Non-traditional student

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Non-traditional student is an American English term referring to students at higher education institutions (college or university) who generally fall into two categories:

• Students who are older than the historically typical undergraduate student (usually aged 18-25), and had interrupted their studies earlier in life
• Students of traditional age but attending colleges or programs that provide unconventional scheduling to allow for other responsibilities and pursuits concurrent with attaining a degree

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) acknowledges there is no precise definition for non-traditional student, but suggests that part-time status and age are common elements in most definitions. In a 1996 study the NCES included anyone who satisfies at least one of the following as a non-traditional student^[1]:

• Delays enrollment (does not enter postsecondary education in the same calendar year that he or she finished high school);

• Attends part time for at least part of the academic year;

• Works full time (35 hours or more per week) while enrolled;

• Is considered financially independent for purposes of determining eligibility for financial aid;

• Has dependents other than a spouse (usually children, but sometimes others);

• Is a single parent (either not married or married but separated and has dependents); or

• Does not have a high school diploma (completed high school with a GED or other high school completion certificate or did not finish high school).

By this standard, the NCES determined an astounding 73% of all undergraduates in 1999–2000 could be considered non-traditional, therefore comprising the vast majority of total undergraduate students in the United States, and representing the newly "typical" undergraduate.

The origin of modern expansion in non-traditional student populations in the United States is often traced to the GI Bill benefits for returning veterans of World War II. Among these benefits was funding for tuition to receive vocational and tertiary education. The vast number of veterans from this period guaranteed a significant demand for higher education by these non-traditional students, which was only compounded by the popularity of the program.

Contents 1 Population 2 Opportunities 2.1 Programs 2.2 Colleges 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links

[edit] Population

Older students may be returning to school for a number of different reasons: some pursued unconventional career paths while others are training for a career change; some may have chosen to wait to enter college due to military service, while others simply waited a few years instead of entering directly after high-school, or did not finish high-school and earned a General Educational Development (GED) diploma later in life. Some women who have been stay-at-home mothers begin or return to college after their children begin kindergarten or have left the home.

Examples of younger non-traditional students of the usual college-age are Olympians or professional athletes, actors, dancers, and other performers as well as other careers, who choose to forgo the "traditional" college for a non-traditional course of study in order to facilitate or accommodate that career while pursuing a degree. Still other reasons may influence a younger student to pursue a non-traditional course of study - no justification is necessary to attend, though there are criteria for admission.

[edit] Opportunities

[edit] Programs

Programs for non-traditional students include options for both full-time and part-time study, though both choices are not necessarily available at every institution. Many colleges offer programs within their regular curriculum to serve non-traditional students. Women's colleges with long traditions have offered programs for older women who would like to return to school, such as Agnes Scott College's Irene K. Woodruff return-to-college program, Mount Holyoke College's Frances Perkins Program, Simmons College (Massachusetts)'s Dorothea Lynde Dix Scholars Program, Smith College's Ada Comstock Scholars Program, Bryn Mawr College's Katherine McBride Scholars Program, and Wellesley College's Davis Degree Program. Similarly, Tufts University's REAL program (Resumed Education for Adult Learners) was originally intended to draw young mothers back into higher education, but soon expanded to admit men and women aged 24 or over.

Programs have become more common-place, extending even to colleges in Ivy League universities. Yale University hosts a non-traditional student option through its Eli Whitney Students Program. "Whitney Students" take classes with other undergraduates and may earn either a B.A. or B.S. degree. The Eli Whitney Students Program is very small and highly competitive. Brown University also hosts a similar program called Returning Undergraduate Education.

[edit] Colleges

In contrast, a few select degree-granting colleges (not merely "programs" or "divisions" within an existing college) are oriented entirely towards non-traditional students. Examples include the Fordham College of Liberal Studies at Fordham University, the Columbia University School of General Studies, and the Harvard Extension School at Harvard University. The State University of New York serves non-traditional students with their own college through the multi-campus Empire State College. Students at these colleges may take all of their courses with other non-traditional students, or may share class with students from other colleges in the respective university, or some combination of the two. Distance learning also caters to non-traditional students. Among the largest accredited examples is the University of Phoenix.

[edit] See also

• Adult education
• Adult learner
• Alpha Sigma Lambda
• Continuing education
• Mature student

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Crimaldi, Laura, "Older residents follow Pathway to college", Boston Herald, Sunday, January 4, 2009. About students successes in the College Pathways program at ABCD Learning Works in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Rogers, Alan, "Non-formal Education: Flexible Schooling Or Participatory Education?", Springer, 2005. ISBN 0387246363

[edit] External links

• The Association for Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education (ANTSHE)
• Alpha Sigma Lambda, the national honor society for non-traditional undergraduate students in the United States

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