College Choice among, and Retention of, Nontraditional College Students:
Overview, Findings, and Action Items
Mary Hutchens
PhD Candidate
Higher Education Policy
Vanderbilt University
If you would like to see more detailed results of my research, or have any questions/input, please contact me at
mary.k.hutchens@gmail.com.
A few important points:
 We usually think of nontraditional students in 3 groups—minimally nontraditional, moderately
nontraditional, and highly nontraditional. There are more highly nontraditional students
attending college in the US (28%) than there are traditional students (27%).
 Among students who want to obtain a BA, 54% of traditional students succeed in 5 years—only
31% of nontraditional students do so (and 11% of highly nontraditional students).
 Research indicates that nontraditional students are just as academically successful as their
traditional peers, but they still struggle to persist and complete—there is something else impeding
their success.
The decision to enroll:
Study: College Choice among Nontraditional Students
Sample: 900 students at public institutions in Tennessee (one 4-year, five 2-year)
Helpful Findings:
 Students point to personal growth as an important factor in the decision to enroll later
in life, or return to school after a hiatus
 Over a quarter also indicate that they always planned to get a college degree, and that
this was the right time to do so
 Nearly a quarter related their decision to their job prospects—loss of a job, desire for a
better paying job, or a different field
 Over 65% spend less than 6 months on their search and decision process—once they
make the decision to enroll, they want to start as soon as possible (this is even more
common for highly nontraditional students – 75%)
 As expected, internet plays a big part in the search process (57.5%), but so does word
of mouth (41%)
 The most important factors in their final selection (and percent rating as
important/very important)
o Availability of a specific major (90.3%)
o Cost (89.6%)
o Quality of faculty (79.7%)
o Variety of courses (77.8%)
o Access to faculty (77.2%)
o Overall academic reputation (76.8%)
 The least important factors in their final selection (and percent rating as
important/very important)
o Quality of social life (14.6%)
o Size of student body (14.4%)
o Available extracurricular activities (13.0%)
o On-campus housing (9.7%)
o Athletics (8.3%)
The decision to stay:
Study: Persistence among Nontraditional Students at Commuter Colleges
Sample: 1,128 nontraditional students enrolled in five public 4-year commuter institutions
Helpful findings (action items in bold):
Outcome of Interest
Student Persistence
Subsequent Institutional
Commitment
Academic and Intellectual
Development
Commitment of the Institution to
Student Welfare
Institutional Integrity
Support from Significant Others
*Possible, but challenging, action item
Significant Predictors
Grades in high school
Subsequent institutional commitment
Parental education
Grades in high school
Affiliation need
Motivation
Support from significant others
Institutional integrity
Academic and intellectual development
Gender
Commitment of the institution to student welfare
Institutional integrity
Academic advising
Faculty interest in students
Teaching skills: organization and preparation, instructional
clarity
Faculty use of active learning
Participation in a learning community
Academic advising
Faculty interest in students
Good faculty teaching
Teaching skill: organization and preparation
Prompt feedback
Provision of student work space
Parking convenient to classrooms
Convenient class times
Provision of student services
Straightforward registration process
Academic advising
Faculty interest in students
Teaching skills: organization and preparation, instructional
clarity
Convenient class times
Provision of student services
Eating facilities open at times convenient for commuting
students
Straightforward registration process
Gender
Hours worked off-campus
Convenient class times
Reliable transportation to/from campus*
Family welcomed on campus
Faculty interest in students