...Meeting the Needs of Non-Traditional Students Vickie Nylander N537 June 4, 2014 Dr. Bonnie Jean Beardsley Meeting the Needs of Non-Traditional Students The needs of the non-traditional student has become the focus of some institutions of higher learning. A shift in the profile of higher education students has taken place: At many institutions, the “traditional” 18- to 21-year-old student cohort is no longer the majority demographic. This study explores the impact on the academic success of nontraditional students attending a public research university in the United States. Institutional practices, policies and programs that enhance the success of the non-traditional students’ college career are identified. What is the scope of the critical issue? The non-traditional students make up at least 50% of higher education enrollments in colleges and universities. Coupled with these increasing enrollment rates, colleges and universities are now being confronted with the problem of the rising attrition rate among minorities, women, and under-prepared adults. The participation of these students on campus, therefore, has become the focus of a great deal of attention by non-traditional student academics. Non-traditional student is an American term referring to a category of students at tertiary educational institutions. The National Center for Education Statistics acknowledges there is no precise definition for non-traditional student, but suggests that part-time status and age...
Words: 2522 - Pages: 11
...MOOCs as the Remedy for Higher Education Abstract Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have recently developed into a popular topic of discussion in higher education forum. Undeniably there are a lot of problems existing in current mode of traditional higher education such as affordability, quality and flexibility. This paper will argue that MOOCs serve as a remedy to address the problems of higher education. 1) MOOCs are made to be affordable to every student who would like to learn, resolving the affordability of higher education; 2) MOOCs initiated interactive classes through various technological applications, to enhance the quality of class learning; 3) MOOCs allow for flexibility to cater to people with different needs or difficulties. Overall, despite some of the limitations, MOOCs could still serve as a remedy to resolve some problems with current higher education but they are certainly not a replacement of traditional higher education. The technology boom has led to a new trend in higher education – MOOC mania. A Massive Open Online Course, by definition of Tamar Lewin in his “Universities Abroad Join Partnerships on the Web”, is an online course for large-scale interactive participation and open access via the web. Besides traditional course materials, MOOCs offer interactive forums that build a learning community that involves both teachers and students (Lewin). MOOCs are widely recognized by its interactive and convenient online learning platforms, and its...
Words: 2914 - Pages: 12
...ONLINE EDUCATION FOR NON-TRADITIONAL STUDENTS Student Name English Composition II July 31, 2014 Unlike the typical college freshman attending the university of their dreams immediately after high school, the college experience for the non-traditional student is quite different. Most non-traditional students are not attending college immediately after high school, they are returning students who have not finished their college education, or they may be full-time working adults or parents who are trying to obtain their education around their already busy schedules. Students of this type need to have alternate paths to choose from which will allow them to meet their other obligations and needs first. These types of students need to be able to balance their personal lives while also being able to successfully reach their ultimate goal, obtaining a college degree. These types of students will likely take a different approach than attending a brick and mortar school. While some students require the more traditional university experience, research shows that an online education is often better suited for the non-traditional student because it is more flexible and convenient, affordable, and can offer a high quality education. An online education is a more flexible and convenient learning format to choose from when compared to the traditional university experience. This benefits non-traditional students because many of them are working adults who need the convenience and...
Words: 2824 - Pages: 12
...October 2014 Higher Education. A Split Decision Universities extend back centuries and have played a huge role in expanding the minds of its attendants. Universities like Oxford or Cambridge were established near to as early as the 1100s, but they were not sanctioned until deemed by a Pope or King soon after. While this great honor of recognition brought a good rep with it, it also came with a price to the masters and their apprentices. Although the system today is quite modernized and is commonly available to all, scholars of the highest degree were the only participants, save it be the masters, of such study in the early days of college. This is also due to the fact that the general population was illiterate. Time passed on and shortly thereafter, universities were beginning to spread like wildfire throughout the nations and the ability to attend such institutions passed down to those who were wealthy or intelligent enough to be accepted. Masters with their students were the leaders of such centers, and they were free to delve into any subject they wished until the desire to become recognized grew. Recognition esteemed them to be great but at such a cost that they studied theology more intently than the liberal arts in order for them to catch the Pope’s eye. Fortunate for education, it progressed far passed theology to explore into the depths of science, reasoning, and technology which came much later in time. Fast forward a few centuries and a higher education became a more...
