Nontraditional student

Non-traditional students is an American English term referring to students at higher education institutions (undergraduate college or university) who generally fall into two categories:

• Students who are older than the typical undergraduate college student (usually aged 17-23) and interrupted their studies earlier in life
• Students typical of age but attending colleges or programs that provide unconventional scheduling to allow for other responsibilities and pursuits concurrent with attaining a degree.

Population

Older students may be returning to school for a number of different reasons: some pursued unconventional career paths while others are training for a career change; some may have had to wait to enter college due to military service, while others simply waited a few years instead of entering directly after high-school. Some women who have been stay-at-home mothers and return to college after their children begin kindergarten or have left the home.

Younger students of common college-age may be Olympians or professional athletes, actors, dancers, and other performers as well as other professions who choose to forgo the "traditional" college for a non-traditional course of study in order to facilitate or accommodate that career while pursuing a degree. Still other reasons may influence a younger student to pursue a non-traditional course of study - no justification is necessary to attend.

Programs

Programs for non-traditional students include options for both full-time and part-time study. Many colleges offer programs within their regular curriculum to serve non-traditional students. In particular women's colleges offer programs for older women who would like to return to school, such as Agnes Scott College's Irene K. Woodruff return-to-college program, Mount Holyoke College's Frances Perkins Program, Simmons College (Massachusetts)'s Dorothea Lynde Dix Scholars Program, Smith College's Ada Comstock Scholars Program and Wellesley College's Davis Degree Program.

Yale College hosts the most prestigious non-traditional program in the United States through its Eli Whitney Students Program. Whitney Students are completely integrated into Yale College. This program, which is highly competitive and very small, is one of the four gates into Yale College (the other three being freshman, international and transfer admissions). Whitney Students earn the Yale College B.A. or B.S. Brown University also hosts a similar program called Returning Undergraduate Education.

A few select degree-granting colleges are oriented entirely towards non-traditional students, such as the Fordham College of Liberal Studies at Fordham University and the School of General Studies at Columbia University. Harvard University hosts the Harvard Extension School and Columbia University hosts the School of General Studies. Both the Harvard Extension School and the School of General Studies award their own B.A. and B.S. degrees under their own name and not under the name of Harvard College and Columbia College.

See also

• Mature student
• Continuing education
• Adult education

External links

• Agnes Scott College: The Irene K. Woodruff return-to-college program
• Columbia University: School of General Studies
• Fordham University:Fordham College of Liberal Studies
• Mount Holyoke College: Frances Perkins Program
• Simmons College (Massachusetts): Dorothea Lynde Dix Scholars Program
• Smith College: Ada Comstock Scholars Program
• Wellesley College: Non-Traditional Programs
• Northwestern University: [1]
• Yale College: Eli Whitney Students Program