UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
A
Friday, December 3,1993
7
nontraditional return
his brother.
The business was unsuccessful so Jones went to work for the Lawrence Fire Department.
"It was a good career," he said. "But it wasn't practical because of my daughter. They have 24 hour shifts and hazardous duty."
The reasons nontraditional students left school or never started college are as varied as the students themselves.
Some did not get their degrees because they could not afford school. Others could not attend college because they started a family at a young age, sometimes right out of high school.
But the reasons they give for coming back are the same.
Financial issues push some people back into the classroom. In a changing and weak job market, it can be difficult to live on the wages offered to those without a college degree.
The value of a high school diploma has dropped steadily as more and more young people go on to earn bachelor's degrees right out of high school. As the high school diploma's
Age groups on Lawrence campus
The undergraduate population on the main KU campus in Lawrence
Chart
does not include 15 and 16-year-old undergraduate students. There are 11 students in this group in Lawrence.
The oldest ... A 73 year old student
The youngest ...
Source: Office of Institutional Dan Schauer/
Research and Planning KAANSAN
value falls so does that of a bachelor's degree. This domino effect is making graduate school more and more necessary, even for people who have already earned a college degree.
Other nontraditional students come back because they feel they missed something. For those people there is a great sense of accomplishment just in getting a college education.
Linda Pritchard, a 47-year-old sophomore who works full time in the Student Affairs office, said she always wanted to return to college.
"By the time I get my degree it will be time to retire," Pritchard said. "I just want it. I think I have expanded my perspective by going back to school."
Because of the difficulties that may lie ahead, the decision to return to school is not always an easy one.
Pros and cons
For nontraditional students, going back to school means more than deciding on a major. Often it includes juggling work, family, classes and strict budgeting of time and money.
Because most nontraditional students have been out of school for a long time, they often have forgotten how to study, said Ronnie Bryant, vice president of OAKS—Non-Traditional Student Organization.
Nontraditional students also are frustrated by the differences that separate them from their classmates.
"It's hard to get to know traditional students," Bryant said. "It's hard to make traditional friends."
He said that he would like to be able to study with some of the traditional students in his classes because studying has proved to be one of the hardest aspects of returning to school.
Studying with nontraditional students also could be beneficial for traditional students.
Beverly Williams, Daytona Beach, Fla., freshman, said an older student in her Understanding America course seemed to lead the discussion in class.
questions." she said.
Stacy Kaplan, Minneapolis, Minn., junior, said she had heard students say negative things about the nontraditional students because they ask a lot of questions.
"He knows more about it, and he
"But they ask questions others would want to ask and don't," she said.
William Arnold, associate professor of sociology, said that nontraditional students often asked questions in class that had not occurred to him.
"They pay more attention to the world around them," he said. "They also have more life experience with family and kids."
But many traditional students may not realize that the nontraditional students asking the questions are often setting the curve.
"The nontrads I know think a B is a bad grade," he said. "And C's are not even thought of."
Bryant said that the nontraditional students he knows take their grades very seriously.
Charla Tungt, a 44-year-old graduate student, said that as a nontraditional undergraduate she had to learn to set priorities.
One of those priorities is graduate school. Tunget is planning a career in community health services, and she knows that without graduate school that career would be impossible.
"If I'm going to spend my time and money, I want to do well." she said.
Tungtet said that students could do well if they went to class, paid attention and studied. Those are the easiest aspects of going back to school, she said.
The money
The most difficult challenge facing nontraditional students is the limited power of the pocketbook.
"Most people I know are going to school on loans," Brant said.
Loans stack up easily and make the thought of graduating and paying them back a little scary. Bryant said.
Traditional students work and take out loans as well, said Laura Morgan, OAKS faculty sponsor. But most traditional students do not have to support a family, as many nontraditional students do.
Although some scholarships are available for nontraditional students, they are rare. Morgan said.
Adding to the frustrations of a non-
Most schoolships are given to students coming right out of high school.
No firm definition has been created to determine what makes a person a non-traditional student.
But the University of Kansas has created a definition for the purpose of tracking enrollment.
What is a nontraditional student?
The definition used by the Student Assistance Center lists the following criteria for determining nontraditional status.
KU undergraduates who are:
three or more years older than the average age for their class. For example a 24-year-old freshman would be non-traditional.
married or have children, regardless of age.
commuters who travel more than 10 miles to school.
veterans.
Many nontraditional students fit into more than one of the above categories, which makes it difficult for the University to compile an accurate count of nontraditional students.
Source: Kansan staff research
Bryant said that he was frustrated by having to take courses outside his major.
traditional student is time pressure.
The age factor is what really sets the older nontraditional students apart from the traditional students who are 18-22 years old.
"When you're 20 you have time to change," Bryant said. "But when you're 40 or 50 you feel that chance is shot."
He said that he thought most traditional students thought of nontraditional as losers or admired them for making a change in their lives. Whatever perceptions they might have, Bryant said that he hoped traditional students would realize that all students share some common experiences and should try to learn from one another.
Jones, the retired firefighter, said that he wanted students to remember one thing:
"We may be a little older than the traditional student, but we're not dead yet."
Valerie Botranger/ KANBAN
Gerry Vernon, Colby graduate student, president of OAKS, eats lunch in the Burge Union. Vernon ate with other nontraditional students Tuesday. Only a few of the 4,703 nontraditional students attended the OAKS lunch.
New scholarship aids nontraditional students
By Donella Hearne
Kansan staff writer
A new scholarship may give parttime nontraditional students at KU a break next fall.
The Breakey Scholarship will be one of two scholarships specifically for nontraditional students. The other, the Gottdenker Scholarship, was created in 1992 for unmarried women 50 or older who attend KU full-time and need financial support.
The Breakey Scholarship would be awarded only to nontraditional students enrolling in six hours or less and demonstrating financial need, said Linda Delker, assistant director of the Student Financial Aid office.
"This scholarship would be helpful for many nontraditional students," Delkera said.
All nontraditional students are eligible for federal financial aid programs, such as Stafford Loans, she said. But in order to receive federal grants, students must demonstrate financial need.
The University does offer some need-based scholarships through the Endowment Association. Those scholarships require a 3.5 grade point average and financial aid eligibility, which is determined by the federal financial aid guidelines.
Laura Morgan, assistant director of the Student Assistance Center and adviser for OAKS—Non-Traditional
Student Organization, said she thought that part-time students had the most difficulty getting financial aid.
"Most scholarships are only for students who are enrolled full-time," she said.
Many nontraditional students do not have the time to take a full 12 hours because of other commitments, she said.
Marti Ruel, director of the University Scholarship Center, said that nontraditional students who were enrolling in college for the first time were eligible for the same scholarships as students entering right out of high school.
Standard requirements for a scholarship include an ACT score from the past five years and sufficient high school course work. Ruel said.
Because of changing high school requirements, students who graduated from high school 10 years ago may not have taken the courses needed for scholarship eligibility.
Nontraditional students also may be eligible for scholarships offered through various academic departments, Ruel said. Information on those opportunities would be available through department offices.
Students who have questions about financial aid for nontraditional students should contact Laura Morgan at the Student Assistance Center, 133 Strong Hall.
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