As context for the study, this section discusses the literature relevant to adult or nontraditional students, Hispanic students and Hispanic-Serving Institutions; linguistic inquiry of text, such as student assignments; as well drives, states, and motives.
Adult or Nontraditional Students
Nontraditional students, hereafter referred to as adult students, represent a sizable number and percentage of today’s undergraduate students but have historically been omitted from student success metrics. Varied definitions create challenges in estimating the number of such students. Using the leading characteristic—age 25 years and older, adults represent 25.4% of undergraduate students enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions (National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 2021a). Solely using age, however, excludes other characteristics of nontraditional students, such as those who work full-time or attend school part-time, have dependents or are a single caregiver, or did not earn a traditional high school diploma or delayed higher education enrollment (NCES, 2014, 2015). Including these characteristics increases adult students to 74.2% of undergraduate students (NCES, 2015). Directly or indirectly, most of these characteristics negatively associate with persistence or attainment (Choy, 2002). Yet, higher education institutions primarily focus on traditional students (Rabourn et al., 2018) and often neglect adult students (Chen, 2017) creating a gap in the knowledge of persistence.
Adult students differ from their traditional counterparts, and better understanding those differences will provide further insight into the persistence of adult students to degree. They juggle multiple roles and competing responsibilities in the family, workplace, and community (Ross-Gordon, 2011) and bring abundant life and work experiences to their student role and responsibilities (Knowles, 1973). The literature identifies varied reasons for adults to attend or return to college—advancing in current job or career, changing to a new job or career, seeking more money, reskilling or upskilling, and personal enrichment or interest in the subject (Choy, 2002; Horn, 2021). Less is known about the reasons adult students persist during college.
Adult students face many challenges and resulting emotions during online degree completion. Due to busy lives and competing priorities, they frequently seek flexible programs and online learning, relying on technology for learning and synchronous or asynchronous interactions with instructors and peers (Ross-Gordon, 2011; NCES, 2023). Although many discuss adult education and technology as separate topics, it is impossible to discuss the former without the latter (Parker, 2021). Facing new technology strikes fear and anxiety in many adult students, along with learning new study skills, having younger students in the classroom, and needing to navigate bureaucratic processes and systems (Erisman & Steele, 2012). If also first generation, adult students face additional anxiety about balancing family, work, and school and often feel misunderstood (Perna, 2016). They live with one foot in each of two different worlds, feeling like they do not belong in either one (Suwinyattichaiporn & Johnson, 2022). Adult students lead complex, multi-dimensional lives.