1. Dr. Vesta R. Whisler Valdosta State University Adult & Career Education Gulf South Conference, 2011 Opportunities for Non-Traditional Students

2. Overview The College Board A nonprofit association with the mission to connect students to college success and opportunities Released a report that states the U.S., once a world leader in the proportion of adults (25 to 34) with post- secondary degrees, now ranks 12 th (Boyd, 2010) VSU is opening gateways to degrees for non- traditional students

3. Preview *Non-Traditional Students *USG Adult Learner Consortium *Adult & Military Programs *Prior Learning Assessment *eCore *GeorgiaOnMyLine *Office Administration & Technology-Online Bachelor Completion Option

4. Non-Traditional Students

5. Non-Traditional Students Degrees of Difficulty (USA Today, 2011) Who are they? Dennis Medina, a police officer and a night student at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston; Kathryn McCormick, a single mom who waitresses 35 hours a week and is enrolled at Valencia Community College in Orlando Shane Burrows, who works full-time as a sales assistant while studying at Sierra Community College in Rocklin, Calif.; Shane Burrows, Brandon Krapf, an Iraq war veteran studying at American University in Washington, D.C.; Charneé Ball, a Navy veteran, also at Valencia Community College in Orlando

6. The New Undergraduate Majority (CAEL, 2000) Traditional College Students Earned a high school diploma Enrolls full time immediately after finishing high school Depends on parents for financial support Does not work during the school year or works part-time This does not describe 73 percent of students in U.S. higher education (NCES, 2002)

7. NCES Defines Non-Traditional They often Have delayed enrollment into postsecondary education Attend part-time Are financially independent of parents Work full-time while enrolled Have dependents other than a spouse Are a single parent Lack a standard high school diploma (CAEL, 2000)

8. Lower Completion Rates Five years after enrolling, only 26.7 percent of non- traditional students had achieved their objective of an associate degree compared with 53.4% of traditional students. (NCES, 2003) Non-traditional students have unique challenges

9. Unique Needs of Non-Traditional Students Different kinds of information about their educational options Institutional flexibility in curricular and support services Academic and motivational advising supportive of their life and career goals Recognition of experience and work-based learning already obtained (CAEL, 2000)

10. USG Adult Learner Consortium Meet the Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. who is responsible for the state's 35 public colleges and universities, 260,000 students, 39,000 faculty and staff, and an annual budget of $5.7 billion.

11. Georgia Education News “The Adult Learning Consortium is an exciting new project that focuses on bringing adults back to college,” Paterson told the regents. “There are nearly 1 million Georgians—22 percent of the workforce—who have earned some college credit, but have no degree to show for it. We have developed strategies that can transform the way we as a University System work with these students, who have complex needs and concerns different from those of our traditional-age students.” (Patricia Paterson, USG Grant Principal Investigator as quoted in Georgia Education News, 2009).

12. USG Adult Learner Consortium Five USG Institutions Atlanta Metropolitan College Bainbridge College Fort Valley State University Georgia Southwestern State University Valdosta State University (Lead Institution)

13. USG Adult Learner Consortium Work together to Improve services for adult students returning to college Expand programs that focus on strategic regional workforce needs Test the awarding of credit for learning acquired through life experience Pass on their best practices to the entire University System

14. VSU’s Adult Degree Completion & Military Programs

15. ADCMP Serves Non-Traditional Students Independent adults Transfer students Members of the military Veterans Professionals

16. NEWS VSU Waives Fees for Active Duty Military Students Department of Defense has stopped covering some fees for active duty service members Affects 50 active duty students enrolled at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base Moody Air Force Base Marine Corps Logistic Base President Schloss, “It is fitting that this accommodation is made for individuals who sacrifice to protect the freedoms central to university life.” VSU Earns “Military Friendly School” Distinction Top 15 percent of colleges, universities, and technical schools nationwide

17. Prior Learning Assessment

18. PLA PLA Prior Learning Assessment CLEP Advanced Placement Departmental Exams DANTES ACE Credits PLA Documentation ●Defined by the Council of Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) as: “The recognition of learning gained from experiences that may be granted credit or otherwise certified… The assessment of learning attained through experiences irrespective of the time and place in which they occurred.” [Fiddler, Marienau, & Whitaker (2006), as cited on VSU, PLA] ●Credit can be earned for prior learning through

19. President Schloss PLA Interview President Schloss PLA Interview List of PLA Courses at VSU ACED 1100 Intro to Business ACED 2050 Communication for the Workplace ACED 3100 Computer Systems ACED 3400 Applied Computer Technology CHEM 1211 Principles of Chemistry I CHEM 1212 Principles of Chemistry II CRJU 2100 Survey of Law Enforcement CRJU 4910 Internship in Criminal Justice CS 4121 Data Communications and Networks I CS 4122 Data Communications and Networks II CS 4345 Operating Systems Mathematics MSED 7002 Content Methods MSED 7005 Teaching Internship I NURS 3150 Principles of Baccalaureate Nursing Ed NURS 3220 Community as Client NURS 4060 Advanced Health Assessment NURS 4400 Nursing Informatics PERS 2160 Perspectives on Leadership PERS 2690 Multicultural America PERS 2710 Exploring Success PERS 2730 Internet Technology SCI 3103 Natural History for Middle School Teachers SOCI 3190 Clinical Sociology SOCI 4540 Internship in Sociology SPEC 2110 / ASLS I American Sign Language I SPEC 2120 / ASLS II American Sign Language II

