Policies, programs, and services for nontraditional students at private, four year institutions in the southeastern United States

Abstract

Growth in the numbers of nontraditional students on campuses nationwide has increased significantly over the past two decades. Many nontraditional students return to the campus for work-related reasons. Furthermore, societal transformations, demographic trends, and the developmental growth of adults appear to be interrelated components underlying the changing composition of the student population.

The purpose of this study was to describe the current state of support services for nontraditional students at private, four-year institutions in the Southeastern United States. Nontraditional students were defined in this study as undergraduate students who are 25 years old or older.

The population for the study consisted of the 226 private, four-year institutions with undergraduate student populations that appeared on the 1986 Member List of the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges.

The results of the study indicated that 78% of the responding institutions serve a nontraditional student population, and that 21% of the institutions not presently serving nontraditional students plan to recruit from the adult population in the academic year 1988-89. Additionally, a wide range of support services were reported by institutions with nontraditional students. Approximately 87% (N=119) of these institutions reported one or more policies designated for nontraditional students.

Demographic data were provided by crosstabulation of each policy, program, and service with the following variables: institutional location, type (church-affiliated or independent), and size. A demographic profile of the nontraditional student indicated that the majority of nontraditional students are between 25 and 34 years old and attend church-affiliated institutions with an enrollment of over 2,000 students, located in cities of over 100,000 population.

A follow-up study examined in detail innovative programs at 18 institutions.