Traditional students straight out of high school and non-traditional or adult students constitute the diverse student population enrolled at Ohio University.
An adult student is older than the typical college student enrolled on residential campuses ... whose ages range between 18 and 24. Sometimes students also are considered to be 'adult students' if they are married
have children or work full time according to the university's adult student handbook.
Laura Fairfax is an OU adult student who went to college right after high school, got married and decided not to return to school for a second year. She said she decided to come back to school 16 years later to study child psychology because she was frustrated with her job as a corrections officer.
I want to be able to catch kids before they get into the system and hopefully be able to make a difference. Once they enter the system it is hard for them to change
Fairfax said.
Going back to school was challenging because Fairfax said she had to be a student, mother, wife and employee all at the same time. She was able to push herself to tackle the workload because this time around, school was something she really wanted to do, and she was willing to strive for it.
Fairfax said as an adult student, her classroom experiences are different from those of traditional students. She said she feels she has to work harder than traditional students because often they can learn things from only attending lectures, but she has to study the material at home also.
Fairfax said she interacts with her professors more than traditional students do because the professors are normally closer to her age.
One criticism Fairfax has about being an adult student at OU is the university does not do a very good job informing adult students about specific services offered to them.
Ronald Rodgers is another adult student at OU who decided to come back to school to work on his doctorate degree in communication. He said he does not know about any special services OU offers to adult students.
Sometimes you have to learn by osmosis and just absorb things on campus
Rogers said.
According to the adult student handbook, OU offers multiple programs and resources to adult students.
University College has a free mentor program for all adult and commuter students. The mentor will be able to discuss your questions and concerns
as well as keep you informed of various activities on campus and in the Athens area
according to the handbook.
OU also offers a course for adult and transfer students called UC 115. This class addresses the specific concerns of non-traditional students.
Adult students who want to learn which university programs apply to them can contact University College to discuss specific options.
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Emily Tudor
