“School can be a tremendously disorienting place” (Rose, 2005). While Rose was referring to high school and the dissonance one experiences when exposed to values and practices incongruous with what they’ve learned outside the classroom, the statement can be applied to any type of school and to any type of student. Fresh-faced kindergarteners may find themselves unprepared for a new world in which they must share, take turns with other students and follow a schedule different than that to which they’re accustomed. A new high school student may find it difficult to juggle the demands of several different classes after years spent with the same group of students in a single classroom with the same teacher all day. College students must learn to balance new freedoms and responsibilities while attending school, and will undoubtedly be confronted with experiences and situations that will challenge the values they’ve learned from their families. While any student will likely find school to be a disorienting place, the unique set of challenges and obstacles encountered by adult students are perhaps the most discombobulating.

About 30% of adult students entering colleges in the United States are first-generation students: those who are the first in their families to pursue higher education (Ramsey, 2010). “First-generation students face many challenges once enrolled in college as well. Many, for instance, feel out of place in the academic environment. They may lack study and time-management skills, have trouble understanding what faculty expect from them, and underestimate the time needed to complete assignments” (Vien, 2010).

Further, adult learners may be unfamiliar with the tools required to complete assignments. Computers have become commonplace in the last decade, and many adult students last drafted a research paper on a typewriter. The Internet has become the de