Ashworth College Partners with Project Working Mom...and Dads Too! To Offer $2 million in Full-Ride Scholarships to Working Parents

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ashworth College, today announced that it has partnered with "Project Working Mom...and Dads Too!" to award more than $2 million in full-ride online college scholarships to working moms and dads. "Project Working Mom...and Dads Too!" is a national scholarship initiative to help remove the barriers of money, time and confidence, which often keep people from returning to school.

Project Working Mom...and Dads Too! is the third in a line of campaigns to help working parents return to school to better their lives and the lives of their families. The two previous Project Working Mom campaigns in 2008 received more than 120,000 applications, awarded more than $4 million in scholarships, and sent nearly 100 working moms back to school. This year, the campaign has added dads to the mix as a result of considerable interest from fathers in the scholarship offers during the first two campaigns.

"Partnering with Project Working Mom...and Dads Too! is an opportunity for Ashworth College to help make a difference. Through education, we can help deserving, hard-working parents improve their lives," said F. Milton Miller, Ed.D. and Ashworth Vice President, Education.

"A college degree can set an employee or business owner apart as a professional and demonstrate business knowledge to peers, potential customers and employers," Miller added. "Education can take skills - and income - to the next level."

Ashworth College is one of five accredited universities participating in Project Working Mom...and Dads Too! The other schools involved in the campaign are Ashford University, Capella University, Everest University, and Virginia College Online. Combined, the schools will be awarding more than $2 million in full-ride online college scholarships, bringing the total of Project Working Mom scholarships awarded to more than $6 million.

"Project Working Mom started as a single campaign to help working moms go back to school, but the response was so large that we decided to launch another campaign. This time however, in response to the voices of many dads, we have added a father-focused element," said Helen MacDermott, content director for Project Working Mom.

eLearners.com, an online education resource that connects learners with online education and created the Project Working Mom campaigns, also created a complementary, interactive, and in-depth web site to help learners tackle their questions and fears about returning to school. The site is designed to empower working parents and offers advice on going back to school, self-assessment quizzes on numerous subjects including how to determine what subjects to study, an online support community, numerous articles and a database with $15 billion in financial aid opportunities.

"This campaign is a much needed resource for many moms and dads who would love to pursue a new career path, but don't have the money to get the degree they need," said Carey Casey, CEO of the Kansas City-based National Center for Fathering and fathers.com. "Many dads I've talked with would love to go back to school, but they don't know where to begin and for many the biggest barrier is definitely cost. It's great to see action underway to help remove these barriers."

The full-ride online college scholarships through Project Working Mom...and Dads Too! are for online programs from the associate's to Ph.D. level. To apply for a scholarship, working moms and dads can submit a short application at www.projectworkingmom.com. They will also need to complete an essay with their life, education and/or career goals and explain how an online education will allow them to achieve those goals. The deadline to apply for a scholarship is April 30, 2009.

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