A Nontraditional Student in a Traditional Student Environment

Audrey D. Batista
Description of the Institutional Environment Harper University is a midsized state institution located in an urban area of the southwest and offers over 200 undergraduate programs and 80 master/doctoral programs. Approximately 20,000 students attend this institution. The average SAT score of entering first-year students is 1075, and approximately 80 students are National scholars. Harpers mission promotes a commitment to diversity and the advancement of student learning. One of Harpers strategic goals is to increase engagement and retention efforts for students beyond the first-year. The racial demographics of the University are as follows: two percent American Indian, three percent Asian American, 10 percent African American, 35 percent Latino/a American, and 50 percent Caucasian. Harper has been listed as the number one school for the traditional first-year experience three years in a row. Description of the surrounding Community Harper University was established in 1975 and is the youngest of four state institutions. The community surrounding Harper was built around the University and is home to some of the most contemporary/modern museums, shopping centers, and dining facilities in the state. Diverse populations of full-time faculty members are employed by the University in addition to a large population of adjunct faculty who make up the majority of the faculty population. Harper University holds pride in believing in the power of practical application of education, forward thinking, and modern teaching techniques in the classroom. A sizeable number of first-year students are engaged with student organizations on campus and seek mentorship from faculty members who also serve as student organization advisors.

Primary Persons Involved in the Case: Carlton Thomas is a 25 year-old nontraditional/veteran first-year student at Harper University. He has served two tours of duty in Iraq and is currently enrolled and taking classes. He makes good grades but is having difficulty engaging with students on campus. Kristina Smith is the Director of Student Activities who oversees the Campus Organizations office and the Harper Student Activities Board Ryan Stevens is the Hall Director of Weymouth Hall, which a holds a population of primarily first year students. This is Ryans second year as a hall director at Harper and has never had experience working with nontraditional students before. Amber Praxton is the Director of Commuter and Nontraditional Student Services. Amber has been in this position for three years and is currently job searching as rumor has it that the University will soon be cutting her department.

Information Germane to the Case: Last year a small population of student veterans on campus had tried to create a Student Veterans organization but were denied due to lack of signatures from potential members. The current policy states that students may only start an organization with 15 members. The students that petitioned for the student veterans organization were denied because they only had 10 members to sign at the time. Harper University currently holds no chapter affiliation with the Student Veterans of America organization nor has a chapter ever previously existed on campus. A veteran living-learning community had been researched for the residence halls but had never received any follow-up action. Due to a rising demand for focus on first-year traditional students at the University, rumors have it that the Department of Commuter and Nontraditional student services will be cut to allow for more funding towards first-year student programming.

The Case Carlton Thomas is a 25 year-old non-traditional/Veteran first-year student at Harper University. After finishing his second tour of duty in Iraq, Carlton moved back to the Southwest and enrolled at Harper University to pursue a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship. Having joined the Army straight out of High School, Carlton dreamed of the excitement of what he refers to as the true college experience.In order to capture this experience, Carlton opted to live in Weymouth Hall, one of the on-campus residence halls made up of primarily freshmen students, despite the fact that University Housing informed him that he was qualified to live off-campus. After living in the residence halls and attending classes for a few weeks, Carlton is quickly started to feel out of place. He is having trouble connecting with the students in his hall and has attended meetings for a few student organizations but finds their discussions immature. Carlton feels that he is unable to share or relate any of his experiences with friends and knows that his maturity and experience level are beyond those of his peers. In an effort to become more engaged on campus Carlton set up a meeting with his hall director Ryan who listened to Carltons dilemma. After the meeting, Ryan sent an email to Kristina Smith, the Director of Student Activities and Amber Praxton, the Director of Commuter and Nontraditional Student Services to inquire about what services were offered for veteran/nontraditional students on campus to which he has yet to receive a response. Discussion Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. Describe some of the key in this case. What are the areas the University needs to improve in as it relates to this case? How does diversity play a role in this case? Do you think the policy the University has in place regarding student organization membership is fair? How might this policy have an impact on students? 5. Since the University is primarily traditional first-year oriented do they have an obligation to provide services to nontraditional students? Research Activities for Further Exploration 1. Research the issues faced by returning Veterans on college campuses and how campuses are serving Veterans needs. Compare benchmarks from three universities to explore: What is offered? Which university offers better services and why? What could the university do to increase the services offered? 2. Research the issues faced by nontraditional undergraduate students on college campuses and best practices for engaging nontraditional students and link them to relevant theories. 3. Interview at least three nontraditional students (at least one being a student veteran) and report on what they believe their institution does well or needs to improve on in regards

to nontraditional services. What challenges have they faced as nontraditional students? How do the students perceptions and experiences compare to what services are available on their campuses?