Community colleges and other portals into the higher education system (such as technical colleges, for-profit institutions, and regional four-year schools) have long been the institutions of first choice for non-traditional students. Such students typically arrive with needs that differ somewhat from those of their more traditional counterparts, and many institutions these days offer a variety of services aimed at making their experience on campus easier and more pleasant, from veterans’ services to tutoring centers to on-site daycare. Yet studies have shown that one of the most important factors in determining whether non-traditional students will persist is the experience that they have in the classroom. Thus it behooves colleges with large populations of non-traditional students, or who are attempting to attract such students, to make sure that faculty members are well-prepared to meet their often unique academic needs and empower them to succeed.
This 90-minute webinar is designed specifically for classroom teachers who can expect to encounter non-traditional students regularly in their courses. A significant secondary audience would be the academic administrators who supervise those faculty members and who are responsible for training them. The purpose of this webinar is to help faculty members and administrators understand who non-traditional students are, what sorts of special needs they may have and how instructors can help to meet those needs, and how non-traditional students can often make unique contributions to the learning environment. The webinar will be led by a 26-year veteran of the community college classroom who has taught literally thousands of non-traditional students over the years and who has also served as a department chair and an academic dean.
