Many non-traditional students are intimidated about going back to school, but they often excel because they bring their life experience to class.
What is a non-traditional student?
A person in a post-secondary program who is older than 18-24 and who did not begin schooling immediately after high school is considered a non-traditional student. This person might be
- a soldier returning to school after serving his or her country
- a mother who waited to go to college until her children started or finished school
- a certified professional maintaining required recertification
- a worker whose job has been lost due to plant closings or economic changes
- a motivated associate moving up in his or her company or field
- a person who wants to train for a more satisfying or better paying career
- a worker cross-training for better job stability
In short, many students at Spartanburg Community College, and most students in Corporate and Community Education are non-traditional students. The average age of an SCC C&CE student is 35, and they come from all walks of life. This means that faculty and staff treat students as the adults they are. Adults have different learning styles just as children do, but adults tend to learn best by relating new information to their experience, not from memorizing.
While research suggests that a 40-something may take a bit longer to make a connection than a 20-something, the more experienced student also tends to see the ramifications of information in a deeper way. Even learning something as esoteric as how to write a college essay can be seen by the experienced student as a way of presenting information clearly and persuasively to boss or agency outside of class.
Non-traditional students tend to be very focused, and they expect to get a lot of information or the time they take from work or their personal lives to come to class, not to mention bang for the buck they are paying, even if it is from pell grants or student loans.
Sometimes non-traditional students carry a burden from their previous school experiences, but when they are shown respect and high expectation of success, they often find that they can rise to the challenge and succeed. That is what an instructor lives for, to see the student respond with new confidence as well as skills.
One benefit of Corporate and Community Education is that a person can get specific job raining without having to get a degree, training that can lead to a new job in weeks or months instead of years. The non-credit side can also ease a student into readiness to take on a degree, if needed, to make a transition to that higher-paying, growth-potential job.
With new, flexible class schedules, from 15-week semesters, to 10-week and even 5-week plans for credit classes and one-day to one-year programs in non-credit programs, education can be accessible to everyone who wants it. With three campuses on the I-85 corridor, SCC C&CE is open for you. Come and see us about becoming a non-traditional student. (Of course, we like traditional students too!)
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Here in Northland NZ at NorthTec we have called many of the adult education courses ‘Step Up and Grow’. In NZ there is rarely assessment at this level, it’s all about enjoying the experience and wanting more of it which is why each theme has up to 7 modules.
I am being asked for e-courses as well that allow for participants to get regular feedback, blogging could just be one way.
I did a grad school degree using WebCT-Blackboard. I think it has a blog component now. If you set up a blog for members only, it can work very well for student discussions. Some sort of platform is necessary for online classes, and many offline classes use some online technology for sharing class notes, making announcements and presenting content.
But a yahoo or Google group works just as well and is very easy to set up. Classes need to be private, as that creates a safe forum for allowing students to be open and explore ideas without fear of ridicule. The students coudl each set up a blog to publish their thoughts and insights.
Please mail me any information that you have on your flex start program at:
Ben Dodkin
552 Boyd St
Spartanburg SC 29302
To Jane Scripps,
Many of our CCE classses do not have grades other than Satisfactory/Uunsatisfactory, which reflects attendance and participation. Those classes are about getting a new skill or having some fun.
Some courses require more effort than others, such as the apprenticeship classes that have specific competencies that students must demonstrate. Even then they generally don’t get a traditional grade, only pass/fail.
But even in the traditional college credit classes, older students often do very well because of their motivation and previous experience.
I would like to know if you offer Excel training.