Why Are Non-Traditional Students So Important?
There are currently 8.2 million college students aged 25 or older in the U.S. This is not only a significant portion of the student population but also an area that has been rapidly growing. We’ve seen a 35 percent increase in the number of college students aged 25 to 34 from 2001 to 2015. This group, commonly referred to as the non-traditional adult learner, isn’t following the typical track of pursuing post-secondary education subsequent to completing high school, and includes individuals ranging from the early 20s to retirement age.
In our preliminary research, we found that there is a confidence gap that holds many of these students back from returning to school. We knew this was something we had to learn more about and decided to undertake a research project, which resulted in this white paper.