Non-traditional student is an American English term referring to some students at tertiary educational institutions. 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)
- 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 that 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.[1] In 2008, 46% of postsecondary students were enrolled part-time, 32% were employed full-time, 47% were independent students, and 13% were single parents.[2]
Contents |
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. An example of this would be the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which, since 1971, has been supporting an academic major called the University Without Walls- UMass Amherst dedicated specifically to helping non-traditional age students complete their bachelor's degrees.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, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College's Women's External Degree 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.
Such programs have become 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 Resumed Undergraduate Education.
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.