Ms Barton (50) will be among about 370 people graduating in person at the polytechnic's latest graduation ceremony at the Dunedin Town Hall at 3pm today.
She is delighted to be graduating, having bounced back from being made redundant in 2011 after working for the Royal New Zealand Navy for more than 25 years.
''I'm absolutely stoked, stoked to have the recognition,'' she said of her academic achievement.
''And I'm feeling really positive now about the future.''
Becoming redundant in her navy clerical position as ''chief petty officer writer'' had come came as a ''shock'' and a ''really personal blow'' after a navy career spent mainly in Auckland, and later in Wellington.
Initially, her morale fell, and for a year she could not find another full-time job, before gaining another administrative post, this time in Christchurch at Te Tupuwae o Rehua, a partnership involving southern tertiary institutions - including Otago Polytechnic and Otago University - and Ngai Tahu, and devoted to ensuring more Maori succeed in education.
And it was through her workplace that she also learnt about Otago Polytechnic and its Capable New Zealand department, which assesses people for previous life/work experience as they work towards a qualification, usually outside the traditional classroom.
Completing the degree requirements, with the backing of her Christchurch employer, involved ''six months of intensive work'' including presenting in Dunedin about 75 pages of written work, involving a case analysis of three businesses, and another study of a projected future initiative.
She was pleased her earlier experience and learning had now been recognised - ''I've attended the university of life,'' she added.
Ms Barton, who has two children, said her life had already been changed through her tertiary studies, which had also added to her workplace skills.
And she had already enrolled for further studies, for a master's degree in indigenous planning, at Lincoln University.