Nontraditional students: characteristics, challenges, and retention

Nontraditional Students: Reasons Professionals in the Workforce Return to School

Many students, when receiving their undergraduate diploma, loudly exhale a sigh of relief and exclaim that their school days are over. However, these same students, in several years, might find themselves returning to further their education on a part-time or full-time basis. Why return to school after obtaining a B.A. Or even professional certification for a vocation such as medicine, law, or engineering?

The fact is, no profession today is immune from the changes of the workplace, and the workplace is changing even faster than ever before. Computer literacy is a must for virtually every worker today, and regular workplace education about new systems may not be enough to truly keep abreast of the type of high-level technical expertise required to succeed in even relatively nontechnical fields. As well as computers, changes in the accepted field of knowledge and advancements in techniques and practices constantly affect doctors and engineers alike, and even lawyers may need to become more fully cognizant of legal and intellectual proprietary issues that arise with changes in technology.

The personal needs of workers themselves may change, as they may wish to find a new career, or a new subspecialty within their career that is more fulfilling or better suits their needs as a parent, or a renewed desire to give back to the community. After 9/11, many professionals felt compelled to reassess their work and life balance, and sought out a different vocational path. A woman (or a man) staying home with a new baby may use the opportunity to take classes and embark upon a new career afterward the child grows older that fulfills a longstanding dream or is more compatible with the demands of parenthood. And the life change propelling an individual back to school may be imposed upon the worker by a layoff -- being fired might cause an individual to improve upon the professional skills that have grown stale after many years in the same job. Education is a way for a worker to increase his or her marketability. "Adults seek out learning experiences in order to cope with specific life-changing events -- e.g., marriage, divorce, a new job, a promotion, being fired, retiring, losing a loved one, moving to a new city. The more life change events an adult encounters, the more likely he or she is to seek out learning opportunities. Just as stress increases as life-change events accumulate the motivation to cope with change through engagement in a learning experience increases" for the individual (Zemke & Zemke 1984).

Money or enhancing one's salary is a fairly obvious, but nonetheless important reason workers commonly cite for going back to school. Obtaining a higher-level degree often results in better pay, better promotion prospects, and less of a likelihood of being let go during tough economic times. This is one reason workers with managerial aspirations often get their MBA after several years in the working world. A small business owner wishing to expand his or her business may also go back to school to get an MBA, to ensure that he or she has the skills to fully capitalize upon the potential of the enterprise he or she created.