Examining Academic Success and Retention of Post-Traditional Students in Engineering Undergraduate Programs
Conference
Long, H, Liu, J, Sturgess, JR et al. (2025). Examining Academic Success and Retention of Post-Traditional Students in Engineering Undergraduate Programs
. 10.18260/1-2--56463
Long, H, Liu, J, Sturgess, JR et al. (2025). Examining Academic Success and Retention of Post-Traditional Students in Engineering Undergraduate Programs
. 10.18260/1-2--56463
The purpose of this WIP paper is to examine the unique characteristics and challenges faced by underserved post-traditional students (formerly known as non-traditional students) in undergraduate engineering programs. The number of post-traditional students in higher education has increased rapidly during the past decade. Scholars have argued that many undergraduate students have characteristics of post-traditional students, therefore, post-traditional students have become the typical undergraduate students on college campus [1]. In this context, the term “post-traditional” has replaced “non-traditional” to describe this population. The literature has identified a few key characteristics of post-traditional students, such as individuals who start college at age 25 or older, attend college part-time, and have dependents. Despite the large number of post-traditional students, researchers in higher education and engineering education have devoted limited attention to this population. Additionally, extant scholarship has not unpacked the differences between this group of students and traditional students with respect to gender, race, and socioeconomic status. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature by investigating how post-traditional student characteristics and their demographics as well as the interactions of these variables affect students’ academic performance in engineering undergraduate programs. It uses the institutional deidentified data in the 2023-2024 academic year of students in the undergraduate engineering programs at a large Hispanic-Serving Institution in the Southeastern U. S. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, linear and logistic regressions, and moderation analyses. The findings of this study enhance our understanding of the differences between traditional and post-traditional students from underserved backgrounds. By evaluating post-traditional students holistically, accounting for their unique characteristics, Hispanic Serving Institutes (HSIs) and other minority serving institutions can better support post-traditional leaners’ academic success and persistence. This will contribute to a more equitable and diverse engineering workforce.
