2025 Theses Doctoral

An Ecological Analysis of Post Traditional College Student Success

Myers, Taylor Moore

In the context of U.S. higher education, post-traditional students—those who may be older, work full-time, or have caregiving responsibilities—face unique challenges that are often overlooked by policies designed with the "traditional" student in mind. This dissertation explores how predictive metrics, policy interventions, and stakeholder perceptions influence college outcomes for post-traditional students, using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, adapted by Perna and Thomas, as a framework. It presents three complementary studies that address the diverse challenges faced by students who do not fit the traditional college student profile.

Chapter 1 evaluates novel predictive metrics for older community college transfer students, emphasizing the role of both post-transfer academic momentum and program momentum in predicting college outcomes. Chapter 2 assesses the impact of various interventions on credit accumulation – considering their effects on both parents and non-parents. It finds that on average, interventions have similar impacts on post-traditional students such as parents compared to traditional students. Chapter 3 examines faculty and administrator perceptions of post-traditional students, highlighting how societal and institutional beliefs shape faculty and student interactions and policy implementation.

Taken together, the findings demonstrate interdependencies across ecological policy layers. This work contributes to the literature by illustrating the multiple, interconnected factors that should be considered to serve post-traditional learners more effectively and improve their outcomes in higher education.