After Graduation Stop-Outs: A Qualitative Look at Nontraditional Students Who Commenced Without Completing Their Degrees

• In Event: Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Adult Education and Adult Literacy Practice

Abstract

Myriad challenges explain the differences between these figures. The phenomenon discussed in this paper, however, is more troubling. The participants in this study were all within 12 semester hours, many as few as three hours, of the completion of a bachelor’s degree. They participated in the graduation ceremony, but have not, to date, returned to the university to finish their coursework.
The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perceptions of nontraditional students who participated in commencement exercises but did not receive a degree and what factors contributed to their unsuccessful completion. The Schlossberg (1984) Adult Transition Theory was used to investigate students’ perceptions of moving-in, moving-through, and moving-out of the college process.

Authors

• Crystal Toombs, Brenau University

• Dia Sekayi, Georgia Institute of Technology