Kapiolani Community College
Spectrum 2000

Th

e emergence of the returning adult student from a virtual quandary of trials and tribulations, only to sparkle as they are ignited by the experience of broadening one's aspect through personal growth, self-fulfillment, and furthermore through achievement of the merits of higher education can be analogized to the phoenix "rising from the ashes."

Despite the enfeebled fledgling first steps, adults shine in school as highly motivated and enthusiastic students, our battle half over from the point we yell "present" at roll call in class. My decision to attend college was not an easy one. I hadn't graduated high school the previous year; I'd graduated the previous decade. My first day at college was not any easier than the decision to return, and the angst I felt that day was not dissimilar to my first day at primary school; I was surrounded by people I didn't know! Where was the bathroom? What time do I get to go home again? I had a lot to learn.

In collating information for this research paper on "adults attending college," I discovered that my position as an adult student on campus was by no means an anomaly. The number of adult students returning to higher education is increasing every year, and according to a 1994 analysis of returning "nontraditional" students, as many as 43% of all college students are currently over the age of 24 (Marino). The adult student is considered as being over the age of 25 years taking college courses: part or full time, for credit or personal interest. The Journal of Psychology defines the nontraditional student as having multiple roles (e.g., parent, employee, student), and traditional students as those who enroll directly from high school who do not typically have multiple roles.

Adults return to school for varying reasons, although furthering an existing career, career change, "the love of learning," and attaining personal fulfillment appear to be among the most common. Sometimes a student's personal motivation in returning to school is influenced by a "trigger," such as divorce, children leaving home, loss of employment, move to a new locale, and job dissatisfaction. Interestingly enough, the most significant influence to return to school is to advance in a job and further employment opportunities. "The excitement of personal growth ranked high as the reason for their persistence" (Harriger 176).

The "trigger" that influenced my return to school was moving to a new country. In shedding the cocoon I had woven for myself, I left my employment, colleagues and friends behind in New Zealand. I faced the seemingly daunting prospect of beginning all over again in Hawai`i. I was able to put this once dramatic decision into a new perspective; the considerations that had held me back previously from pursuing college study were no longer relevant in my new life in Hawai`i.

Fellow adult student Gina Lockwood is completing her second semester back in school following an absence of ten years. She attended college directly from high school but dropped out after only three semesters. She found her school life to be cumbersome to her social life of partying with friends and subsequently missed a lot of classes. Gina reflected that she was not up to the responsibility of college. Ten years in the work force, she returned with open eyes having realized the importance of higher education: "People with a degree were making more money and telling me what to do - and they were a lot younger than me!"

Initially, adult reentry students tend to enroll for part-time study. I fall into this category of part-timers, choosing a light load of courses this first semester to "test the waters" and take a little time to acclimatize myself to this foreign environment. Leppal comments that many adults "fear that they have forgotten both study skills and concepts they used to know" (47), and Harriger, that "not having attended school for a number of years, these adults are characterized by a need for confidence- building before accelerating their academic programs" (173).

To attend college, adult students must overcome barriers that are not necessarily relevant to the younger traditional student. Finances are a crucial consideration for the adult student - with family, home mortgages, and Foodland all vying for the wallet. Time, or lack of it, is another major obstacle to the adult. Juggling school with the demands of an employer and family, adults will often elect for part-time studies. Also, the institutions themselves can be discouraging to adults with practices and procedures not hospitable to the adult lifestyle. These can include lack of evening classes, in-person daytime registration, and daytime-only advising hours.

Despite the anxieties and difficulties adults must overcome, they "appear to compensate as a result of a strong motivation to learn and obtain their education" (Harriger 179).

I was not surprised in researching this paper to find that the overall performance of the adult student is superior to that of the younger continuing student. It stands to reason that our "life experience" should count for something. It's gratifying to know that having stepped out of the "institutional" learning curve does not mean you can't step back in and bring with you the knowledge and skills acquired in the "real world" and have them complement your formal college study. We do, however, tend to suffer when it comes to the institution's placement tests. Kasworm points out that studies identify that while adults score significantly higher than the traditional students in the entry level tests on vocabulary and spelling, they do not perform as well as the younger students on tests of mathematics skills (171). Furthermore, Morris notes that adult placement test scores decrease as the delay in returning to school increases (4).

This was true of my placement test experience. Rating an average score on the English test, I was unable to gain even a passing mark for the Pre-College Math test. Years of disuse of the formulas and applications of mathematics had taken their toll. I had always affirmed in high school that once I left school I was never going to need the sine/cosine formula - and I was right - until now.

One reason for the success of adult students is that they are extremely motivated - both externally and internally. They choose to be in school and have gone to great lengths overcoming barriers in order to attend. Financially responsible for their education, they are focused to "get their money's worth." Coming from the workforce and having personally witnessed the advantage from higher education (such as my friend Gina Lockwood), they are determined to do all they can to achieve this credit for themselves and further their career. I find myself internally motivated and do not have a particular career goal in mind. I'm attending class for the love of learning and to better myself, although I also appreciate that a degree will do well in enhancing my employment opportunities.

