College touted as route to success in the work force

By Matt Hankey
hankeymr@uwec.edu

For some, going to college is a challenge unto itself and being able to stay enrolled is even harder. Studies show that a college degree is highly important to one’s success in future economic opportunities. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2006, households whose primary owner has a bachelor’s degree make nearly double the income of a householder who has only graduated high school. The median income for a bachelor’s degree householder is $73,446 compared to $36, 835 for the high school graduate householder.

Related is the fact that more students are attending college than ever before. According to Institutional Planner of the University Wisconsin-Eau Claire Mark Nelson, enrollment at UW-Eau Claire has increased by more than 1,000 graduates since 30 years ago. This includes nontraditional students. A dynamic in college classrooms that may be overlooked, according to Bonnie Isaacson, is the increasing number of students who are over 24 years of age. As advisor for the Non-traditional Students Services at the UW-Eau Claire, Isaacson counsels prospective and current nontraditional students considering enrollment at the university. 

Nontraditional students constitute 12 percent, or about 1,260 students of the overall UW-Eau Claire student population of 10, 500, says Isaacson. Additionally, there is no disparity between men and women concerning the general make-up of the nontraditional student population, according to Isaacson. 

Isaacson says that while she knows the number of nontraditional students enrolled each semester, she does not know the length between when a student has dropped out and then returns, if that is the case. It’s not asked on the admissions application and therefore not kept in a database, she says.

Isaacson says, nontraditional students postpone enrolling in college for a variety of reasons. Often times, she says, students enter the workforce immediately following high school graduation because they have grown tired of school or are financially hard-pressed. An improvement in economic status and a fulfilling career are the biggest motivators for nontraditional students enrolling in a university, according to Isaacson.

While there are those nontraditional students who have gone to college, dropped out and returned, Isaacson says it is more common for nontraditional students to be first-timers at a university. It is more likely that nontraditional students have worked from three to five years before deciding to pursue higher education, Isaacson says.

Once in the workforce, Isaacson says, people begin to realize that further education is most likely required to advance in their current career or a new one altogether. Working at minimum wage-paying jobs and needing to provide for one’s family are important motivators for someone pursuing higher education, according to Isaacson.

“Education is the key, and [they go] back to school to get a degree so that they can have a better position later on in the work force,” Isaacson says.

Mega Express employee Stacy Chang is one example of a nontraditional student. Chang, 26, has been an employee at the Mega Express convenient store No. 4 at 2119 Cameron St. for more than two years. After graduating from high school in 1998, she stayed at home to care for her first child while her boyfriend, and now separated husband, worked.

In 2002, she attended Chippewa Valley Technical College, pursuing a degree in Administrative Assistance, but stopped taking classes when she became pregnant. Mega Express hired Chang for part-time work three months after she gave birth. As a single mother, she needed money to support herself and her child, and could not continue classes. 

Isaacson says that like Chang some students who begin a college education have to drop out to raise a family.

“Often times, women will stay at home to raise the kids until the kids are school aged and then they will start thinking about school themselves, once their kids are in [school],” says Isaacson. “For many women, that’s the case- that they stayed at home when their kids were young.” 

Going back to school was not an immediate option for Chang. In the back of her mind, however, Chang always knew that she wanted to return to school. She worked to support her family for the time being and did not know if she would ever have the chance to return to college.

But, changes in Chang’s life have given her the opportunity to return to school. Beginning in January 2007, Chang will enroll at CVTC pursuing a degree in criminal justice. Separating from her husband gave Chang more time to think about her future and what she wanted to do. Her husband, who works second shifts, will be able to watch their two children while Chang attends classes during the day. Chang says not having to worry about a babysitter or daycare will be helpful and allow her to take classes.

Visit UW-Eau Claire's Nontraditional Student Services Office.