Majority of College Students Return to School for Re-Careering
When Pamela Court graduated from her suburban Chicago high school in 1975, she did what most high school graduates did. She went directly into a two-year vocational program, choosing dental hygiene as her career focus. That career suited her well for four years while she married and had two children. Opting to be a full-time mom, Court spent the next 14 years at home, raising and home-schooling her children, and volunteering in the community and with her husband, a pastor at an inner-city church in Minneapolis.
By the late 1990s, like millions of her generation, Court was facing a new and different prospect: re-careering. Realizing she needed a bachelor’s degree to better position herself, she enrolled in FOCUS, the adult degree completion program at Northwestern College in Saint Paul. Through FOCUS, Court and other adult students complete degrees with accelerated weekly evening or Saturday classes.
Six months into her studies, Court re-entered the workforce part-time. A few months later she was working full-time in public relations. In the meantime, her husband, Geoff, was working on his degree in business leadership through a distance education program. “I guess we’re pretty typical of our generation. We got the A.A. degrees right out of high school. Today, 20 years later, we are re-careering — out of necessity — into business,” Court says.
FOCUS director Dr. Jim Loving, who holds his doctorate in adult and continuing education, says Court is part of the fastest-growing segment in higher education today: adults going back to school to better themselves either personally or in careers. He says their reasons for going back to school are varied: job obsolescence, advances in technology, pressure for a degree in a job, income considerations, and even personal fulfillment. The trend towards “lifelong learning” is also contributing to the growth. Education no longer ends with graduation, but continues with retraining in the workforce. As a result of lifelong learning, “more and more people are blending work with their whole lifestyles: education, church, family, hobbies,” Loving explains.
Court and others like her have been dubbed “The New Majority” of higher education students; the 60 percent termed “non-traditional.” Recent statistics compiled by the Census Bureau, the Pew Higher Education Research Program and the University Continuing Education Association indicate that as the college-age population (ages 18-24) continues to decline, higher education enrollments continue to grow due in large part to increases in part-time students and the non-traditional learner. Part-time students are expected to number 6.2 million in 2000, which is nearly half of all students at all levels of higher education.
Contributing to this part-time student pool is:
– Single mothers who must work full-time and also attend school to gain the skills needed to advance.
– More Americans living in urban areas. Non-traditional students working longer hours and commuting longer often find it easier to take courses at convenient off-campus centers in downtown areas and the suburbs.
– The increased access to instructional technology in the home. Nearly half the homes in America have computers, 81 percent have VCRs and 63 percent have cable. By 1997, more than 40 million people made use of the Internet and another 35 million wanted to learn more about the Internet.
– A growing 55 and older population. As medical advances ensure longevity and employability, older adults are postponing retirement and are seeking continuing education to acquire new skills and stay current in their professions.
– The financial bottom line. While the average American family income has tripled since 1970, the figures are misleading unless adjusted for inflation. Today’s average family is only $4,200 ahead of the average family in 1970. Meanwhile, real costs have risen for healthcare, housing and college tuition. For many adults, part-time study has become the only feasible option to finance their education and upgrade skills for better-paying jobs.
Court says that while she initially went back to school so she could help out in her husband’s ministry, she ended up going back to work for financial reasons: the rising cost of living in an urban area, upcoming college tuition for their teenage children, etc. On the other hand, Loving says he knows of one FOCUS student who, after putting two children through college, decided that now it was her turn to go to college.
Going back to school is a lifestyle change, not just for the adult student, but for the entire family. It takes planning and the support of all involved. Loving illustrates, “One woman compiled a list of household duties, like emptying the trash and vacuuming, then told her family to pick their duties or she would assign them.”
He also suggests the student must set aside a specific time and place for study. “In addition to the time needed for the classes, they need study time both independently and with a group. They also need a quiet place in the home for study.” Loving suggests buying a door or sheet of wood and place it across a pair of cheap unfinished end tables, which makes a desk with drawers that could be recycled later around the house.
Study habits are another key consideration. “For some students, it’s been decades since they were in a classroom and doing homework, so they have to learn techniques in reading, highlighting, outlining, self-tests and group study,” Loving says. “I encourage students to get a daily planner, learn how to use it and then actually use it. And learn how to say “No!” to all those extra tasks and duties.”
As part of the FOCUS program, Court completed introductory seminars on homework and study tips, time management, even the basics of grammar and writing a term paper.
Court admits her transition back to school and then back into the workforce was not easy on the family. “Mom was always there, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” she says. “All of a sudden that on-call availability was gone.” After the initial shock and adjustment, she soon had the family into her routine. Tuesday night was her class and she would balance some reading and family duties Wednesday through Friday. Saturday was her study day. Sunday was devoted to church, and Monday turned into a family day used to refuel the whole family for the week ahead.
Since her days of car-pooling the kids to school and activities were sharply curtailed, she found a friend who volunteered to take the kids to school, a significant weight off the Courts’ shoulders. Loving has noticed through the years that adults committed to their education can be very resourceful at making things work. “We have two women who go to FOCUS classes on different nights and trade babysitting duties. Another husband-and-wife team who go to school together use the same books and study together.”
Despite the schedule adjustments and assistance from family and friends, going back to school in the middle years is never easy. “It’s important to focus on one course at a time,” Loving advises. “The entire program can be intimidating and even discouraging when you look at the whole picture.”
Yet colleges and universities are doing their part to make the higher education goal obtainable. “Higher education in recent years has become very accessible to the non-traditional learner,” Loving says. “There are community colleges, weekend programs, evening classes, accelerated programs, distance and online learning. Colleges and universities are developing some very creative education plans for women, the handicapped and minorities.”
When Court received her bachelor’s degree in May 1999, the entire family came away with insight into higher education of the 21st century – it’s all about time management, re-careering and life-long learning.
Courtesy of Article Resource Association, www.aracopy.com, e-mail: [email protected]
