A call for colleges to step up for nontraditional students
Posted on May 12, 2011 by JRF
While reading this article about how Elizabethtown College is receiving the 2011 Excellence in Innovation Award for their accelerated adult degree program, I began to think about support for nontraditional students. If colleges enact policies and programs that help or hurt; whether or not professors understand some of the obstacles nontraditional students face and how to help. (Not like the guy in this article, who asked nontraditional student Allison what she meant by that term, “Does that mean you have three legs or something?”)
Dr. John Kokolus, Dean of Elizabethtown’s Center for Continuing Education said, “Adult learners are a vital part of Elizabethtown College.”
Are there people at every college who feel this way? Who understand that there are so many more challenges and responsibilities for people who attend school later in life?
As an organization that supports women 35 and older as they earn degrees, JRF tries to constantly reevaluate the scholarship program to best serve the needs of the women who receive awards. Shouldn’t colleges do the same?
What are your thoughts and experiences with support (or lack thereof) for nontraditional students?
Tagged: adult ed, nontraditional student, elizabethtown college
