Supporting Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education
Location
PARB 127 (First Floor)
Proposal Track
Practice Report
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2018), non-traditional students now comprise nearly 40% of students enrolled in higher education. Bergman et al., (2014) define nontraditional students as those adult learners who are 24 years old and above. How do the needs of non-traditional students differ from those students who have just graduated from high school and enroll in college?
Most colleges and universities gear their programs and marketing to students right out of high school (Stanfield, 2019). Furthermore, campus activities also focus on this under age 24 demographic, leaving close to half of the student body feeling left out and not supported by their university. These students have life experiences that separate them from the traditional college student and that limit their ability to engage in academics full-time.
The purpose of this study is to examine the need for both academic and social support programs geared to the non-traditional student. The theoretical framework of this study is constructivism (Rocco, et al. (2021), a theory that focuses on how we construct various roles that can include supporting the non-traditional student.
Keywords
non-traditional student, adult student, academic support, social support, constructivism
Professional Bio
Dr. Dianne Ford Lawton is Assistant Professor and the Adult Education Coordinator for Troy University College of Education. She earned her Ed.D at Valdosta State University. Before joining the faculty at Troy University in 2005, she was a gifted program instructor in the Lee County Georgia School System.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Lawton, Dianne F., "Supporting Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education" (2022). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 35.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2022/2022/35
Supporting Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education
PARB 127 (First Floor)
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2018), non-traditional students now comprise nearly 40% of students enrolled in higher education. Bergman et al., (2014) define nontraditional students as those adult learners who are 24 years old and above. How do the needs of non-traditional students differ from those students who have just graduated from high school and enroll in college?
Most colleges and universities gear their programs and marketing to students right out of high school (Stanfield, 2019). Furthermore, campus activities also focus on this under age 24 demographic, leaving close to half of the student body feeling left out and not supported by their university. These students have life experiences that separate them from the traditional college student and that limit their ability to engage in academics full-time.
The purpose of this study is to examine the need for both academic and social support programs geared to the non-traditional student. The theoretical framework of this study is constructivism (Rocco, et al. (2021), a theory that focuses on how we construct various roles that can include supporting the non-traditional student.
