Traditional-nontraditional student interactions in a program with large numbers of nontraditional students

Abstract

In urban comprehensive universities the majority of students are often nontraditional. Nontraditional students are typically older, often carry a part-time course load while being gainfully employed elsewhere and are generally nonresidential. At the University of Southern Maine (USM) the largest single group of nontraditional students in the Electrical Engineering program is comprised of technicians in local industries who would like to increase their chances for vertical mobility by obtaining an engineering degree. Another subset consists of degreed individuals who are taking individual courses to increase their skills. Interactions between traditional and nontraditional students in the USM Electrical Engineering program are discussed. The experience has been that educating engineering students in a setting where the student body is extremely heterogeneous is not only workable but can be a superior educational experience if the faculty and the administration are willing to be flexible.<>