Discussions

Your Name and Title:  Kris MacDonald, BA, MSed, Ed.D. in progress

School or Organization Name:  Drexel University

Co-Presenter Name(s):  N/A

Area of the World from Which You Will Present:  Scranton, PA, USA

Language in Which You Will Present:  English

Target Audience(s):  For-profit sector of higher education, instructors of nontraditional students, curriculum designers of hybrid programs, student support coordinators
 
Short Session Description (one line):  This session provides strategies for non-profit secondary school stakeholders, instructors and instructional designers to increase in-person student support for nontraditional students enrolled in hybrid courses who must utilize 21st Century skills without preparation.
 
Full Session Description (as long as you would like):  This session focuses on nontraditional students enrolled in hybrid programs at for-profit postsecondary schools.  According to the literature on nontraditional students, they are students over the age of 24, who are predominantly female working mothers, and are statistically the first in their family to enroll in higher education.  These students also face severe self-esteem issues and fear technology typically due to their length of time out of school.  Being an online student also requires a significant amount of self-motivation, dedication, time management and technological skills that most nontraditional students at for-profit colleges do not have.  Therefore, enrolling these kinesthetic learners into hybrid programs requires more strategic planning prior to its implementation to provide on-campus, face-to-face support resources for these students.  This presentation will discuss the needs of nontraditional learners and strategies regarding student support and technology that for-profit schools can implement before enrolling students into hybrid programs so these processes are already in place to help students succeed.  Online and hybrid schooling is occurring across the globe in the form of MOOCs, for-profit schools, and brick-and-mortar schools offering traditionally in-person programs now online.  Nontraditional learners have a tendency to shy away from enrolling in these programs because of their lack of 21st Century skills, especially technology, and their need for additional support, so these practical recommendations can apply outside of the for-profit sector as well, thus improving student enrollment and ultimately retention. Attendees will be provided with strategies to increase engagement and retention with this ever-growing but little-understood population of nontraditional learners as well as the for-profit sector of higher education.

 Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:  N/A