Perceptions and preferences of traditional-age adult learners€¦ · What do traditional-age adult...
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Perceptions and preferences of
traditional-age adult learners:Solutions to reduce barriers to success
in a traditional public university in
the U. S.
Presented to SIEC-ISBE, August 2016, Graz, Austria
Dr. Dana Moore Gray and Dr. Mary Millikin
Rogers State University, Oklahoma, USA
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Agenda
Recap of prior research
Introduction
Problem statement
Literature review
Research questions
Methodology
Sample
Findings
Conclusions
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Adult learners characteristics
Nontraditional learners - adults beginning or continuing their enrollment as college students at a later-than-typical age (NCES, 2002)
Now more broadly defined to include 7 characteristics not typically associated with participation in college . . . 73 percent of students may be viewed as nontraditional (Choy, 2002, 1).
These characteristics include (Ross-Gordon, 2011)
Delaying entry to college by at least one year after high school
Having dependents
Being a single parent
Being employed full time
Being financially independent
Attending school part time
Not having a high school diploma
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2015 research identified new category:
traditional-age adult learners
Traditional learners
• Recent high school graduates
• Under age 25
• Few adult responsibilities other than school
• Pedagogy
New category? Traditional-age adult learners
• Under age 25
• Adult responsibilities
Adult learners
• Over age 25
• Multiple adult roles and responsibilities
• Growth driven by social and economic forces and technology advancements
• Resulting growth in online courses, evening schedules, fast-track courses, etc. (Ross-Gordon, 2011)
• Andragogy
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2015 findings:
Traditional-age adult learners
Discovery of a third category of higher education
student: the traditional-age adult learner.
These are traditional-age college students who have
adult responsibilities including dependent children,
jobs requiring at least 20 hours of work per week, etc.
Not accurate to only use age to identify learners as
traditional or adult.
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Findings: Traditional-age adult
learners
Will prioritize work responsibilities afterfamily and college responsibilities
Are more certain or confident about their choices
Determining to graduate at RSU or transfer out
Understanding whether or not their families are supportive
Manage the number of hours they work and the number of hours in which they enroll
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2015 research conclusions
Faculty with traditional-age adult learners may implement more andragogic approaches to teaching and learning, curriculum design, and interaction/engagement.
University may develop more programmatic responses (Ross-Gordon, 2011)
Degree and certificate programs flexible in time and location
Broader access to key student services
Distance education
Prior learning assessment including advanced placement, CLEP tests, and portfolio evaluation (Klein-Collins & Hein, 2009)
Accelerated course formats
More research, including subpopulations of adult learners
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2016 Research Questions
1. Is there a relationship between number
of adult learner responsibilities and
college success?
2. What do traditional-age adult learners
need in terms of innovative scheduling
to better support their unique learning
needs?
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2016 Research Questions
3. What programmatic responses can one
regional university develop to better
support the needs of traditional-age
adult learners?
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About RSU
Small regional university in northeastern Oklahoma
in the U. S.
Open enrollment – no admission requirements
Main campus is located in small community
surrounded by large rural areas
75% commuter at main campus
Two satellite campuses in very small communities
100% commuter at branch campuses
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About RSU
Regional public university in northeastern
Oklahoma in the U. S.
Largely rural and small town population, low
to medium economic status
Total enrollment
4,091 in fall 2015
3,697 spring 2016
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Methodology
Mixed methods
Convergent parallel design
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Participants
Power Analysis
N = 3,697
95% confidence level
5% margin of error
50% response distribution
n = 349
n = 360 voluntary respondents
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Participants
Population
60% female and 40% male
71.9% 25 years and younger
75% first-generation college student
60% Euro-American (Caucasian); 30% Native American
Sample of Traditional-Age Adult Learners (T-AAL) only
N = 208
72.5% female and 25.6% male
61.1% 25 years and younger
47% first-generation college student
72% Caucasian (Euro-American); 21% Native American
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Results
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How many adult responsibilities do
our traditional-age adult learners
have?
