National trends and relevant data concerning re-entry women and other nontraditional student populations are examined. Current and projected enrollment are assessed, and other groups of women who are already employed or seeking work and who are likely candidates for educational re-entry are described. Among the findings are these: The Carnegie Council on Policy Studies in Higher Education predicts a 23 percent decline in the traditional college-bound group of 18 to 24 year olds by 1997. It maintains, however, that the impact on colleges will be partially offset by increases in participation by students 25 and older, by women and by members of minority groups. A trend toward nontraditional students (women, minorities, older students, etc.) has already appeared in the least traditional sectors of higher education (i.e., public two-year colleges rather than elite universities). At two-year schools older students comprise 40 percent of enrollment; enrollment in community colleges includes nearly 53 percent women; and women comprise slightly less than 50 percent of enrollment at four-year institutions. More than one-third of all college students are at least 25 years old, and the number of women 35 and older enrolled in college has doubled since 1972. Full-time enrollment has been growing much faster among women than among men, and part-time enrollment is also rising faster for women. Two percent of full-time undergraduate students in 1978 were Asian American/Pacific Islander, 10 percent were black, 4.9 percent were Hispanics, and 0.6 percent were American Indians. The percentage of these minorities that was women ranged from 46 percent to 57 percent. Fields of study and degrees obtained by the different minority groups and information on women who work are included. (SW)