Our mission is to provide academic resources, and motivational support for non-traditional students, and to celebrate, and to build on the network of faculty, administrators, and advisors that work with and inspire non-traditional students to succeed.

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The Association for Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education (ANTSHE) and its affiliated colleges, universities, and nontraditional students share a focus on providing key resources, research, and support for faculty and adult students at colleges and universities across the country. ANTSHE believes that adult learners reach a higher level of success and completion of their degree programs when they have the support of faculty, administrators, advisors, and other members of their informal support network (i.e., friends, family, colleagues, etc.). As a part of the informal support network, ANTSHE's leadership works with administrators, advisors, faculty and other leaders in higher education to address key factors involving nontraditional students, providing support for these networks to help them to be able to better support adult learners at their colleges and universities. Our publications, resources, and outreach programs are designed to share successful models and strategies to improve retention and completion rates for adult students. We provide assistance to administrators and faculty members in improving and assessing the adult programs at their institutions. ANTSHE also provides information on the importance of programs that support adult students to state legislatures, private foundations, and government agencies. 

 

Definition of nontraditional student: Researchers generally consider nontraditional students to have the following characteristics: being independent for financial aid purposes, having one or more dependents, being a single caregiver, not having a traditional high school diploma, delaying postsecondary enrollment, attending school part time, and being employed full time (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2017).

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The Association for Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education was founded in 1997 and is a national organization supporting nontraditional student programs at colleges and universities across the country. ANTSHE brings together administrators, advisors, faculty, nontraditional students, and individuals who provide support in some way to nontraditional students, for networking, collaboration, and learning, with topics and issues impacting this growing population. ANTSHE provides an outlet for research, articles, and information pertaining to the adult student and addressing their needs. ANTSHE also provides a number of professional development events for administrators, advisors, faculty members, and students.