The Nontraditional Learner’s Guide to Success

“The graying of America has had a powerful impact on all segments of American society including businesses, government, health care, and education” (Craig, 1997). However, what obstacles, if any, does the nontraditional student experience in the educational genre and how can the informal support network help to overcome these obstacles? The impetus of this book was my desire to help as many students as possible regardless of age to succeed in college. What prompted you to decide to return to the college environment or attend college for the first time? In order to truly appreciate this situation, let's first establish some history and develop a foundation for this book. This influx of older or mature students has been prompted by demographic, economic, and technological changes and developments. In addition, the older population is living longer, retiring at a later age, and enjoying a healthier lifestyle more than ever. Therefore, the need or desire to further either their personal, career, or educational goals can now be fulfilled. This was previously not an option in the form of credit or noncredit college-level courses. However, just as traditional students must face obstacles in their educational journey, so do the older population. “Adult students often must confront issues of balancing family and career demands” compounded by the “restrictions on their study time due to domestic commitments” (Richardson & King, 2002). My educational journey may not be the textbook example of how to obtain a degree. Upon graduation from high school, I attended a local junior college and earned an Associate's degree, while working full-time at a local bank. This financial institution based compensation and promotions upon job performance and only partially considered the level of education for the individual employee. I had progressed up the ranks in the financial institution from a bank teller, collection agent, loan interviewer, to finally a mortgage and personal loan officer. However, after over seven years with the bank, the financial institution and career that I had worked and strived so hard at was bought by a holding company and the loan department was eliminated in deference to the existing loan processing center over two hundred miles away. Continuing my education was not in my immediate plans at that time. Therefore, I then went to work for another company for eight years until I became tired of training individuals for positions that I was qualified for but could not be assigned to because I did not meet the formal education requirements. As a consequence, I became a nontraditional learner and reenrolled in college. In reference to a support system, my enrollment counselor at the time questioned if I could make it. He plainly stated that he doubted that I would successfully complete my degree since I had a family and financial obligations not including the pending financial debt for my college education. He stated my time away from the classroom and work obligations would be too great to overcome. Talk about a negative influence. After all, this was a question that I had already pondered myself, and having been asked this question by the counselor only added to my apprehension. Who is this book truly written for? The insights gleaned from my research and investigation will hopefully enable nontraditional learners, either entering college for the first time or returning to the college environment, to draw on the experiences of other successful nontraditional learners, including me, and to become more aware of the success factors or challenges that may assist or inhibit them. In addition, the new or returning nontraditional learners could benefit from this knowledge, capitalizing on the opportunity to determine if the various levels and types of support will be conducive to their individual needs. This book can also provide some useful insights that the nontraditional students will need to make their own assessment as to whether they possess the informal support network needed to aid in the successful completion of their education. One of the key components of any informal support network is the family. This book can enable families of nontraditional learners to discover how they can best support the learning process of the nontraditional learner. The benefit of this knowledge can enable the families to be prepared to make a conscious decision on whether they will be willing and able to provide the necessary level and type of support the nontraditional learner truly needs. The type of support will vary from one learner to another depending upon their personal situations and circumstances. Obviously, established lines of communication will need to be present in order for this process to be of benefit. The nontraditional learner is going to need to adequately communicate to their informal support network what kind of support they require while at the same time, the informal support network will need to convey the type of support that they will be able to supply as well. One key point needs to be mentioned, the nontraditional learner needs to be aware that the support could and in some cases should manifest itself in the form of constructive criticism. The maturity level of the nontraditional learner needs to be in place in order to truly benefit from this mode of support and not merely take it personally as an affront to their work or method of learning. This can be significantly easier said than done, but is it crucial for the success of the nontraditional learner. They have to be willing to learn from the typical sources of knowledge, for example, instructors, research, and textbooks, and also, from their informal support network and their feedback. This book can also benefit the advisors of nontraditional learners. The advisor has the ability to recognize and potentially influence the path of success for the nontraditional learner from the outset of their educational journey versus merely signing the student up for classes. More important, if properly trained, the academic advisors can identify possible issues or roadblocks for the nontraditional learner and take a proactive position and assist the learner.