Abstract
This qualitative study investigated the academic and social experiences and life events that propelled 13 Black male nontraditional undergraduates to transition back to college and explored the various programs and institutional agents these men used once on campus. Findings indicated that participant’s faced challenges with college as traditional-aged students due to being under and over involved with social activities on campus or choosing to pursue a work career. As a result, participants had either delayed entry into college or dropped out as traditional-aged students. However, participants transitioned back to college due to wanting to make up for not completing their degree earlier in life, needing to increase their employment opportunities, and wanting to prove their doubters wrong. Finally, findings indicated that while the men found support from certain professors on their campuses, there were few targeted programs specifically for nontraditional students on campus. Recommendations on how to support nontraditional Black male students are provided.
“There is a tremendous opportunity for colleges and universities to recruit the almost 70% of Black men who have not finished college back to school.”
Introduction
Over the last 15 years, there has been a significant increase in scholarship about Black male college success (Fries-Britt, 1997; Fries-Britt & Griffin, 2007; Goings, 2016a, 2016b, 2017a; Harper, 2009, 2014; Hotchkins & Dancy, 2016; Johnson & McGowan, 2017; Strayhorn, 2014). Much of this work has responded to universities seeking to understand how to best support Black men in college as they have the lowest completion rate of any gender/racial group (Wood & Palmer, 2014). However, research has focused mostly on the experiences of traditional-aged (18-24) Black male undergraduates. There has been little to no discussion about Black male nontraditional college students (Goings, 2017a, 2017b; Rosser-Mims, Palmer, & Harroff, 2014; Rosser-Mims, Schwartz, Drayton, & Guy, 2014). Typically, nontraditional students are defined as being 25 years of age (or older) and having other characteristics such as delayed college enrollment, full-time employment, and having children and/or spouse during their college tenure (Horn & Carroll, 1996). Nontraditional students are the fastest growing student population on college campuses (Bonner, Marbley, Evans, & Robinson, 2015). Moreover, 65% of Black students can be identified as nontraditional students due to having to be financially independent as undergraduate students (National Urban League, 2014).
Given what we know about Black males’ low graduation rates from college, scholars have focused on the reasons that they choose to either leave college or argue that there is much to learn about how these men succeed academically which can inform institutions of higher education about how to support Black men (Goings, 2016, 2017a; Fries-Britt, 1997; Palmer, Davis, & Hilton, 2009). One gap in the literature is the studies that explore why those Black men who may have not completed college during their first attempt decide to return to college later in life. Moreover, there are few studies that explore Black male nontraditional students’ utilization of institutional agents (e.g., faculty, staff) and programs to support their transition into and through college. This study seeks to fill this gap in the literature. More specifically, this study was guided by the following research questions:
Black Men in Higher Education
Numerous scholars have discussed the pervasive deficit narrative portrayed about Black men in society generally and higher education specifically (Goings, 2016a, 2017a, 2017b; Harper, 2009; Toldson & Johns, 2016). In many ways, research suggests that while Black men are touted for their athletic abilities on college campuses, they are not seen as scholars and academicians (Whiting, 2009). These negative perceptions about Black men have rightfully led researchers to examine this phenomenon in depth. For instance, Harper (2015) found that academically successful Black men in his study, who attended predominantly White institutions (PWIs), were often subjected to being stereotyped and experienced racism. In response, these men developed a skill of questioning the individual who sought to stereotype them which caused the aggressor to acknowledge their biases. Unfortunately, for those Black men who may not utilize the skill set described by participants in Harper’s (2015) study, being in collegiate environments that are hostile can lead to Black men leaving higher education. Moreover, these types of encounters may signal to Black men that they are not welcomed on campus.
When looking across national data on college completion, the data suggest that many Black men leave college without completing their college degree during their first-time enrolling in college. Table 1 provides a more detailed account of the 4-year and 6-year graduation rates for first-time Black male collegians.
Graduation Rate From First Institution for First-Time Black Male Bachelors Degree Seeking Students at 4-Year Institutions by Institution Type
Source. Data are from the 2016 Digest of Educational Statistics.
Given that across institution types (i.e., public, private, for-profit) Black men have a 34.3% 6-year graduate rate (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2016), there is a significant portion of Black men who may not complete their degree as traditional-aged students. Given these realities, I argue there is a tremendous opportunity for colleges and universities to recruit the almost 70% of Black men who have not finished college back to school. Unfortunately, there is very little published research that explores what brings Black men back to college as well as the types of supports and programs that Black men utilize on college campuses. Given that institutions must be cognizant and ensure they have programs on campus to support nontraditional students, there is a need for study, such as this which provides insight into the Black male nontraditional experience.