Words: 2254 - Pages: 10
...journals in higher and continuing education Teachers College Reflecting on Practice: using learning journals in higher and continuing education Langer (2002) central focus is plainly stated in the introduction, which is “how the use of journals impacted the learning process of adult non-traditional students and how this impact compared to that of traditional students”. The purpose of this article critique is to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the Langer (2002) article. The body of the critique will develop the five major elements, which begin with the research question/problem to include the author’s purpose for writing the article. The next element is the conceptual framework, followed by the methodology, results/findings of the study, and lastly the discussion. Even though the research question is stated clearly in the third sentence, the use of the terms former and latter in the introduction was somewhat ambiguous because the two comparatives were used early in the paragraph. The article mentioned traditional students, but it was unclear if they too were adults. The reviewer eventually determined that the traditional students were adults because the article stated that the computer technology certification courses were designed for adult students interested in changing their careers. Langer (2002) gave a clear purpose of his study, which was to understand the immediate and extended effects of journals as learning tools for working with adult students, as well...
Words: 696 - Pages: 3
...in their lives is not a new concept in today’s society. Practically since the establishment of institutions of higher education, the class of student known as the non-traditional student has existed. There is no exacting definition of what a non-traditional student is, but most can agree that one is generally over the age of 24, have not enrolled in post-secondary education immediately after high school, have dependents other than a spouse or are a single parent, work full time while enrolled, or are financially independent from their parents (Kenner & Weinerman, 2011). Adult learners fall into the category of non-traditional student, and face many issues when it comes time to make the decision to return to college. Reasons for returning to, challenges to overcome while attending and type of school attended vary almost as widely as adult learners do themselves. There are an indeterminable number of reasons for an adult to decide to obtain a higher education, and they vary as much as does the diverse group of non-traditional students. As noted on the website back2college.com, some of the more significant reasons include updating personal skills and furthering career advancement, fulfillment of lifelong dreams or potential, achievement of a better life for themselves and their family, and the changing of careers (WD Communications LLC, 2011). For some students there are multiple reasons for obtaining a degree. At the beginning of this year a person named Paul lost a job...
Words: 1349 - Pages: 6
...in Business Education December 1984 College of Education A Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Science in Education Degree Department of Workforce Education and Development In the Graduate School Southern Illinois University – Carbondale December 1, 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………….…………..1 Background……………………………………………………………….1 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………….6 Research Questions………………………………………………………..7 Significance of the Problem……………………………………………….7 II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE………………………………..…..9 Demographics…………………………………………………………….10 Best Practices……………………………………………………………..16 Student Characteristics…………………………………………………...24 III. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS…………………….…….32 Summary …...…………………………………………………………….32 Findings .………..……………………………………………………….. 33 Recommendations………………………………………………………...38 REFERENCES………………………………………………………….. 41 VITA………………………………..……………………………………52 AN ABSTRACT OF THE R ESEARCH PAPER OF Lora Hines, for the Master of Science degree in Workforce Education and Development, presented on December 1, 2011, at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. TITLE: WHAT INFLUENCES ONLINE CLASSES HIGH ATTRITION RATE MAJOR PROFESSOR: Glen Blackstone Online education programs have...
Words: 12295 - Pages: 50
...Online versus Traditional Education Thomas Brantley COM155 March 02, 2014 Nancy Slack Online versus Traditional Education Dating back to the 1600s, higher education has been a part of society for hundreds of years. Founded in the early 1600s, the oldest higher education institution in America is Harvard University. In these earlier days of higher education, institutions were religious affiliated and directed students more toward spiritual studies. Many important programs created by our government stimulated enrollment through loans and grants. One of the most prominent was the National Defense Education Act of 1958. With the number of changes in higher education, some good and some bad, one thing remains the same from all, the need for change and to evolve. A new development in American education is emerging. This new change is distance education. The internet has greatly helped evolve distance education into what it is today through online learning systems. Many do not see distance education as something of high credibility. However, distance education through online learning systems today has gained great popularity in a society filled with busy individuals who do not seem to have the time to go into a classroom setting day after day. While online college discussion and instruction is different, both online and traditional colleges have a similar structure, assignments and both are regionally and nationally accredited. Although class discussion of a traditional college is different...
