What people need to know about Non-traditional Students

Non-traditional students are a bigger portion of University and college student population than ever before. Some are going back to school after a break, others are going for the first time. They include parents, married or single students, and their ages range from 19 to 99 and over.

I myself am a non-traditional student - - first at a University, and now I am studying online. I found out that I was not alone - and even made some much younger friends while I was at college. I made a Non-Traditional Student website, too - where I hope to put many non-traditional groups from all over the world.

Non-Traditional students can also join a Yahoo group that is here. We have students there from all over the country. Hopefully, we can expand that membership to include non-traditional students from many other countries in the months to come. I think it's so important to make connections. As a non-traditional student, I found that the connections I made in class and out of class made a lot of difference to me in how focused I could be in my studies.

Other Non-traditional issues:

There are many issues that non-traditional students deal with on a daily basis. Here are some of them: 

1. Children and families

2. Paying for school

3. Time and jobs

4. Face-to-Face classes vs. Distance Learning

5. Support - is there support at the college?

6. Paying for daycare

7. Transportation

8. Feeling out of place

9. Deciding on a career change

10. Not being accepted

11. Responsibilities

12. Having rusty study skills

On the good side...

Non-traditional students bring a whole new outlook to classes. They bring a wealth of new experience and a unique outlook on problems, issues, and new ways of looking at the world. Younger students can benefit from the work ethic and focus of non-traditional students, too. These students (non-trads...) are in school because they WANT to be. That makes them view classes and relationships with professors in new ways.  

I think more and more colleges and universities are becoming aware of the unique challenges and opportunities non-traditional students bring along when they attend school. They are a growing population, and younger students will be seeing more and more non-traditional students in the years to come. The old adage that "you need to learn throughout your life" is never more true than today.

The digital age and the changing technology in the world make it often necessary to go back to school and learn new things. With the aging of our population, more and more people will be thinking about improving their lives and learning new things. It's just the beginning of new and outstanding opportunities to come for non-traditional students. I am excited about the future of education - - because the diversity non-traditional students bring to classes will make future learning more interesting than ever!