Higher education institutions across the nation are facing stagnant enrollment and questions about the worth of a college education. But they may be failing to meet the needs of over a third of their students by not supporting non-traditional students. It’s easy to think of college students as fresh-faced graduates in their teens or early twenties who have few outside responsibilities and are focused on a full-time education. However, such a dated outlook can mean losing out on a growing population of learners eager to find a school that understands them.
The number of non-traditional students seeking higher education is growing. These students are often financially independent and living off-campus. They may even be supporting a family. Supporting non-traditional students requires understanding who these students are and how you can better meet their needs. Colleges and universities that adapt to embrace this growing group will set themselves up to thrive. See how your university can respond to changing economic and cultural shifts affecting higher education.
Who Are Non-Traditional Students Today?
College students are changing. Forty-four percent of today’s college students are financially independent from their parents. 34% are 25 or older, and 50% are first-generation college-goers. But these statistics barely scratch the surface.
Nearly 5% of college students currently serve or have served in the U.S. armed forces, and 22% reported low or very low food security in the past 30 days. Additional research shows that two out of ten students have some type of disability. Also, 18% have dependent children. While it’s impossible to lump non-traditional students into a single group, most have one thing in common: substantial responsibilities outside of school. Nearly 80% of students work, and 30% work full-time.
Higher education institutions interested in supporting non-traditional students must alter their perception of the average student’s lifestyle. Students who have delayed college enrollment often live off-campus. Also, they may attend school part-time for at least a portion of the academic year. As a result, they can feel left out of the loop when it comes to communication and participation in vital events.
Common Challenges Non-Traditional Students Face
The number of non-traditional students attending two- and four-year institutions has been growing for over a decade. But most schools have failed to alter their perception of attending students. Schools that focus exclusively on traditional student life run the risk of alienating non-traditional students or failing to adequately address their pain points.
Some of the most common challenges non-traditional students face center around their busy lifestyles and evolving technology. Consider:
Lack of Belonging and Representation
Although non-traditional students may have slightly different goals than their younger cohorts, they have similar expectations of being part of a community in college. But when events cater to traditional student lifestyles, non-traditional learners often feel left out or unseen.
Scheduling Conflicts and Information Gaps
Students who are financially independent from their parents and those who support children have different responsibilities from traditional students. Their busy lifestyles mean they can miss out on in-person promotions. They may also have trouble keeping up with campus happenings while busy working, parenting, or commuting.
Tech Gaps or Tool Fatigue
Students with a significant gap between graduating from high school and enrolling in college are more likely to face a tech knowledge disparity that can impact learning requirements and communication opportunities. Those with limited technical literacy and busy lifestyles will likely disengage completely when faced with too many logins or a lack of mobile-friendly tools. This can be a critical concern when students depend on many online resources.
Strategies to Support and Engage Non-Traditional Students
Supporting non-traditional students requires a communication approach that caters to students who aren’t on campus regularly and have fragmented schedules. Non-traditional student strategies for communication should address these unique needs. Mobile access and personalized outreach are crucial for engaging these students and also ensuring they feel a sense of belonging.
Centralize Events and Services in One Easy-to-Find Calendar
Over a third of first-generation college students and half of students working over 30 hours per week spend no time on extracurriculars despite the connection between campus involvement and retention rates. Some of the most common reasons students don’t participate in campus events are lack of advertising and feeling like they don’t belong.
But in many cases, a lack of information can fuel the feeling of not belonging. A centralized digital calendar that’s easy to use and accessible through mobile devices is the ideal way to address these issues.
Localist Events from Concept3D centralizes events into a single source of truth in a fully branded calendar with multiple features to enhance student participation. The use of one master calendar allows any event to be added (free or paid, virtual or in-person) and accessed by its target audience. Students can see all events listed or search for events by date, interest, geography, and more. The responsive design is consistent across all devices, ensuring seamless mobile access.
Some of the platform’s most popular features are vital for enhancing engagement among students who aren’t on campus regularly:
- Scheduled social media posting
- Automated SEO (so events automatically match students’ most-used search terms)
- Native email newsletter tools
- Event landing pages for easy sharing between like-minded students
- Integrated ticketing and registration tools
Promote Asynchronously Accessible Events
When asked in a survey about what technology would help increase participation in campus events, nearly seven in ten students aged 30-39 chose the ability to participate virtually. Flexibility is key to making higher education possible for many non-traditional students. From responsibilities to financial concerns or physical limitations, there are many reasons why face-to-face learning or events can be restrictive. Non-traditional student strategies for handling events should address these concerns.
Asynchronously accessible events enable students to participate in learning opportunities and events across different time zones and schedules. In other words, students can learn when and where they want with virtual access to events that other students are attending. Asynchronous learning can help students work around common barriers like scheduling conflicts due to work and even allow global access.
Schools don’t have to operate on a fully remote basis to take advantage of the value of asynchronous learning. Instructors can hold recorded sessions that students can access from their favorite devices or set up course discussion boards for online class discussions. Schools can also host Zoom-based events to improve accessibility. As with physical events, these events can be promoted with your virtual event calendar.
Personalize Event Discovery and Communications
Every student on your campus is unique, as are the events that fill your campus calendar. No event is likely to attract every student, making personalized event promotion more important than ever. Supporting non-traditional students and making them feel included requires an understanding of their interests so you can highlight why events will appeal to them. These tips can help you target non-traditional students when promoting events and learning opportunities.
- Build effective student personas. Students are said to be “non-traditional” for a variety of reasons. Creating personas based on characteristics shared by groups of students will allow you to personalize event discovery for improved engagement.
- Use technology to improve personalization. From the CRM you use to store student information to the detailed landing pages on your event calendar, technology is key to personalized marketing. Use these tools to send personalized messages and recommend events that align with students’ goals, major, or life circumstances.
- Make the most of your event calendar tools. A calendar with landing pages featuring detailed descriptions of events enables hosts to add critical information about factors like flexibility, registration, and benefits to provide busy students with all the information they need to determine whether an event is right for them.
Include Representation in Campus Experiences
Effectively supporting non-traditional students requires awareness of how they’re represented within the student body. For example, sporting events and midnight study groups that build community among traditional students aren’t likely to fit into the lifestyle of busy parents or students working full time. But various types of events can be promoted in a way that promotes inclusivity.
Highlight events that acknowledge parenting students, veterans, and older learners with ample information and targeted messaging. Communicate inclusivity for all events by encouraging everyone to join and highlighting how these events appeal to certain demographics. Making all information available on your campus calendar can help busy students stay informed and easily access registration details.
Building a Better Experience With Concept3D
Non-traditional student strategies for engagement are essentially the same strategies higher education institutions depend on to attract and retain all students. While the faces of college students may be changing, the requirements for understanding them remain the same. Schools that focus on supporting non-traditional students will need to alter communications to represent this growing group effectively.
Modern technology is essential for supporting non-traditional students who spend less time on campus. Your event calendar is an ideal place to start. Localist Events from Concept3D is a no-code calendar that helps higher ed teams offer consistent, accessible event visibility. Simplified listing and updating, as well as filterable search features, make it easy for event hosts to promote event flexibility and benefits.
When busy students can quickly search for events that align with their interests, see all the information in one place, and even register and purchase tickets, they’re more likely to find the events that help them build community. Want to learn more about how Concept3D can help you attract and retain non-traditional students? Contact us today for a demo.