Persistence of new "non" traditional students: New definitions and policy implications

Abstract

The "new traditional student" population in our nation's universities has been steadily increasing for decades and this trend continues. It is prudent for universities to examine how to design and evaluate intervention strategies and student services to motivate these students to persist because they contribute to improved GPA scores for all students and are the preferred students of faculty members. However, since there is no standard set of criteria for defining this population, it is not known who these students are. Therefore data reported on these students' persistence rates are questionable and student services are inadequate. Defining these students by a standard set of criteria is needed to adequately identify a more differentiated population.