Barriers and nontraditional students' use of academic and social services
This research investigated the extent to which potential barriers to educational attainment and campus adjustment prompted 138 nontraditional students (25-63 years of age) to use more academic and social services. In four models tested, the younger, the unemployed, and those stressed by increased tuition used more services. Most of the barriers that literature suggests may contribute to special needs for services by older students were not reflected in greater use. ********** The proportion of adults 25 years or older who are undergraduate students continues to increase (Bauman et al., 2004, Hamil-Luker & Uhlenberg, 2002; Richardson & King, 1998). Some literature suggests these students may experience special difficulties and require services to address their needs (Fairchild, 2003; Mercer, 1993). Four-year colleges and universities have especially been criticized for not providing services that might retain nontraditional students (Bundy and Smith, 2004). However, the relationship between the presence of barriers to educational attainment and actual use of services is not often studied. Instead, nontraditional students have been asked to indicate the likelihood they would use services rather than their actual use (Bauman et al., 2004). It is important to investigate the link between circumstances of nontraditional students thought to be associated with difficulties in an academic setting and actual use of services that may address problems of older students. Mercer (1993) identified three types of barriers confronted by older students: situational, dispositional, and institutional. Situational constraints can include family circumstances (marital status, dependents), employment, and civic involvement. These situational barriers may result in time conflicts with academic scheduling, work, and other responsibilities. Some researchers note that off-campus family caregiving, employment, and community organizations may intrude on opportunities for educational attainment (Fairchild, 2003). Competing demands for time and attention may place adult students at a disadvantage in completing their degrees (Jacobs and King, 2002). Do the roles that may create demands that interfere with schooling also increase the use of services? Dispositional barriers refer to intrapersonal attributes and are more difficult to define and measure. Some researchers believe adult students may have adjustment difficulties when they return to an educational setting. "Adult students are intimidated upon initial return to college" (Carlin, 2001 p. 10). They may worry about not competing well with traditional age students, have perceptions of inadequate study skills, or have concerns about fitting in with younger students in class. Stress may be an outcome of dispositional barriers. I considered whether study skill stress and age stress as possible barriers affected the use of services. Institutional barriers refer to aspects of the structure of educational organizations that may impede older students' attainment and fail to meet their needs. These barriers may include inconvenient class times and office hours, inadequate career planning for adults, and a lack of opportunities for campus involvement that accommodate interests and needs of nontraditional students (Fairchild, 2003). These and other potential barriers have been used to suggest academic and social services that may benefit nontraditional students. In this research several potential institutional barriers were investigated in relation to use of services. Barriers associated with earlier educational experiences may have a long reach into the present. Attendance at institutions that offer less than four years of study, part time, and discontinuous enrollment may compromise the later educational attainment of some nontraditional students (Carlin, 2001). Part-time enrollment may especially diminish completion of degrees by older women (Jacobs & King, 2002). …