Gone are the days when going to graduate school meant only a career in academics or a move up the corporate ladder. The Ph.D. and the MBA have been joined by an alphabet full of flexible and employment-relevant degrees. Graduate schools have kept up with the needs of students and their concerns about time and money by developing programs that meet specific needs.

U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Ivy, has introduced his first bill, a measure that aims to make higher education more affordable. Perriello and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, announced Monday that they have co-authored the College Learning Access, Simplicity and Savings Act, which would make it easier for students and parents to apply to claim tax credits for higher education expenses.

In the first year that Liberty University has ever closed enrollment early, its seminary school is projected to increase its student body by more than 50 percent. Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School is expecting 510 resident students this fall, and 4,580 distance-learning students. Last fall, the seminary had 352 resident students and 2,917 distance-learning students.