The Informatics program at Mercer University is offered at four regional academic centers located throughout the state of Georgia. We serve non-traditional students who have primary responsibilities such as caring for family, working, and participating in their communities. We aim to offer availability and access to all required courses, access to…

Online degree programs were probably pioneered by for-profit universities such as University of Phoenix. Many online degree programs were initially considered low quality academic programs compared to traditional programs. Therefore, many public and private universities were slow to adopt the online programs. However, gradually more and more…

This article presents some of the findings from a recent study on adult students (25 years and older) in Christian nontraditional programs and the implications these findings have for Christian higher education. One goal of the study was to develop a better understanding of adult spirituality. Utilizing a descriptive, cross-sectional survey…

Describes how professional dancers looking ahead to other careers can earn a B.A. in a St. Mary's College of California program tailored to their demanding schedules--Liberal Education for Arts Professionals (LEAP). (EV)

This article describes two models for enhancing the social integration of nontraditional students in academic programs. The first explains ways to develop onsite communities for both graduate and undergraduate degree-seeking students at New York University. The second model is used with undergraduate students at Washington State University seeking…

Students and the institution have benefited through the installation of a flexible approach to learning that focuses on a portfolio of articulating courses in the accounting area of the Business School at Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland. A suite of courses offers students with different abilities and resources a number of options that lead…

Discusses how LaGuardia Community College's urban studies courses have reintegrated and reinvigorated the school's core commitments to liberal, career, and developmental education, nontraditional students, and connection to the locale. (EV)

Results of a feasibility study to integrate the elderly into the university community are reported. The program occurred during the 1975 summer session at Oklahoma State University. Twenty retired persons attended classes, participated in other phases of campus life, and lived in a university dormitory. Twenty-three students acted as surrogate…

A nontraditional degree program for adult students at Southwest Texas State University instituted a bulletin board system (BBS) in support of required courses in both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs to provide information, communication, and mentoring. The BBS was especially useful to students in preparing their portfolios of life…

The BSIT (BS in Industrial Technology) Program, which leads to a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology, at Southern Arkansas University is focused on the needs of the non-traditional student who desires to complete program requirements while maintaining existing full-time employment. The program also focuses on the needs of local…

In this article, the author shares the voices of adults whose lives have been changed by their enrollment in a set of innovative college readiness programs geared toward adults. These women and men have overcome obstacles between them and college that they believed were insurmountable--fear, inadequate academic preparation, lack of information…

This paper presents a brief history of higher education in United States prisons, and then describes an on-campus education program for ex-offenders at John Jay College. The following topics are covered: (1) establishing and planning the college orientation program; (2) primary objective and ultimate aim; (3) needs and limitations of ex-offenders;…

Issues related to the establishment and operation of women's centers in institutions of postsecondary education are examined. The focus of this literature review is the mature, returning female student. (JKS)

Describes the Women's Center at California State University/Dominguez Hills and its emphasis on multi-ethnic programming. Discusses the center's focus on the social, psychological, and academic needs of minority women, especially those who are returning to college after an interruption of their formal education. (NB)

This project was conducted to upgrade Seattle Central Community College's four-quarter respiratory care program to a two-year associate degree program in respiratory therapy. The program needed to include a developmental pathway for entry of nontraditional students and also a college-level prerequisite entry pathway for traditional students. In…