New Majority Learner data stories: working students

Over the past few decades, the student population in higher education has undergone a dramatic demographic transformation.

Non-traditional learners now constitute the New Majority, with 40.2% of students over the age of 22 and and the number of neurodivergent learners increasing by 267% since 2004. The conventional concept of a college student is no longer accurate.

As such, higher education institutions need to evolve their approach to attract, retain, and support a changing student population, thereby ensuring their long term viability.

The key to achieving this lies in pivoting toward the needs of the New Majority, by understanding how the experiences of non-traditional students differ to those they have historically catered for.

This requires a greater appreciation of the various traits and characteristics that define non-traditional learners, in this case, working students.

Here we’ll explore how they influence the student population, introduce the fundamental learning challenges they’re likely to face and suggest methods through which institutions can better serve this segment of the New Majority population.

To read the full New Majority learner report, click here.

Working students in higher education

Out of all of the characteristics that define the New Majority, the most commonly occurring is learners who work while studying. As a percentage, they are consistently more present than any other trait, despite seeing a 4% decrease since 2004.

Intersectionality naturally plays a contributing role in this but figures remain high, with the most recent data indicating that 69.3% of students are working while studying.

Taking a more detailed look into the latest NSPAS data, 30.45% of students are working part-time while a staggering 40.63% classed themselves as in full-time employment. Looking at a more granular level, full-time employment has increased by 61% since 2016, with 39% of students at an Associate Carnegie classification working more than 31 hours per week.

From an institutional perspective, this means students are time poor, and likely find themselves trying to absorb their course material in a range of environments such as a break room at their place of work or during their commute. Nowhere is this more of a concern than in North Dakota and Montana who have the highest percentage of working students than any other state at 71.9%.

Not only can this create a situation where there is a conflict of interests, it can increase pressure on learners to keep up with their grades as well as meet expectations at work to fund their studies. This is especially true for first-generation college students, who are substantially overrepresented among working students compared to their peers.

This reality requires numerous forms of support to help guide students through such complex scenarios but also an openness to evaluating and measuring performance, comprehension and knowledge in new ways that better suit the New Majority.

Perhaps the most striking difference between working and non-working students, at 4-year colleges in particular, is the $18,871 difference in the average annual income of their parents.

For those institutions, having an awareness of financial stability of their students is critical for maintaining completion and retention rates, with working students being more susceptible to leaving their program for monetary reasons, rather than a lack of academic talent.

Fundamental working student challenges

For the New Majority, their challenges can be sorted into one of three core categories. For working students, they are most likely to sit within the time poor learner segment.

This portion of the New Majority represents students juggling multiple responsibilities, including working professionals, but also parents, carers, apprentices, and athletes.

Picture the student working night shifts to pay tuition, the single parent balancing childcare with assignments, or the student athlete striving for academic excellence while training for competitions. Time poverty is the defining characteristic of this group.

They struggle to dedicate sufficient time to their studies due to their other commitments. Financial worries, caregiving responsibilities, and the constant pressure of juggling multiple roles can further distract them from their academic pursuits.

Despite their limited time, these learners are highly motivated and determined to succeed. They seek effective time management strategies to excel in their studies without neglecting their other obligations.

They crave a sense of balance and accomplishment in all areas of their lives, and your understanding and flexibility can be instrumental in their journey.

Supporting working students

So how can institutions help these learners navigate higher education? One avenue is through the introduction of more online learning, which offers unparalleled flexibility.

For working students, it can help to dismantle many of the barriers we’ve highlighted, allowing previously disenfranchised students to pursue their educational aspirations. The asynchronous nature of many online programs empowers individuals to learn at their own pace, seamlessly integrating education into their busy lives, a critical factor for those juggling multiple commitments.

To do this, institutions must embrace cutting-edge technologies and pedagogical approaches to create engaging and interactive online learning experiences. Part and parcel of this is addressing the digital divide. Failure to do so risks exacerbating existing inequalities and limiting opportunities for those who already face significant challenges.

Fostering a sense of belonging and community is also essential, while providing additional support is vital to creating successful learning experiences for all. This is not just about adapting to a changing demographic; it's about utilizing online learning to build a more equitable and accessible education system that serves everyone.

Similarly, analytic models and early warning systems have proven vital for supporting non-traditional learners and their persistence efforts. They help identify at-risk students and provide colleges with a broad picture of retention and persistence within their institutions, highlighting areas for further development, investment, and growth.

"We knew we had a challenge before us and we knew we needed to do something. We didn't have any organised framework or established way to identify who was at risk and determine the effectiveness of our retention efforts.

With our new early warning system, when alerts were submitted, notifications were sent to the student's advisor and the student's academic and personal counsellor.

In relation to academic performance, students with no alerts generally have a GPA of about 3.0. Students with one to three alerts might have a GPA down to about 2.0, and students with more than three alerts their GPA drops from one to below one." - Monte Schaff, Dean of Enrollment Management at United Tribes Technical College.

However, in order for them to effectively serve students, it is important to view them often as a measure of a symptom, not an illness.

They can help identify students needing additional support but the next step should likely include a level of personal contact with the student, either through a dedicated staff support supervisor or a peer mentor, to gain a deeper understanding of the unique circumstances faced by the student.

By understanding, and adapting to those who must work whilst studying, higher education institutions can enable working students to flourish, showing that it is possible to find the right balance that provides them with the space to fulfil their job whilst achieving their academic potential.