The growing number of nontraditional students could spell trouble for traditional programs that are slow to adapt to this group’s needs.
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Because none of the universities in the Nashville area offered programs to suit her schedule, she ended up taking online classes through the University of Phoenix.
“Going online worked for me because I had so many obstacles in my life to work around,” says Bembrey, who is working on her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
That, she says, and the fact that the typical classroom setting doesn’t suit her well.
“Because I’m so set in my ways, I can’t sit in a classroom. It won’t work for me,” she says. “(With the University of Phoenix) I can get up and go to school at 2 a.m. in the morning. It’s convenient. I’m also not a good test-taker. Online, you don’t have to take tests, unless they’re open book.”
The number of nontraditional college students — defined as students not attending college right after high school or who must work while attending — has seen steady growth since the 1980s as more people already working or raising a family decide to get a degree. A report by the National Center for Education Statistics in 2002 said 73 percent of all undergraduates were nontraditional students.
Some 81 percent of Black and American Indian students have at least one characteristic of a nontraditional student; 76 percent of Hispanic, 67 percent Asian and 66 percent of Whites do as well, according to the American Council on Education.
