Abstract
This study examined nontraditional student perceptions of institutional effectiveness of curriculum and instruction, career planning, and comprehensive student services at Sacramento State. Nontraditional students, also referred to as adult learners, are 25 years old or older (Osam, Bergman, & Cumberland, 2017). Nontraditional students are a growing segment in higher education (Wyatt, 2011), and are vital to the economy, because California is facing a degreed workforce shortage of 1.1 million workers with a bachelor’s degree by 2030 (Johnson, Mejia, & Bohn, 2015). Findings from this sequential explanatory mixed methods study suggest that nontraditional student perceptions of institutional effectiveness at Sacramento State are varied. Some adult learners expressed satisfaction with institutional aspects (such as career planning and instructional teaching methods). However, the prevailing impression was that adult learners are frustrated with their experience due to microaggressions they face (in the form of microinvalidations and microinsults) and institutional barriers at the university. This study uses andragogy, institutional culture, and transformation learning as theoretical lenses through which to examine nontraditional student perceptions. Recommendations for policy, practice, and leadership involve building on existing (and creating new) institutional bridges to improve the adult learner experience and provide nontraditional students increased opportunities for academic success. Example recommendations are; providing more evening and weekend classes, increasing service hours, offering career services that cater to mid-career professionals, and hiring nontraditional faculty, staff, and administrators who may be more empathetic to the adult leaner experience.