Words: 1199 - Pages: 5
...priority list. Educational institutions and our nation’s leaders have begun the rigorous task of examining the demographics and trends that influence enrollment and retention of students which ultimately determine the success of nation’s graduation rate. Fong (2012) reports that, “Of the three million students who begin U.S. degree programs each year, 1.6 million, or 53 percent never graduate,” (Fong, J. 2012). However, in more recent times, higher education has seen the emerging phenomenon of older working adults returning to college in pursuit of a postsecondary education. This current trend is worthy of examination by universities as an important segment of their student population; this may potentially be able to increase graduation rates of American college graduates. The increasing number of adult learners enrolling in college can solve the problem with the decline in college graduate rates if a better focus on the unique variables on adult learners is made. Pre-assessments of the adult learner upon enrollment and throughout the degree plan, tailored curriculum and increased accessibility to resources which include effective mentorship to guide students toward success will help increase the graduation rate. Within this essay, I will be using the terms “adult learner” and “non-traditional student” interchangeably. According to Flint (2000), “NCES...
Words: 2191 - Pages: 9
...only for the education of children and not for the education of all adults of every age? (Erich Fromm) Without continual growth and progress, then improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. Success requires hard work, dedication, and the determination to self-satisfy the need to become the best individual anyone could be. While direct and indirect learning are seen as effective solutions to gaining higher education, they differ in social interaction, hands-on learning, and organized scheduling. Many online and traditional students still work as professionals with full-time jobs. They’re parents with the responsibility of taking care of a family, live in the country or isolated counties, or happen to be retirees attempting to further their education or aspiring students who simply cannot afford to make the transition to attend college classes on campus so the online setting is the closest form of traditional education virtually possible for them to pursue a higher form of education. To make this determination, it is important to first evaluate whether or not patience, means and ability to pursue a degree of choice from a traditional institution as opposed to an online setting is possible. The computer-generated classroom is a key contributor to the educational community, causing establishments to begin practicing the same online prototypical as a form of training technical specialists in both private and public universities. Online students must possess...
Words: 1687 - Pages: 7
...Theory and Research in Education http://tre.sagepub.com/ Individual choice and unequal participation in higher education Kristin Voigt Theory and Research in Education 2007 5: 87 DOI: 10.1177/1477878507073617 The online version of this article can be found at: http://tre.sagepub.com/content/5/1/87 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com Additional services and information for Theory and Research in Education can be found at: Email Alerts: http://tre.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://tre.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://tre.sagepub.com/content/5/1/87.refs.html >> Version of Record - Feb 13, 2007 What is This? Downloaded from tre.sagepub.com at Templeman Lib/The Librarian on January 28, 2013 . . TRE Individual choice and unequal participation in higher education k ri st i n vo i g t Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, UK a b s t rac t Does the unequal participation of non-traditional students in higher education indicate social injustice, even if it can be traced back to individuals’ choices? Drawing on luck egalitarian approaches, this article suggests that an answer to this question must take into account the effects of unequal brute luck on educational choices. I use a framework based on expected utility theory to analyse qualitative studies on educational choice.This reveals...
Words: 12587 - Pages: 51
...Reflecting on Practice: Using Learning Journals in Higher and Continuing Education Zaidoon Almassad Writing 7000 Argosy University Marilyn Malarz, Ph. D. January 17, 2014 The propose for writing this paper is to critique the article “reflecting on practice: using journals in higher and continuing education”. The study was presented by Columbia University's Computer Technology program in Continuing Education. The author of this article is Arthur M. Langer and it was published in 2002 in Columbian University. My critique based on the five elements which are research question and problems, literature review, methodology, results and findings, discussion. After I read entire article carefully I identified how the article was organized. What author’s thought patterns, his way of thinking, evaluated Strengths and Weaknesses, how can findings be used in practice? This article explained that students should use journals in their studies for their researches. The purpose of this study was to describe the use of learning journals as vehicles for encouraging critical reflection among non-traditional students and to compare variances with studies among traditional students. An objective of the study was to understand how students in a technical computer class reacted to the requirements for learning journals. Qualitative method focused on whether learning journals show to be an effective teaching tool in science-based, adult learning. The purpose of this article critique...