Nontraditional Black Male Undergraduates in Higher Education
There has been a small body of growing research that has explored the experiences of nontraditional Black male students in higher education (Goings, 2016a, 2017b; Drayton, Rosser-Mims, Schwartz, & Guy, 2016; Jackson, 2016; Rosser-Mims, Schwartz, et al., 2014; Spradley, 2001). Much of this research has focused on Black men’s experiences as nontraditional students within the historically Black college and university (HBCU) context (Goings, 2016a, 2017c; Goings, Bristol, & Walker, 2018). These studies have found that for Black men, the HBCU environment has been welcoming in terms of access to faculty and staff. Goings (2017b) also found that due to having significant work histories and life experiences, the Black men had to learn when and where to speak up in class as they felt their participation in classroom discussions that countered the ideas of the professor could be seen in a negative light.
As a result of the current graduation trends for Black men in higher education, scholars have focused on why these Black men decide to leave college (Matthews-Whetstone & Scott, 2015), why they should consider not pursuing college (Osborne & Schwartz, 2016), and why Black men succeed in higher education as nontraditional students (Jackson, 2017; Rosser-Mims, Palmer, & Haroff, 2014). However, scholars have not looked at why Black men come back to higher education after leaving college at some point during their academic career and the institutional agents and programs these men utilize on their campus.
Theoretical Framework
Given the aim of this study is to explore the life events and academic and social experiences that lead nontraditional Black male undergraduates to reenter higher education and institutional agents that these men use during their transition, Schlossberg’s (1980) model for adapting to transitions is utilized as the theoretical lens for this study. Schlossberg defined a transition as “an event or non-event [that] results in a change in assumptions about oneself and the world and thus requires a corresponding change in one’s behavior and relationships” (p. 5). Schlossberg argued that how an individual adapts to a transition is more critical to explore than the actual transition. Thus, Schlossberg explained that the following three factors influence the degree to which individuals adapt to transition: (a) characteristics of the transition, (b) characteristics of the environments pre- and posttransition, and (c) the characteristics of the individual experiencing the transition.
For this study, it was important to understand the past life events and academic and social experiences of the Black men in this study and how these experiences and events influenced their decision to return to college. Moreover, understanding the characteristics of the transition provided insight into how the men experienced the institution as an adult learner. Understanding how the Black men experienced new university environments (e.g., classrooms, admissions, and financial aid office) once they enrolled in college was critical to their transitions. Moreover, exploring how the role participants’ families played in their transition was also important to understanding their collegiate experiences.
Schlossberg (1980) posited that to understand an individual’s transition experience, there is a need to understand characteristics of the individual. These characteristics include age, sex, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and previous experiences with similar transitions. This particular theoretical component was important to understand how being Black and male impacted their transition into their institution and their experiences interacting with students and faculty as older students.
Method
The findings presented in this study derive from a larger ongoing project which explores the academic and social experiences of nontraditional Black male collegians. While the term nontraditional has often referred to the age of students typically aged 25 and over, in this project along with age, Horn and Carroll’s (1996) moderately nontraditional definition was used which is comprised of students who have two to three of the following criteria:
Delayed college enrollment
Part-time enrollment in college
Financial independence
Full-time employment while enrolled in college
Having independents other than a spouse
Single parent
Did not receive a traditional high school diploma (received General Education Diploma [GED])
A qualitative approach was used for this study as I was interested in exploring how these men experienced transitioning back into college as nontraditional students. Given little is known about this population, a qualitative approach was useful to explore the lived experiences of this unique population.
Participant Selection
To recruit participants for the larger project, I used social media sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) and my professional network and provided a description of the study to elicit interest. For participants who responded via email, phone call, or text, I followed up via email and provided potential participants with an online survey which provided information about the study, allowed participants to sign an informed consent form, and gathered demographic questions about the participant such as their age, student status, grade point average (GPA), and nontraditional student characteristics. After the completion of the demographic profile, each participant engaged in one to two semistructured interviews, which lasted between 45 and 120 min each. Thirteen participants were selected for this study. While each of these men had at some point unenrolled in college, each participant has earned at least a bachelor’s degree. After completing their bachelor’s degrees, 10 participants have earned a master’s degree, one is enrolled in a master’s program, two participants are currently in a doctoral program, and one participant has earned his doctorate. Table 2 presents a more details of the participants from their demographic profiles.
