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Ever since I started college, I have had difficulty getting the extra help I need to succeed. My final disappointment came last week when my adviser told me that I could not take advantage of the programs the school offers to nontraditional students. She told me that because I am not old enough, I simply do not qualify. This is confusing to me because I am anything but a “traditional” student. In fact, I am one of the most nontraditional students I know. In spite of my age—I am twenty-two—I have had experiences that separate me from most other students my age. The problem is that the school’s definition of the term nontraditional is so narrow that it excludes people like me who should be able to qualify.

2

According to researchers, the term nontraditional student is difficult to define. Studies show that a broad operational definition that acknowledges many factors is preferable to one that focuses on age alone. For example, the National Center for Educational Statistics bases its definition on whether or not a student has any of the following seven characteristics:

3

Many colleges use similar, or even broader, criteria to define nontraditional student. For example, the University of Arkansas provides special services for older students as well as for students with other work- or family-related responsibilities. In fact, the school has a special department—Non-Traditional Student Services—to meet these students’ needs. The university website says that a nontraditional student is someone who meets just one of the criteria listed above (“Non-Traditional Student Programs”). In addition, the university recognizes other factors, like whether the student is a veteran, an active member of the military, or the first in his or her family to go to college (“Non-Traditional Student Programs”).

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According to the criteria from the National Center for Educational Statistics (listed above), I would have no problem qualifying as a nontraditional student at the University of Arkansas. Our school, however, has a much narrower definition of the term. When I went to Non-Traditional Student Services, I was told that my case did not fit the definition that the school had established. Here, a nontraditional student is someone who is twenty-five or older, period. The person I spoke to said that the school’s intention is to give special help to older students. I was then told that I could appeal and try to convince the dean of Non-Traditional Student Services that I do not fit the definition of a traditional student.

5

By any measure, I am not a “traditional student.” After getting married at seventeen, I dropped out of high school and got a full-time job. Soon, my wife and I began to resent our situation. She was still a high school student and missed being able to go out with her friends whenever she wanted to. I hated my job and missed being a student. Before long, we decided it was best to end our marriage. Instead of going back to high school, however, I enlisted in the Army National Guard. After two years, I had completed a tour in Iraq and earned my GED. As soon as I was discharged from active duty, I enrolled in college—all this before I turned twenty-one.

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I can see how someone could say that I am too young to be considered a nontraditional student. However, I believe that my life experiences should qualify me for this program. My marriage and divorce, time in the army, and reentry issues make me very different from the average first-year student. The special resources available to students who qualify for this program—tutors, financial aid, special advising, support groups, and subsidized housing—would make my adjustment to college a lot easier. I am only four years older than the average first-year students, but I am nothing like them. The focus on age to define nontraditional ignores the fact that students younger than twenty-five may have followed unconventional paths to college. Life experience, not age, should be the main factor in determining whether a student is nontraditional.

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The university should expand the definition of nontraditional to include younger students who have followed unconventional career paths and have postponed college. Even though these students may be younger than twenty-five, they face challenges similar to those faced by older students. Students like me are returning to school in increasing numbers. Our situation is different from that of others our age, and that is exactly why we need all the help we can get.

Works Cited

Kim, Karen A., et al. “Redefining Nontraditional Students: Exploring the Self-Perceptions of Community College Students.” Community College Journal of Research and Practice, vol. 34, 2009–2010, pp. 402–422. Academic Search Complete, web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bpl.org/.

“Non-Traditional Student Programs.” Office of Campus Life. University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2012, ualr.edu/campuslife/ntsp/.

Avoiding Is Where and Is When

In a formal definition, you may find yourself using the phrase is where or is when. If so, your definition is incomplete because it omits the term’s class. The use of is where or is when signals that you are giving an example of the term, not a definition. You can avoid this problem by making sure that the verb be in your definition is always followed by a noun.