Non Traditional Students
According to current estimates approximately 75 percent of college students are now nontraditional students – older than 25, attending school part time, and having delayed entry or reentry into college for a variety of personal reasons. Post secondary education is needed by such students to develop their careers and to acquire new skills and knowledge in a global society where they are likely to have longer life spans than did workers in the past. This trend is not restricted to North America; it is a worldwide phenomenon.
Over the years, these nontraditionals have chosen either slower or faster options to proceed through their chosen curricula. They could work incrementally, taking a few courses per year while taking advantage of workplace tuition reimbursement programs or similar specialized programs to fund their college education. Recently, online education has allowed accelerated progress toward earning degrees. Traditional institutions developed these formats to serve working adults, and the emergence of nontraditional institutions such as the University of Phoenix delivered accelerated education in a variety of flexible formats such as asynchronous learning.
Programs catering to nontraditional students date from the early 1970s. The University of Massachusetts was a pioneer in such efforts when it began University Without Walls in 1971. UWW is an academic major whose purpose was to help nontraditionals earn a degree from a respected university. Students design their own program of study and may take online, blended or on campus classes that fit into students’ busy lives and complicated schedules. In addition, students may earn up to 30 credits for learning garnered through work and life experienc...
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...int applicants with college level study or to reduce anxiety about reentry after an interruption. Some of these are linked to resources to refresh college study skills.
Critics contend that the influx of nontraditionals into the college student market has accelerated a trend toward the “massification” of collegiate education – that is, that it has led to a watered down pedagogy that is far below the goals and expectation of the elite colleges. Nonetheless, the improvements in education oriented toward accommodation of the nontraditional student have had the practical effect of making college more affordable and accessible to all classes of people.
References
Brookfield, Stephen. 1986.
Wlodkowshi, Raymond and Carol E. Kasworm (Eds.). 2003. Accelerated Learning for Adults:
The Promise and Practice of Intensive Educational Formats. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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English 50 The Challenge of Getting a College Education Whether someone is returning to college or has just completed high school, there are many factors to consider. What is the goal? Is it a vocation or a technology? Perhaps a degree, there is an Associates of Art or an Associates of Science, or a Bachelor’s of Arts or Science. Or even a Doctorate.
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