20. GeorgiaOnMyLine

21. GOML GOML GeorgiaONmyLINE A University System of Georgia (USG) collaborative effort Provides access to online and distance ed offerings from the 35 colleges and universities in the USG Over 150 online degrees Thousands of online courses (grad & undergrad) VSU College of Education offers several graduate programs and one undergraduate program through GOML VSU College of Education offers several graduate programs and one undergraduate program through GOML GOML (n.d.)

22. eCore

23. eCore®eCore® Electronic Core Curriculum First two years of a college degree offered online Six affiliate institutions Students enrolled at any USG institution may register Courses designed, developed, taught, and supported by faculty and staff from the USG. Student support services coordinated through the eCore Administration: enrollment counseling bookstore library services tutoring test proctoring disability services eCore (n.d.)

24. Office Administration & Technology Online Bachelor Completion Option

25. OAT-OBC OAT-OBC Recipe for Serving Georgia’s Adult Learners Previous Courses, Components from eCore, GOML, and PLA Online OAT Courses Office Administration & Technology Online Bachelor Completion Option

26. Admission Requirements: Overall GPA of at Least 2.3 3 years of Verifiable Related Work Experience All Official College Transcripts Exempted or Passed Writing Requirements Completed Core

27. Transfers with an Associates Degree: University System of Georgia School Areas A-E of the core curriculum are satisfied. Must also have the following: GPA of 2.3 Passed or Exempted Writing Requirement 3 years Verifiable Work Experience Area F Non-University System of Georgia School Must have the following: GPA of 2.3 Passed or Exempted Writing Requirement 3 years Verifiable Work Experience Check all Areas A-F of the core curriculum

28. Transfers without an Associates Degree: If any area A-E of the core curriculum is complete at sending institution, it will be considered complete at VSU University System of Georgia School Check all areas A-F of the core curriculum Non-University System of Georgia School

29. OAT-OBC graduates will be able to demonstrate job skills and higher-level office administration skills such as: Problem Solving Office Procedures & Management Communication

30. OAT-OBC graduates will also be able to demonstrate competency in a variety of computer-technology applications, such as: Keyboarding & Word Processing Desktop Publishing Multimedia & Web Design Applications Spreadsheets & Databases Bookkeeping Applications (such as Quicken) Virtual Communication (Outlook, Mobile Devices)

31. OAT-OBC graduates will be prepared to take certification exams in: IC3 Word Excel Access Outlook PowerPoint Windows 7 QuickBooks

32. OAT-OBC Faculty

33. Review *Non-Traditional Students *USG Adult Learner Consortium *Adult & Military Programs *Prior Learning Assessment *eCore *GeorgiaOnMyLine *Office Administration & Technology-Online Bachelor Completion Option

34. Resources Boyd, T. (2010). University recruiting more adult learners. Valdosta State University News. http://www.valdosta.edu/news/releases/adultlearning.092910/ http://www.valdosta.edu/news/releases/adultlearning.092910/ Council for Adult & Experiential Learning (CAEL) (n.d.). ALFI Assessment Toolkit. Retrieved February 22, 2010, from http://www.cael.org/alfi/tools.html.http://www.cael.org/alfi/tools.html eCore Georgia’s Colleg e Core-Curriculum Online (n.d.). About eCore. Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. Retrieved February 22, 2010 from http://ecore.usg.edu/about/.http://ecore.usg.edu/about/ Educational Needs Index (ENI) (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2010, from http://www.educationalneedsindex.com. http://www.educationalneedsindex.com GeorgiaONmyLINE (GOML) (n.d.) Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. Retrieved February 22, 2010, from http://www.georgiaonmyline.org/.http://www.georgiaonmyline.org/ Georgia Education News (2009, June). College Access Grant Targets Low-Income Families, Returning Adult Students. http://gaeducation.blogspot.com/2009/06/college-access-grant-targets-low- income.htmlhttp://gaeducation.blogspot.com/2009/06/college-access-grant-targets-low- income.html NCES (2002). Special Analysis 2002: Nontraditional Undergraduates. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2002/analyses/nontraditional/index.asp http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2002/analyses/nontraditional/index.asp NCES (2003) Descriptive Summary of 1995-96 Beginning Postsecondary Students: Six Years Later. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003151.pdf http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003151.pdf USA Today (2011). Degrees of Difficulty. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/degrees-of- difficulty.htmhttp://www.usatoday.com/news/education/degrees-of- difficulty.htm Valdosta State University (n.d.). Prior Learning Assessment at VSU. http://www.valdosta.edu/pla/.http://www.valdosta.edu/pla/

35. Access to this Presentation http://coefaculty.valdosta.edu/vestawhisler/