Non-traditional students not only face the usual issues that traditional students face when attending a college or university but also special issues because of their different paths to higher education. If you are a non-traditional student facing academic progression issues, disciplinary charges, or other problems threatening your enrollment, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Student Defense Team for your best outcome. Call 888.535.3686 or use our contact form now to tell us about your case.
Why Schools Primarily Serve Traditional Students
Traditionally, students enter a college or university after high school graduation. They typically have the summer after high school graduation off to work or travel and then begin at their college or university in the early fall, expecting to graduate in four or five years. Traditional students enter their college or university with hundreds or even thousands of similar students facing the same path into higher education. Colleges and universities know their student markets. They visit high schools and recruit high school students to enter on that traditional schedule. And those colleges and universities accordingly adopt their policies and fashion their programs primarily to serve those traditional students. When administrators consider a student's progress, performance, and behavior at those schools, they do so through the lens of the traditional student's resources, schedule, expectations, and experience.
Who Are Non-Traditional Students?
Yet while many students graduate from high school and go straight to their college or university program in the fall, many other students take more circuitous paths into their college or university. Traditional students are all those who graduate from high school and go straight to college in the fall. Non-traditional students are everyone else. Students have many good reasons for not going straight to college and instead delaying college, making themselves non-traditional students. Some students decide to work or must work before attending college. Other students decide to travel or gain other valuable experience before attending college. Other students haven't yet determined educational goals and need time to decide on an appropriate college or university program. Other students marry, have children, or have other family obligations and opportunities to fulfill before attending college. Injury, illness, financial setback, loss of a parent or other loved one, and a dozen other common circumstances may just delay college or university attendance. Don't feel bad or out of place if you are a non-traditional student. You very likely did the right thing for yourself and your family by waiting on college.
Why Schools Fail to Serve Non-Traditional Students
But if you are a non-traditional student attending a major public or private university serving mostly traditional students, you've doubtless experienced the square peg, round hole problem. Some schools cater to non-traditional students. But many schools don't. Many of those schools whose primary student market is the traditional student make little effort to adapt and adjust policies and programs to help non-traditional students with their special issues. Sometimes, that failure is simply a matter of ignorance. Some school officials simply aren't especially aware of non-traditional student problems. Other times that failure is a matter of efficiency. Some school officials know the problems non-traditional students face but simply won't devote the time and effort, or lack the time and resources, to regularly accommodate those non-traditional students. Whatever the reason your school isn't seeing your special issues, don't let school officials ignore their obligations to you. As a non-traditional student, you are paying tuition just like traditional students. You deserve fair and equitable treatment.
Special Non-Traditional Student Challenges
Traditional students entering college or university after high school graduation tend to have the ability to focus their entire existence on their higher education. They tend not to have spouses or even significant long-term relationship commitments. They tend not to have children or other dependent-care responsibilities. They tend not to have substantial job responsibilities, even if they take part-time school employment. They are, in short, set up to devote themselves to studies. The opposite can be true for non-traditional students who are often married, have children, have parental care or other dependent care responsibilities, and have full-time employment or other substantial income-earning responsibilities. As a non-traditional student, you have surely seen how easy it seems that traditional students have it when compared to your non-traditional student responsibilities. You face special challenges that non-traditional students do not face. Your college or university should be aware of those challenges and should, within their reasonable policies and procedures, allow you to navigate them responsibly.
Common Student Issues for Non-Traditional Students
Non-traditional students can face all the same issues that traditional students face at college or university. If you are a non-traditional student, our attorneys can help you meet and overcome those issues, just as we would help a traditional student face those issues. But we can also help you navigate the special issues that you face as a non-traditional student, in those common college or university student issues. Consider the following examples.
Academic Progression Issues for Non-Traditional Students
Academic progression, or consistently making the grades and completing the courses to advance to graduation, is a traditional college or university student's primary challenge. Young students entering college in the fall, right after high school graduation, must study diligently, attend classes, apply themselves effectively, and earn the minimum grade-point average to remain in good standing. Colleges and universities, like the University of Arizona and the University of Connecticut, have satisfactory academic progress (SAP) policies with which students must comply to maintain their student loans. Failing courses, withdrawing from courses, leaving courses incomplete, and withdrawing from terms can jeopardize the student's SAP standing.
As a non-traditional student, you have surely already experienced how your other responsibilities can affect your college or university studies. Non-traditional student responsibilities for spouses, children, other dependents, and employment can readily trigger academic progression issues when you lack the time, bandwidth, or flexibility to address those issues because of your other life responsibilities. Let our attorneys help you with grade appeals, SAP appeals, and other academic progression issues that you lack the time to address.
