In 2012, I graduated from college seven years late. At times, it was painful to watch my peers move away and on to jobs that were unavailable to me as a dropout. Friends I began my undergraduate education with had already finished master’s programs and were embarking on their careers while I was still chipping away at core requirements.
But my path, from flunking out of college sophomore year to hopping through various part-time programs, to finally completing in a program geared toward working adults, isn’t unusual at all. In fact, there is a “new majority,” in American universities today. As many as 73 percent of U.S. students enrolled in a degree program today are described as what we used to call “non-traditional” students. These are not bright-eyed coeds fresh from high school but rather adults, who are financially independent, working to support themselves, and often a child or relative. These students play many roles, some of which inevitably take precedence over their education, which is why most of them attend school part-time.
Unfortunately, part-time attendees are set up for failure. Most universities, even community colleges, which are meant to serve just these kinds of students, schedule few classes in the evenings. Administrative offices aren’t open outside of business hours. Online classes, widely touted to adult learners as practical and convenient, are hard to commit to; hybrid programs worked better for me. Then there’s the cost: Various kinds of aid exist to help poor students pay tuition but most of it’s not available to part-timers. Federal programs like the Pell Grant cover only a very small portion of the total cost of tuition at most schools, and are prorated each term. The neediest undergraduates tend to receive most of their aid directly from universities, and this aid is usually only available to full time students. “Full time students are more likely to be successful,” said Lisa Shaheen, Director of Financial Aid at the New School. “There has always been a push to incentivize full time.”
But it’s impossible to say how well part-time students would do if offered similar support at similar institutions. As it is, many part-time students end up going through completely virtual, for-profit institutions. A 2012 Senate report tracked students enrolled in these schools, and found that of the 1.1 million who enrolled in the 2008-09 academic year, more than half had withdrawn by 2010, and 22% had defaulted on their federal loans within three years.
Instead of helping part-time students earn their degrees, there’s a movement to make full-time enrollment even more rigorous. Some educators and policy organizations, have lobbied governors and even congress to encourage the “Full Time is 15,” initiative where full-time enrollment requires 15 credits per semester instead of 12. The move aims to help students graduate in four years and stem dropout, which occurs increasingly as students take longer to graduate. Now, almost a dozen states have programs that incentivize 15-credit terms with aid increases, even further shutting out working students from the meager aid that is available.
