Older students attending Georgia's colleges

By Laura Diamond

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Rhonda Tingle promised herself she would return to college and earn a bachelor's degree after she had graduated with a two-year diploma. It's taken Tingle more than 30 years but she is honoring that vow.

Tingle, 56, is among the nearly 38,000 older students currently sitting in classrooms at Georgia's public colleges. They're the opposite of the public image of a college student -- someone between the ages 18 and 24, went to college right after high school and earns a degree in just four years. That student is becoming extinct.

Tingle and others like her represent the new college student. Nearly one-third of the country's college students are 25 and older and their presence is expected to increase as President Barack Obama pushes for more adults to earn college degrees. In 1999, older students made up about 4 percent of the enrollment at Georgia's public colleges, but they are about 13 percent of the student body now, according to the University System of Georgia.

These non-traditional students make up about half the entire student body at Clayton State University and Southern Polytechnic State University, officials there said. At Georgia Gwinnett College, which Tingle attends, about one in four students are older than 25, officials said.

Older students tend to be more focused than their younger counterparts, but they grapple with problems and concerns that most 18-year-olds would not face.

Many are behind academically, especially in math, if only because they've been out of school for so long. About 75 percent of Georgia's first-time freshmen who are 25 or older were required to take remedial classes this year, compared to about 23 percent of the students 24 and younger. As a result colleges have developed special support programs and services to help these students.

Tingle postponed her college plans after becoming pregnant with her first child. Now that her children are grown and working in their own careers, she decided to focus on hers. She works full-time as a wellness director for the J. M. Tull-Gwinnett Family YMCA and plans to earn a degree in exercise science. She started at Georgia Gwinnett in 2006 and plans to graduate in 2012.

"When I first walked in, I was older than the other students and even some of my professors," Tingle said. "I was afraid of how I would fit in and worried if I would remember how to study. I worried if I could find the time to do this. I have time constraints with a full-time job and finding time to study and do homework and still providing meals for my husband and doing all the normal chores a wife does."

Students who drop out of college said their biggest problem was balancing school with work and family, according to a report released last year by Public Agenda and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Tingle said she learned how to manage her time and not overload with too may courses, which are strategies local colleges try to teach.

Mercer University established eight-week sessions which allow students to take one or two courses at a time instead of juggling five during a full semester, said Priscilla Danheiser, dean of the College of Continuing and Professional Studies, where the average age is about 35.

"They need to look at balance," Danheiser said. "You don’t do 15 credit hours if you have a lot going on. If they try to do too much they won't be able to focus or succeed."

To accommodate its non-traditional students, Southern Polytechnic launched an engineering degree program with evening classes. About 100 students are in the program, officials said.

Clayton State provides special breakout sessions for non-traditional students during orientation programs. Students learn about tutoring, mentoring and counseling services, said Celena Milner, who is in charge of orientation programs. The university also provides students with information about local child care, including centers with evening hours, she said.

Stacie Arnold, 31, relaxed when she saw other older students in her classes.

Arnold is majoring in nursing at Clayton State. When she graduated from high school with honors, she enrolled at Southern Polytechnic State University. She dropped out because she was unsure what to study and didn’t want to waste her money.

About 10 years later the mother of three returned to school full-time. She's living with her parents, who help her with the kids.

"I could say it took me 10 years because I had to make sure my life and finances were in order," Arnold said. "But those were some excuses. Finally I realized it was going on 10 years and I just decided to stop making excuses."

Some students said the time off is an advantage.

Carl Augustin, 26, said he's more focused on his studies now. He's working toward a degree in biology at Georgia Gwinnett. He previously attended St. Johns University in New York.

“When I was 18 and first starting college, there were just a lot of doors open to me," Augustin said. "There were a lot of parties and distractions coming at you for the first time. You don’t study and then you don’t do well on the tests and then you’re just trying to catch up and it’s not good.”

Students like Augustin serve as role models for younger students, said Lee Kurtz, a biology professor at Georgia Gwinnett.

"A lot of times older students are more driven," she said. "They want to prove something to themselves and to their children. They are more responsible with assignments and deadlines but they have a whole lot more going on in their lives as well."

Kurtz said she's learned to be flexible, knowing older students could have sick children at home or bosses that are not supportive of their decision to return to school.

There are other differences between the traditional and non-traditional students. Younger students typically carry their books in backpacks or messenger bags. Older students, including Tingle, said they use rolling backpacks because the books are too heavy.

Older students tend to sit in the front row and take advantage of every minute they're in class. Tingle was the last one to finish an exam in her anatomy and physiology course last week. While other students fled the room as soon as they were done, Tingle double-checked her work.

Some teenagers said it was odd to have older students in class.

“I thought the only older people I’d see would be the professors,” Georgia Gwinnett student Greg Antoine, 18, said. “It was strange at first because I didn’t know if I could talk to them and look at them like I do my friends. But after a while you get used to them and just act normal.”

Some students said they've adjusted to the parental attitude that some non-traditionals have. During a recent class, Tingle greeted everyone and complimented them on their presentations.

“I can always be the mom," Tingle joked. "I can even be the professor’s mom!"

Student Rachel Florio, 22, shook her head.

"Oh my god, you are so not old," she said to Tingle.

Florio said she likes having older students in her classes: "They’re more mature and more into study groups. I’m really focused on school and so are they. I like having them here. They keep us motivated.”

Then she leaned over and asked Tingle for help.

Non-traditional students

Students who are 25 are older make up about 13 percent of the total enrollment at Georgia’s public colleges. Here’s a look at the number of non-traditional undergraduate students at some of Georgia’s four-year college campuses.

Campus … Total enrollment … Non-traditional students … Avg. age undergraduates

University of Georgia … 34,885 … 579 … 21

Georgia Tech … 20,293 … 248 … 21

Georgia State … 30,427 … 3,148 … 24

Clayton State … 6,587 … 2,505 … 29

Georgia Gwinnett … 2,947 … 629 … 24

Kennesaw State … 22,389 … 3,846 … 25

Southern Polytechnic … 5,183 … 895 … 25

Georgia Perimeter* ... 24,549 ... 5,930 ... 25

All campuses ... 301,892 ... 38,100 ... 24

Source: University System of Georgia, fall 2009 semester report.

Note: Ages are rounded. Non-traditional students are 25 and older.

* Two-year institution.

Remedial education

Students who basic skills take learning support, or remedial, classes. Non-traditional students over the age of 25 are more likely to take these classes. Here is a look at the percentage of students who failed to make system-wide requirements.

Campus ... % Non-traditional students ... % Traditional students

Clayton State ... 57.8 ... 3.5

Georgia Gwinnett ... 48.1 ... 22.1

Kennesaw State ... 79 ... 3.3

Southern Polytechnic ... 0 ... 0

All campuses ... 75.1 ... 23.3

Source: University System of Georgia.

Note: Georgia State, Georgia Tech and UGA are not included because they had less than 1 percent of students who didn't meet USG standards.