Older Students on Campus

Aired Monday, October 2, 2006

By Gary Davis

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Anchor Lead: When researchers recently surveyed American adults who had returned to college, they got a surprise. The biggest reason for going back to school is less about money and prestige, and more about 'completing something' and the joy of learning. As part of our ongoing education series "The Learning Curve," KPLU's Gary Davis talks to a one returning student who mirrors those findings.

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First day jitters at a new school take on a whole new meaning when you're forty-five.

Tabor: I'm so old!

Jenelle Tabor vividly remembers the day she started at Seattle University.

Tabor: I get into this classroom, and I am the oldest person in there. And it's a small class. There's maybe fifteen of us, and there are all these young kids. And then another woman who was about my age walked in and I thought, "Oh thank god! I'm not alone!"

More students like Jenelle – those aged 25 and above - can be found on college campuses. They now make up 38 percent of all US college students.

The new study, led by a University of Washington researcher, found adults who are most likely to return to school are women, many working moms and women with ties to the military.

Jenelle is the mother of two teenagers. Her husband Steve is in the Coast Guard.

During the years of constant moving, Jenelle found herself drawn to work in social service agencies. That sparked an interest in public policy, so she decided to aim for a career in government.

When she started school, the reason was to get a degree and a good-paying job. But surprisingly for Jenelle – and for researchers who studied this trend – the main reason adults go back to school is for a sense of accomplishment.

Tabor: There's a personal thing about being able to say, "I did it. I finally did it." I may not have done it when I was right out of high school when I ought to have, or I think I ought to have, but at least I did it. And that's really important to me.

The second reason cited for pursuing education was for education itself.

Tabor: I took a class on skyscrapers, it was the most fascinating thing, I loved it! I have these books that talk about the history of skyscrapers…and the idea…how wonderful the ideas were when they were first being built…it's like having music that swells.

Marie Wong: There isn't anything better for a teacher than to have somebody who wants to be occupying that space in that class.

Marie Wong is a professor at Seattle U's Institute of Public Service.

Wong says the biggest thing she notices about older students is the intensity they bring into the school's traditional culture, where they're able to share their life experiences.

(Sound of Seattle U. bells here)

The St. Ignatius Chapel bells ring out across the S-U campus on a sunny September afternoon. Here at Jenelle's school, the average age of an undergraduate is 22.

Ask a 'Twenty-Something' what it's like to have older students in class and you get a picture of the impact non-traditional students have on their classmates.

Three Younger Students: Student One – I sat by an older lady, and she was kind of like my Mom, she would kind of help me out. Then we would get together and study after class. She was more focuses, and had a different perspective on things and I liked that.

Second student – It's like having my relatives are in the class with me, or something. It's like it doesn't encourage me to speak as much. I get kind of worried about if what I'm saying is respectful enough. Third Student - The older students seem to be a little more reserved, they kind of keep to themselves more. But I also notice they also offer a whole different viewpoint to class discussions from more experience, which has helped create conversation and continue the conversation.

Wong: Sometimes you rely on the more mature student to start that conversation. Because it's very likely that if they're not understanding it, neither is anyone else, but they may be too shy to say I don't get it.

Professor Wong says if older students seem reserved it's because they feel conspicuous, and don't want to overpower the class.

That's a worry for Jenelle because she values the give-and-take at school…a dynamic that also reveals itself at home.

Tabor: We have these wonderful dinner conversations now. We're studying this thing in my policy class, and my children will amaze me with their insight. They are only thirteen and fourteen years old. We have these fabulous conversations. And so it's opening up a whole new world for them.

Jenelle now has a bachelor's degree in public affairs. She'll begin a master's program next quarter.

Professor Wong says when she watched Jenelle graduate last spring, she could see on her face that one moment meant more to her than anything else in the world.

Wong: And that has absolutely nothing to do with money. That has everything to do with personal achievement. It has everything to do with the burning desire in your heart for something. And that's really what education, I think, should do.

Gary Davis, 88-5 KPLU.

The Learning Curve is an education reporting partnership between KPLU and KCTS-TV. For more information go to KPLU.org and click on The Learning Curve.