The global economy has evolved in recent decades, resulting in increased demand for credentialed, skilled workers in a variety of industries. To meet this need, the U.S. higher education industry continues its pursuit of producing qualified graduates. Colleges and universities historically focused on serving traditional-aged students, characterized as 18 to 24 years old; however, more than 4 million undergraduates in 2017 were over age 25, considered nontraditional or post-traditional. These post-traditional learners nationally are graduating at lower rates than their traditional counterparts when evaluated within the industry standard six year time frame. This study evaluated factors that contributed to post-traditional student persistence to graduation. The quantitative study, conducted at a private university, involved 266 post-traditional graduates. Results revealed that participants faced a number of obstacles on their path to graduation, with their personal work commitments cited as the greatest obstacle. More than 60% of participants attended two or more institutions, and more than 15% of graduates took in excess of 10 years to graduate. The overwhelming majority of participants (98.7%) received help from others, with 95.6% citing multiple individuals as providing assistance in areas of emotional support, encouragement, and tasks to enable degree progress. Participants received support in a variety of forms from university personnel, spouses/partners, peers, family members, friends, children, and employers. Conversely, the majority of respondents (64.2%) also cited individuals that hindered them from finishing their degrees, largely due to a lack of emotional support or time constraints placed upon them by individuals. Findings revealed that the majority of participants demonstrated self-efficacy, were intrinsically motivated, and were externally motivated to attain their degrees. Recommendations for practice include curriculum implications, service offerings, university support, and university policies to serve post-traditional students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]