In contrast to the highly motivated and mature adult student is the traditional student. These students flow directly into college from high school because it's the "traditional" thing to do. They have not consciously considered why they are attending, and have no external experience to draw on in assessing their motivation other than the obvious; their friends are attending and their parents are supporting them.

Another factor linked to attributing to the success of the adult student is the amount of time devoted to studying for each course. Studies concur that while both traditional and nontraditional students spend approximately the same total amount of hours studying, the adults take a lighter course load and consequently spend more time studying per course. Adults are also noted to be more involved in their learning, participating more in class, asking questions and interacting with instructors. They attend class regularly and if they miss, make arrangements with classmates or with the instructor to cover the course material. I feel that to be an apt pupil, it's important to identify the number of courses you can take while applying the appropriate energy and effort required to be successful in each class - and enjoy it. What is the point of attending class if you are going to show up half an hour late and then proceed to sleep through the remainder of it?

"As the need and desire for education persist throughout the lifespan, more and more adults are enrolling in higher education" (Harriger). The number of higher education institutions that offer programs to adults has doubled in the last ten years. Institutions attempting to "cash in" on the burgeoning adult market are making strides toward integrating the adult student population with the traditional, adapting their goals and mission statements to accommodate the market - but many schools fall short of the adult expectations. The expectations of adult students are quite different to those of the traditional student.

Higher education is not the central feature of their lives, but just one of a multiplicity of activities in which they are engaged every day . The relationship these students want with their college is like the one they already have with their banks, supermarkets, and the other organizations they patronize. They want education to be nearby and to operate during convenient hours - preferably around the clock. They want easy, accessible parking, short lines, polite and efficient personnel and services, expecting the same consumer expectations they have for every other commercial enterprise with which they deal. What they don't want are the extra's colleges usually offer. They seek a stripped down version of college without student affairs, extracurricular activities, residence life, varsity sports, campus chaplains, museums (Levine).

Institutions can vary greatly in their encouragement of adult students. Those that are most successful in serving the adult student offer comprehensive programs and services for adults from the moment they enquire about returning to school and through the process of application to graduation (Harriger).

Kapi`olani Community College has taken certain steps to capture and accommodate the adult student. KCC has considerable flexibility in scheduling of classes, including a reasonable selection of evening classes, although in contradiction lapse in administrative processes with a cashier window that opens only on weekdays and closes at 4:15 p.m. The bookstore at least meets the student halfway and extends store hours at peak times, namely around the start of each new semester when students scramble to purchase the course requirements. Where Kapi`olani does excel, however, is in their service to parents with children. A childcare center is provided for children of students and there are several supplementary programs such as the 'Single Parents and Homemakers Program' which support and encourage these students. Course pre-requisites are a necessary evil, but I can generally appreciate the theory behind this protocol. However, I remain baffled as to what logical reason deems me ineligible for Anthropology 100 when I'm able to take Zoology 142. I placed rather unfortunately on the placement math test, but what could they possibly be calculating in anthropology that I couldn't either remove my shoes or use a calculator to figure out!

I chose to begin my secondary education with Kapi`olani for two reasons. Stepping into new territory, I anticipated it would take me a while to find my feet, and I knew that long before I could even step into a classroom it was going to take some negotiation just to familiarize myself with the registration and administrative procedures. Kapi`olani did not appear as some vast impersonal campus where I would be an insignificant amongst thousands, and I felt confident that I would receive more personal service from both the administration and the classroom. The class sizes at Kapi`olani are often one quarter of the size of those at the University of Hawai`i at MaĆnoa, and I just couldn't picture being in a class with a hundred other students - what if I had a question?!

Entering Kapi`olani in the spring, I really had no idea what was ahead of me or if school was right for me. But during the course of the semester and with guidance of a certain "high-heel wearing, Diet-Pepsi drinking English teacher," I believe I have found a little niche for myself in college. I have valued her input and encouragement as both a teacher and fellow student of life. I have no regrets in returning to school as an adult student. Would I rather have gone to college direct from high school? Nah! I know what I want from my education and I know what I have to do to get it. It's been an enlightening first semester at Kapi`olani and it's left me with a great sense of achievement. I don't see my life as being any less complicated since I "dropped out" of the "real world": I still have to get up four mornings a week and find the right pair of sneakers to go with my cut-off jean shorts, and I never do quite manage to dodge the sprinkler system at the park as I fly past on my moped en route to school, but I'm enjoying myself and definitely see my future in brighter shades of gray.

My advice to the unmotivated continuing student? Take a break!

My advice to the education institutes regarding adult students? We want simple procedures, good service, flexible scheduling of classes and at low cost. We want a "no-frills" education, although a Starbucks on campus would go a long way!