1

Colleges and universities are experiencing an increase in the number of nontraditional students, and this number is projected to rise. Although these students enrich campus communities and provide new opportunities for learning, they also present challenges. Generally, nontraditional students are older, attend school part-time, and are self-supporting. With their years of life experience, they tend to have different educational goals from other students. Although many schools recognize that nontraditional students have unique needs, most schools ignore these needs and unfairly continue to focus on the “typical” student. As a result, nontraditional students frequently do not have the same access to educational opportunities as their younger counterparts. To solve this problem, universities need to do more to ensure equitable treatment of nontraditional students.

600

2

Most people’s assumptions about who is enrolled in college are out of date. According to the educational policy scholar Frederick Hess, only 15 percent of all undergraduates attend a four-year college and live on campus. In other words, so-called typical college students are in the minority. In fact, 38 percent of today’s undergraduates are over age twenty-five, 37 percent attend part-time, 32 percent work full-time, and many are responsible for dependents. In addition, real-world responsibilities cause many nontraditional students to delay starting school, to take a break in the middle, or to drop out entirely. According to Alan Tripp, nearly two thirds of all nontraditional students drop out of college. Although some argue that schools already provide extra help, such as advising and tutoring, others point out that asking nontraditional students to adapt to an educational model that focuses on the traditional student is a form of discrimination against them. These people recommend that schools institute policies that reflect the growing number of nontraditional students on campus and address the challenges that these students face every day.

3

Most people would agree that diversity is highly valued on college campuses. In fact, most universities go to great lengths to admit a diverse group of students—including nontraditional students. However, as Jacqueline Muhammad points out, universities do not serve these students well after they are enrolled. By asking nontraditional students to assimilate into the traditional university environment, colleges marginalize them, and this is not ethical. Evidence of this marginalization is not difficult to find. As one college student acknowledges, “These students have a lot to offer, but often they don’t feel included” (qtd. in Muhammad). This lack of inclusion is seen in many areas of campus life, including access to classes and services, availability of relevant programs and courses, and use of fair and appropriate classroom practices. To be fair, a university should ensure that all of its students have equal access to a meaningful and fulfilling education. By maintaining policies and approaches that are not inclusive, colleges marginalize nontraditional students.

601

4

To ensure the fair treatment of nontraditional students, colleges need to remove the barriers those students face. One of the first barriers that nontraditional students face is difficulty gaining access to classes and student services. Academic schedules, including the academic calendar and class times, frequently exclude working adults and parents. As Frederick Hess explains, “A semester system . . . works well for 19-year-olds used to the rhythms of high school, but that’s hugely frustrating for workers.” In addition, unless classes and services are available in the evening, on weekends, or online, they are inaccessible to many students. As one professional advocate for nontraditional students explains, “Most nontraditional students have obligations during the day that make it difficult to access on-campus resources that are only open during business hours” (qtd. in Muhammad). This situation makes it difficult (and sometimes impossible) for nontraditional students to schedule required courses or to get extra help, such as tutoring. As long as these barriers to equal access exist, nontraditional students will always be “second-class citizens” in the university.

5

Schools also need to stop devaluing the kinds of programs in which nontraditional students tend to enroll. Research shows that the reasons older students want to continue their educations “indicate high motivation and commitment, but require accommodations to instruction” (Newman, Deyoe, and Seelow 107). Many are taking courses in order to return to work, change careers, or improve their chances for a promotion. According to Hess, although the greatest demand is for associate’s degrees, over 50 percent of nontraditional students are seeking “subbaccalaureate” certification credentials. As Hess demonstrates, certification programs are considered to be marginal, even in community colleges. One reason for this situation is that most schools still judge their own worth by factors—such as academic ranking or grant money—that have little to do with teaching career skills. By devaluing practical training that certification programs offer, schools are undermining the educational experience that many nontraditional students want.

