was able to take a graduate class a year ago in Distance Education over in Curry and that really helped me decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life," Tattersall said.
Usually the SCPS encourages part-time students to limit their course loads to six credits each spring and fall semester and three credits each summer, but Tattersall said she has taken six credits in the summer, fall and spring semesters along with a January Term course each year.
"I'm finishing my 60 credits a year and a semester earlier than I expected," Tattersall said.
She said she takes her classes in the evenings after she finishes her work day.
"It's a struggle, balancing work and school," Tattersall said. "I don't have children, and I don't know how students with children there do it."
Tattersall said finishing the capstone project, which lasts two semesters and is required for the BIS degree, was both a challenging and rewarding part of the program.
"First semester prepares you for what you are going to be researching for a paper and presentation, and then the second semester is doing a significant research paper and a presentation on your research," Tattersall said, adding that she believes this extensive research will help her get into graduate school.
Just like full-time students, part-time students move one step closer to their career goals upon graduating.
"It's going to be nice to see everyone moving onto the next thing in their lives, but it is going to be hard leaving the friends," Tattersall said. "This program has been so rewarding."
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