According to the U.S. Department of Education, after six years, more than 40 percent of those who started at a four-year institution have not finished. So writes Phyllis Korkki in her article, "Degree Required, but You Don't Have One," for The New York Times.

In Korkki's look at the issue, she finds the most common excuse is that life intervenes. So what do you do when job searching with "some college" and no degree?

Don't lie.

"Don't lie on your résumé about having a bachelor's degree, but if you spent some time at college, write down "bachelor's studies," with the name of the institution you attended, said Katy Piotrowski, a career counselor based in Fort Collins, Colo., and an author of career books. That could get you past the initial screening.

"If you have only a few credits to go, why let them dog you for the rest of your life? For some people, Ms. Piotrowski said, the hours spent worrying about not having a degree could be spent actually getting one."

Excellent points. Don't lie about your degree, go get it.

Tim and I had a conversation this morning about what teachers would call learning styles. That's not what Tim calls them. He's tired of having to communicate with everyone in the special way they require when none of these people, who are functioning adults, ever try to understand things from his way of communicating.

His point was that when we teach children only in the way they learn best, they grow to think the whole world will accommodate them in that way the rest of their lives. He has a point. Most employers aren't going to coddle you.

So here's the question: are you an adult student who expects to learn only in the way you learn best, in your own learning style? Or are you open to trying to think and learn in new ways, in all possible ways?

For many of us, one graduate degree is a major accomplishment. Rightly so. But there are non-traditional students out there earning dual international business degrees. Joseph Rosenbloom wrote this week about Nabeel Siddiqui, a 29-year-old from India, for The New York Times.

Siddiqui is a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management and the École des Hautes Études Commerciales in Paris at the same time. Master's degrees in hand, he'll be prepared to work for any international company in any country.

"I don't have any inhibitions to go to any country and start working for a business. I don't have to think twice about it," he said.

Dual-degree international programs is a growing trend. Could it be the right move for you? Are you in such a program, or considering one? Tell us about it.

President Obama plans to celebrate the one-year anniversary of his election by focusing on $4.35 billion in education grant money for which states can compete. The money gets doled out in January. Will any of  it reach you?

I don't know, but I hope so. If you've been thinking about going back to school, keep your eyes and ears open. Pay attention to where the money goes in your own state. You just might have an opportunity to improve your education, your skills, your place in the workforce. Don't miss out.