When it comes to pursuing dreams, Jessica Roberts doesn’t just tell her daughters, “It’s never too late,” she shows them — as an adult learner working toward her bachelor’s degree at Wilmington University. 

“It’s OK if you do things out of order,” said Roberts, who started college after high school but “didn’t like the big class sizes.” “I got a taste for working and really liked that,” she added. “I fell into a great opportunity at age 23 and stayed there for 16 years.” 

Roberts, a human resources operations manager, joined ChristianaCare in 2021 and felt what she called “a little bit of imposter syndrome” without a degree. “I had some college experience, but I had a lot of hands-on knowledge that couldn’t be taught in a classroom setting.” 

The first step on her path to degree completion was becoming a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Certified Professional. 

“I wasn’t aware that could even satisfy any credits at WilmU,” said Roberts. She was happily surprised when her SHRM Certification translated into nine WilmU academic credits she could apply to her degree program. The University also accepted 15 credits from her previous college courses. 

“Everybody should be having these types of conversations to see if their work experience, their life experience is worth college credit,” said Dr. David Caffo, WilmU’s director of experiential learning. “We have many, many different crosswalks that connect experience and academia.” 

Like Roberts, you can receive credit for prior learning and experience, including college-level coursework, certifications, training, licenses, military service, co-ops, internships, standardized tests and exams. WilmU’s dedicated credit transfer evaluation team will help you maximize your credit so you reach your goals faster. 

“Did you start college but not finish a degree? Give us your transcripts. We’ll do an evaluation for you, and you might be closer to your bachelor’s degree than you thought,” said Lindsay Rice, senior director of academic partnerships. WilmU is “the institution where you’re going to be able to finish what you started, regardless of when you started.” 

Wilmington University meets you where you are, helping you reach your education and career goals by building on prior coursework and experience gained outside of the classroom. Approximately 70 percent of WilmU undergraduate students transfer credits from other schools. Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society named Wilmington University one of America’s most transfer-friendly colleges. With guaranteed admission to most programs, accelerated degree completion options, affordable tuition, flexible scheduling, streamlined articulation agreements, scholarships, tutoring and technology support, you can complete your degree on time and on budget while maintaining a work-life balance. 

“I really like the flexibility of it,” said Roberts, who leveraged WilmU’s Dual-Credit ADVANTAGE™ program to earn more credentials faster. By applying Dual-Credits, she completed a Certificate in Human Resource Management on her way to a degree in Human Resource Management. “It saves you time, and it saves you money.” 

As for the future, “I would like to progress up and become a director here at ChristianaCare,” she added. Her advice: “Go back (to school). If it’s something that you have thought about, do it.” 

Learn more at Wilmington University.