In the wake of the Great Recession (are we officially calling it that now?) there is no shortage of working adults who had their previous careers come to a screeching halt. After getting back on their feet, they are headed back to college and university campuses to chase the knowledge and credentials that may have evaded them earlier in life.
Duncan is a 30-year-old single mom with two boys: Leo, 8, and 18-month-old Ray. The father of her children, she says, is not yet paying child support.
“Now everything is kind of falling on my lap: two kids, I’ve got to kind of get my priorities in line and go back to school and do what I need to do.”
While the enrollment bump during the recession was expected, and in line with historical norms during similarly uncertain economic times, more and more of those students are working their way through degrees while also continuing to participate in the workforce. How big a shift are we talking about? Per the article:
Nearly half of those enrolled in higher ed today are so-called “non-traditional” students. One quarter of all students are over the age of 30.
The rise of the non-traditional (we really don’t like the term, all students deserve the same opportunities) student has been underway for quite some time as more complex service-based jobs often require higher levels of educational completion. Associates and Bachelor’s degrees aren’t a nice to have any more, they are a must have in order to gain entry into the middle class. So what challenges do working adult learners face that are different from the 18-23 year old undergraduate? Some of these are basic, but surprising and alarming.
One example — many adult learners take courses in the evenings when campus services are closed. “What if they need tutoring help?” Gulley asks. “What if they need to drop by the admissions office to change their program of study? What if they need to meet with financial aid?”
Blended, hybrid and fully online learning – done right – can certainly help with access and issues around peer and faculty support. Perhaps there are ways that ‘traditional’ institutions could better serve the ‘non-traditional’ learners that are becoming a growing part of their overall student population.
Shaken By Economic Change, ‘Non-Traditional’ Students Are Becoming The New Normal