6

Finally, universities need to do more to encourage inclusive teaching approaches. According to Joshua L. Carreiro and Brian P. Kapitulik, most educators assume their students are “traditional”—that they are recent high school graduates from middle-class backgrounds with little work experience (232). As a result, nontraditional students “are frequently mis-served by direct instruction due to financial, family, career, or learning style preferences” (Newman, Deyoe, and Seelow 107). Carreiro and Kapitulik conclude that these assumptions result in “an exclusive classroom environment” that excludes and marginalizes nontraditional students (246). One way of addressing this problem is for universities to expand online education offerings. Online courses enable nontraditional students to gradually assimilate into the college environment and to work at their own pace without fear of ridicule. Universities can also encourage instructors to develop new teaching approaches. If instructors want to be more inclusive, they can acknowledge diversity by engaging students in diverse ways of thinking and learning (Hermida). For example, they can ask students to relate course material to their own experiences, and they can bring in guest speakers from a variety of backgrounds. By acknowledging the needs of nontraditional students, instructors can provide a better education for all students.

602

7

Not everyone believes that colleges and universities need to change their basic assumptions about education. They concede that nontraditional students might need extra support, but they say that these students are adults and should be able to fend for themselves. Students’ commitments outside of school—for instance, children or a full-time job—should not be a concern for colleges and universities. If these students need help, they can get support from one another, or they can turn to student-led organizations. Even those educators who are sympathetic to nontraditional students suggest that extra mentoring or advising is all that is necessary. However, the problems faced by these students need to be addressed, and according to Hermida, by ignoring institutional barriers and biases, colleges and universities are essentially burying their heads in the sand (22). To be more welcoming to nontraditional students, universities must fundamentally change some of the structures and practices that have traditionally defined them. Ultimately, everyone—the schools, the communities, and the students—will benefit from these adjustments.

8

According to Hermida, many of today’s students are nontraditional (20). Most of the current research suggests that inclusion is their most pressing concern. As this population continues to grow, say Newman, Deyoe, and Seelow, educators should focus on offering “clear objectives, direct ties to life experience, and multiple opportunities” for nontraditional students to engage in the college community (122). Giving preferential treatment to some students while ignoring the needs of others is ethically wrong, so schools need to work harder to end discrimination against this increasingly large group of learners.

603

Works Cited

Carreiro, Joshua L., and Brian P. Kapitulik. “Budgets, Board Games, and Make Believe: The Challenge of Teaching Social Class Inequality with Nontraditional Students.” American Sociologist, vol. 41, no. 3, Oct. 2010, pp. 232–48. Academic Search Complete, www.ebscohost.com/academic.

Hermida, Julian. “Inclusive Teaching: An Approach for Encouraging Nontraditional Student Success.” International Journal of Research and Review, vol. 5, no. 1, Oct. 2010, pp. 19–30. Academic Search Complete, www.ebscohost.com/academic.

Hess, Frederick. “Old School: College’s Most Important Trend Is the Rise of the Adult Student.” The Atlantic, 28 Sept. 2011, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/old-school-colleges-most-important-trend-is-the-rise-of-the-adult-student/245823/.

Muhammad, Jacqueline. “New Coordinator to Address Nontraditional Student Needs.” Daily Egyptian, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, 8 Dec. 2011, archives.dailyegyptian.com/siu-2011/2011/12/8/new-coordinator-to-address-non-traditional-student-needs.html.

Newman, Dianna L., Meghan Morris Deyoe, and David Seelow. “Serving Nontraditional Students: Meeting Needs through an Online Writing Program.” Models for Improving and Optimizing Online and Blended Learning in Higher Education, edited by Jared Keengwe and Joachim Jack Agamba, IGI Global, 2015, pp. 106–28.

Tripp, Alan. “Guest Post: Nontraditional Students Key to College Completion Goal.” Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2011, www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/guest-post-non-traditional-students-key-to-college-completion-goal/2011/03/25/AFV8eIXB_blog.html.

Subordination and Coordination

When you write an argumentative essay, you need to show readers the logical and sequential connections between your ideas. You do this by using coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions—words that join words, phrases, clauses, or entire sentences. Be sure to choose conjunctions that accurately express the relationship between the ideas they join.

Coordinating conjunctions—and, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet—join ideas of equal importance. In compound sentences, they describe the relationship between the ideas in the two independent clauses and show how these ideas are related.

Subordinating conjunctions—after, although, because, if, so that, where, and so on—join ideas of unequal importance. In complex sentences, they describe the relationship between the ideas in the dependent clause and the independent clause and show how these ideas are related.

For more practice, see the LearningCurve on Coordination and Subordination within this LaunchPad.