Academic Misconduct Issues for Non-Traditional Students
Academic misconduct is another common issue for traditional students entering college or university straight from high school that non-traditional students also face. Colleges and universities adopt academic integrity, academic honesty, or honor code policies. Those policies prohibit plagiarism, unauthorized materials, unauthorized assistance, research fraud, and other forms of academic cheating. Students entering college or university from high school should be generally familiar with current academic norms and customs, especially developing norms like those associated with ChatGPT, Chegg, and other artificial intelligence or electronic resource use.
As a non-traditional student who may have been out of school for several terms or years, you may not be so familiar with those norms and customs. You may be a fish out of water in the new digital environment within which students learn, communicate, and interact. You may thus be at special hazard for violating academic conduct policies about which you are not reasonably aware. Let us help if you face academic misconduct charges.
Behavioral Misconduct Issues for Non-Traditional Students
Behavioral misconduct is another common issue for traditional students entering college or university straight from high school that non-traditional students also face. Colleges and universities, like the University of Missouri and Indiana University, maintain student conduct codes and standards addressing all manner of personal conduct, including drugs, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, explosives, pornography, computer use, theft, trespass, vandalism, hazing, and other crimes and acts of dishonesty, disrespect, or disruption. Traditional students entering college or university from high school may be well aware of the social and behavioral norms at school. School disciplinary officials may also give those younger students leeway to adapt to college expectations.
As a non-traditional student, presumably older and more mature than your traditional-student classmates, you may not receive the same indulgence from school officials. You may also be unaware of how your school may treat your lawful but campus-prohibited use of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs. And you may be unfamiliar with how schools regulate technology use or other conduct issues. Let us help if you face disciplinary charges over behavioral issues.
Sexual Misconduct Issues for Non-Traditional Students
Sexual misconduct, both of the Title IX and non-Title IX variety, is another significant issue for traditional students entering college or university straight from high school but that non-traditional students also face. Colleges and universities, like the University of Michigan and the University of Washington, maintain sexual misconduct policies to comply with federal Title IX and preserve their federal funding. Those sexual misconduct policies often go well beyond Title IX's protections against sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual harassment to include non-Title IX protections against sexual exploitation like voyeurism, indecent exposure, pornography, and sexual blackmail. Traditional students may be quite familiar with the sensitivity that school environments have against sexual jokes, sexual advances, and sexual banter. Non-traditional students may less well appreciate just how closely regulated of an environment they are entering in a college or university program when the subject comes to sexual communications and conduct. Let us help if you face Title IX or other sexual misconduct charges as a non-traditional student at your college or university.
How Our Attorneys Help Non-Traditional Students
As a non-traditional student, your time devoted to your college or university studies is likely more limited than the time your traditional-student classmates have. Your time crunch can especially become acute when your school serves you with notice of one or more of the above conduct or progression issues. We know that you have a lot on your plate. Our attorneys can help you communicate with school officials, navigate school administrative procedures, and negotiate or advocate for the best outcome for your school issues while you focus on your regular school and life responsibilities. Don't ignore your school issues. Instead, let us help you face and resolve them for your best outcome. We can do any one or all of the following tasks with you, for you, and on your behalf:
● help you identify, acquire, and organize your exonerating or mitigating evidence relating to your school issue so that you can appropriately defend yourself with our skilled and experienced representation;
● respond to the school or complainant with your information and explanation before the issue develops into a formal proceeding with misconduct or academic progression charges;
● help you acquire the school's detailed notice of any misconduct charges and any school evidence allegedly supporting the charges so that you can evaluate the charges and evidence with our advice and support;
● answer the school's charges, raising your legal defenses, invoking the school's protective administrative procedures, and presenting your defense evidence;
● invoke conciliation conferences and conduct other informal communications to advocate and negotiate for early voluntary resolution of the matter before a formal hearing;
● attend and conduct the formal hearing with you and on your behalf, as school rules allow, to challenge the school's evidence and present your own evidence;
● appeal any adverse determinations to an independent decision maker, presenting your legal and factual grounds to reverse the initial decision;
● identify, reach, and negotiate with your school's general counsel or other oversight officials for alternative special relief, even if you have already lost all hearings and appeals; and
● seek court review of any remaining adverse decision, as necessary and appropriate within your legal rights.
Premier Student Defense for Non-Traditional Students
If you are a non-traditional student facing college or university academic progression or misconduct issues, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Student Defense Team for your best outcome to those issues. We have helped hundreds of students nationwide with successful outcomes to all kinds of disciplinary charges and other issues. Call 888.535.3686 or use our contact form now to tell us about your case.