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Number of Adult Responsibilities for
Traditional-Age Adult Learners (T-AAL)
None9%
One35%
Two31%
Three or More25%
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T-AAL: Marital Status
Married; 13%
Single; 87%
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T-AAL: Veteran Status
Veteran; 1%
Non-Veteran;
99%
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T-AAL: Employment
Employed; 76%
Not Employed;
24%
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T-AAL: Parents Claim as Dependent
Parents Claim as Dependent;
65%
Parents Do Not Claim as
Dependent; 35%
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T-AAL: Student Has Dependents
Have Dependents;
9%
Do Not Have Dependents;
91%
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T-AAL: Single Parent
Single Parent;
2%
Not Single Parent;
98%
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T-AAL: Enrolled Part-time (<12 hours)
Part-time; 14%
Full-time; 86%
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T-AAL Comparison: All T-AAL and
T-AAL with > 4 Adult Responsibilities
76%
13% 9% 14%2% 1%
85%
69% 69%
8%15%
8%
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
All T-AAL > 4 Adult Responsibilities
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T-AAL Comparison: All T-AAL and
T-AAL with > 4 Adult Responsibilities
78%
47%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
First Generation College
All T-AAL > 4 Adult Responsibilities
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Traditional-age adult learners with four or more adult responsibilities
are significantly more likely to have a parent who earned a college
degree. Consequently, it can be assumed that this affects their motivation to seek a bachelor’s
degree despite greater life challenges.
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1. Is there a relationship
between number of adult
learner responsibilities and
college success (GPA)?
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Correlation between # adult
responsibilities and GPA
# Adult
Responsibilities
GPA -0.025
Not significant at the 95% confidence level
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2. What do traditional-age adult
learners need in terms of
innovative scheduling to better
support their unique learning
needs?
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T-AAL: Class Scheduling
32%
53%
14%
43%
31%
27%
13%
29%
14%
13%
10%
13%
14%
4%
12%
12%
10%
3%
51%
3%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
8-week On-ground Courses
16-week On-ground Courses
Weekend On-ground Courses
Once a Week On-ground Courses
Definitely Interested Probably Interested
No Opinion Probably Not Interested
Definitely Not Interested
Note: May not total to exactly100% due to rounding.
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T-AAL: Class Scheduling
48%
44%
61%
23%
25%
18%
12%
12%
8%
10%
6%
8%
7%
7%
5%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
8-week Online Courses
16-week Online Courses
Online Courses Self-Paced (Workingentirely at own pace, fall, spring, or
summer)
Definitely Interested Probably Interested
No Opinion Probably Not Interested
Definitely Not Interested
Note: May not total to exactly 100% due to rounding.
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T-AAL: Class Scheduling
27%
29%
29%
32%
17%
17%
14%
10%
13%
13%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Blended 8-week Courses
Blended 16-week Courses
Definitely Interested Probably Interested
No Opinion Probably Not Interested
Definitely Not Interested
Note: May not total to 100% due to rounding.
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T-AAL: Learning Activities
34%
15%
23%
52%
34%
21%
35%
26%
12%
25%
19%
10%
12%
19%
14%
6%
7%
20%
8%
5%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Online with Live Webinar atConvenience
Working in Teams
Service Learning Projects
Internships
Definitely Interested Probably Interested
No Opinion Probably Not Interested
Definitely Not Interested
Note: May not total to exactly 100% due to rounding.
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3. What programmatic responses
can one regional university
develop to better support the
needs of traditional-age adult
learners?
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T-AAL Self-Reported Goals Education Goals
Better career opportunities
College has always been a personal goal
Less likely to attend college for idealistic desires
College “for the sake of college” is secondary to enhanced career opportunities
Most common majors
Bachelor degree in Business Administration
Management option
Accounting option
Human Resources option
Marketing option
Bachelor degree in Biology
Medical-Molecular option
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Advising/Registration
Would like targeted advising as first-time freshmen or first-semester transfer student
To help determine major at college-entry
To optimize course scheduling
Required orientation course
Financial planning
More advisors in degree program
One advisor for a program area is not enough
Development of trust with advisor is essential
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Course Formats and Schedules
Strongly prefer 4-day class schedule over 5-day
Allows for more work time/employment while in college
Desire more options for specific courses each semester
To accommodate work schedule
To minimize time to graduation
Desire more variety of courses each semester
To minimize time to graduation
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Course Formats and Schedules
More online courses
More Computer Science courses
More program-specific courses in summer term
Dissatisfaction with back-to-back final exams
during finals week
Difficulty with compressed final exam schedule due to new
university 4-day class schedule
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Other Preferences
Guaranteed internship
To enhance employability at graduation
Enhanced career fairs
Evening in addition to day time fairs
More employers at fairs
Better communication about career fairs
Curriculum
More real-world applications
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There is much more that we
need to learn about this new
category of non-traditional adult
learners
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Ross-Gordon, J. M. (2005). “The adult learner of color: An overlooked college student population.” The Journal of Continuing Higher Education 53 (2): 2–11.
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