Words: 710 - Pages: 3
...categories……………………….….……..…………………………7 What is tuition discounting…………………………………………………………………...………………………………...8 Tuition discounting is attractive to higher education institutions..……………………………….………….9 Negative consequences to tuition discounting………………………………….……………..……………….…..10 For-Profit and Distance Learning Schools.……….……………………………….…………………………………...12 Trends in revenue and funding………………………………………………………….…...……………………….…….11 Gainful employment.……………………………………………………………………………….…………………………….13 Solutions……………….…………………………………………………………………………..……….………………………….14 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………….……….…………………………15 References…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….16 Introduction The most important investment that someone will make in life is education. It sets the foundation for one’s professional life and career. Education needs to be accessible to everyone who chooses to pursue it. This means that education should be accessible both in a classroom, online, digital, for both non-traditional and traditional students. Having the opportunity to earn a degree is both fundamental to a student’s success in life and increases their chances of being a well-rounded individual with goals and expectations for a profession. Abstract The mushrooming of student financial aid in all its forms has transformed the economics of American Higher Education. For private colleges and universities, the privatizations era has brought...
Words: 4420 - Pages: 18
...Future models of higher education Analysing innovative models for Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka An Economist Intelligence Unit report produced for the British Council January 2015 Commissioned by and in co-operation with www.eiu.com Trisha Suresh - British Council report New University models Cover.indd 1 1/5/2015 4:21:54 PM Trisha Suresh - British Council report New University models Cover.indd 2 1/5/2015 4:21:54 PM The changing university: In numbers 4.03 3.54 12.15 2.47 5.45 14.2 1.41 17.40 3.58 4.19 9.18 0.91 21.78 6.83 0.69 2010 27.81 25.01 16.07 11.49 2020 36.75 11.93 11.77 2030 39.70 11.65 Sub Saharan Africa South and West Asia Source: "Higher Education in 2035: The ongoing massification", by Angel Calderon, RMIT University North America and Western Europe Central and Eastern Europe East Asia and the Pacific Central Asia Latin America and the Caribbean Arab States Tertiary enrolment: Past and future Global enrolment in tertiary education has increased dramatically in the last few decades. In 2000, there were 99.4m students enrolled in higher education institutions. In 2030, research expects this number to rise to 414.2m. South Asia's proportion of global enrolment has been rapid: the region constituted only 12.15% of global enrolment in 2000, but this is expected to grow to over 20% in 2030. Growing economies and youthful population are driving continued growth in the region's appetite for higher education. Current demand...
Words: 5123 - Pages: 21
...becoming a new disruptive innovation that will radically change the scene of higher education. This report will analyse the external environment for MOOC provider Udacity, evaluate their competitive strategy and then discuss the future outlook for them and the industry. | Contents Introduction 2 The External Environment 2 Udacity’s competitive strategy 4 The future of the industry and how Udacity can sustain competitive advantage 6 References 7 Appendix 1 – PEST Analysis Table 11 Appendix 2 – PEST Analysis Graph 12 Appendix 3 – Product Life Cycle 13 Appendix 4 – MOOC Industry Life Cycle 14 Appendix 5 – Strategic Groups 1 15 Appendix 6 – Strategic Groups 2 16 Appendix 7 – Porter’s Five Forces (Current) 17 Appendix 8 – Porter’s Five Forces (Future) 18 Appendix 9 – SWOT Analysis 19 Appendix 10 – New Strategies 20 Appendix 11 – Commonly Required Skills and Resources 21 Introduction Udacity is a massive open online course (MOOC) provider based in Silicon Valley, offering career-focused education. They are partnered with tech-giants Google and Facebook and their mission is to “bring accessible, affordable, engaging, and highly effective higher education to the world” (Udacity, 2015). The External Environment Udacity’s macro environment (appendix 1) shows increasing numbers of mature and part-time learners are looking for alternatives to traditional education (Morris, 2013). They require cheap and flexible classes (Butcher and Rose-Adams...
Words: 3652 - Pages: 15
