Unequal Success Between Nontraditional and Traditional Students

• In Event: Poster Session 1
  In Poster Session: Section 2: College Student Access, Success, and Outcomes Poster Session 2

Abstract

Nontraditional age students now account for a substantial number of college students, yet they have underperformed in college persistence and graduation rates compared to their traditional age counterparts. To address this important issue of concern, this project examined the effects of student backgrounds, psychological factors, collegiate- and non-collegiate experiences, financial aid, and institutional contexts on nontraditional students’ college persistence and completion. Building upon the Nontraditional Student Attrition Model (Bean & Metzner, 1985) and the Ecological Human Development Model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), I proposed the Ecological Nontraditional Student Persistence Model as my conceptual framework to examine the said topic. I used the recent national data: the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09).

Author

• Hyekyung Lee, University of Wisconsin - Madison