Today's students defy the norm

There is no such thing as a "typical" undergraduate, research data show. The characteristics that define today's students most often place them outside the mold of a generation ago. Traditional students--those who earn high school diplomas and go directly to full-time postsecondary education in the same year, who are financially dependent and who do not work or work only part-time during the school year--made up only 27 percent of undergraduates enrolled in 1999-2000.

Instead, 73 percent of students have some characteristic that defines them as nontraditional, and the percentages have changed dramatically since 1970:

• 48 percent are enrolled part time, versus 28 percent in 1970;
• 44 percent attend two-year colleges, versus 31 percent;
• 38 percent are age 25 or older, versus 28 percent; and
• 56 percent are female compared to 42 percent in 1970.

In 1999-2000, 51 percent of students were financially independent, 39 percent worked full time, 27 percent had dependents and 13 percent were single parents.

These data are featured in The Condition of Education 2002, which is published annually by the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. This year, the report highlights trends affecting nontraditional undergraduates. (Copies can be downloaded from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002025.)

Nontraditional students report more problems with class schedules, choice of classes, the number of classes they can take and access to the library. They are more likely to participate in distance education programs.

Although these percentages blast stereotypical notions about today's college students, it's important to remember that these changes didn't come about overnight. Since the 1970s and 1980s, more students have been attending college, and their profile has been diverging from the pre-1970 norm. Yet, when policymakers--both on campus and in statehouses--ask questions about student persistence and degree attainment, they need to recognize that many of today's students have life situations that hold a stronger claim on them than school does.

Question those high school grad rates

In 1990, the U.S. governors set education goals for the nation. The second goal was that the high school graduation rate would be 90 percent by 2000. Last year, the National Education Goals Panel announced that the national average of high school completion had reached 85 percent (with 17 of the 50 states actually hitting the 90 percent goal). This was considered good news because states have been raising academic standards. But closer scrutiny of high school completion rates tells a different story.

How we define "graduation" is one important factor. The goals panel says it means a diploma or an "alternative credential." The latter refers to a GED (a high school equivalency certificate) or to a certificate of completion, which frequently is based on less challenging criteria than the diploma or GED requires.

In the May 2002 Postsecondary Education Opportunity newsletter, higher education policy analyst Thomas Mortenson breaks down high school graduation data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Between 1982 and 2000, the regular diploma high school graduation rate fell from 72.2 percent to 66.1 percent. This, he says, is a noticeable qualitative change: "A growing share of completers have not been able to complete the curricular requirements for a high school diploma," and have received something considerably less in the form of an alternative certificate.

Being able to achieve success in postsecondary education and in the economy increasingly rests on being able to achieve in the K-12 system. The implications of shifting high school graduation rates bears further study.