Participant Demographic Information
Note. PWI = predominantly White institutions; HBCU = historically Black college and university; GED = General Education Diploma.
1 = delayed college enrollment, 2 = part-time enrollment in college, 3 = financial independence, 4 = full-time employment while enrolled in college, 5 = having independents, 6 = single parent, 7 = did not receive a traditional high school diploma (received GED).
Data Analysis
After transcribing both interviews, accuracy was ensured with member checking by providing each participant a copy of the transcript. This allowed the participants to elaborate or contextualize any of their statements. During the analysis of the transcripts, I used an open coding approach as recommended by Miles and Huberman (1994) and highlighted important passages that illustrated the participants’ experiences, challenges, and supports received during their undergraduate years. I also wrote reflective notes and continuously conducted a comparative analysis of participant’s responses for each question to identify reoccurring phrases and/or ideas shared by both participants. From my initial analysis, categorical codes were identified for the larger study, which encompassed the participants’ experiences prior to entering college, during college, and their aspirations postcollege. For this study, using the transition framework as a guide, three salient themes were developed which encompassed the participants’ decisions on transitioning into higher education and their utilization of institutional agents and programs.
Researcher Positionality
As a Black male researcher, I find it imperative to discuss my connection to this topic. First, my research agenda is committed to disrupting deficit narratives about Black boys and men in education; thus, this study specifically focused on how Black men overcame the various barriers that impeded their entry into and degree completion at institutions of higher learning. Second, I am the child of a nontraditional student as my mother reentered higher education during my sophomore year in college. I present this information as my life experiences as a Black male, who is the son of a nontraditional student, influenced my data analysis and interpretations. However, I believe that my connectedness to this topic provides me poignant insight to understand and describe the experiences of the men in this study as well as develop a rapport with my participants.
Findings
Schlossberg (1980) explained a transition as “an event or non-event [that] results in a change in assumptions about oneself and the world and thus requires a corresponding change in one’s behavior and relationships” (p. 5); thus, in the first theme, I explore the life events and academic and social experiences that the men in this study ascribed to their decision to reenroll in college. For the purposes of this study, life events are defined as events described by participants that impacted their decision to transition into and/or out of higher education. In the second theme, I then discuss how their idea of making up for lost time propelled them to stay enrolled in college. In the third theme, I explore how these men utilized institutional agents and programs to navigate their transition back to college.
Facing Life Realities and Proving “Them” Wrong
Throughout participant interviews, many of the men described educational and life events that impacted their ability to succeed in college as traditional-aged students or delayed their college enrollment altogether. For instance, five of the participants who went to college initially after high school discussed that when they transitioned to college they became engaged in the social aspect of college life. Tim stated that when he went to college he “. . . had too much fun. I was in band and other organizations like I was in high school.” These social engagements often took the men away from focusing on their academics. Contrastingly, other participants in this study discussed how their lack of involvement on their college campus impacted their academics. George, for instance, explained, “I was trying to make [college] feel like home, but it just didn’t feel like home. My academics suffered. . . . I dropped out after my first year.”
Moreover, along with have various levels of academic and social involvement in college, some participants believed that working and making an income took precedent over their schoolwork. For example, Stanley suggested that while he initially enrolled in community college he believed that because he was making “good money” (roughly US$10 per hour) that school was not as important. For the two participants who did not complete high school, they believed that school could not give them the skill set they needed to be successful. Rahim, who was 62 years old at the time of data collection and dropped out of school in the eighth grade, suggested, I probably had six years of public school education. We were not very well-off people. [As a child], I felt like I can make money. The reason for going to school was to make money. I can make as much, if not more [money] with the amount of knowledge that I [had]. When I was in the 7th grade, I took a fulltime job . . .they passed me to the eighth grade. I still didn’t attend school . . . It didn’t mean anything to me.
Interestingly, despite each participant having either delayed their enrollment in college or dropping out as a traditional-aged student, each participant eventually re-enrolled in college. During interviews, an important question became “what brought you back to college?”
In response to the aforementioned question, some participants began to discuss how they wanted to prove their naysayers wrong. For Cole, he discussed being constantly aware of the stigma placed on those Black men who do not finish college. Cole explained, I was determined not to be that statistic, because people say, “Once you drop out of school you never go back!” And I said “Well I’m gonna go back!” And that’s what I did even though it took [a while].
Similar to Cole, Dr. Carey discussed how that because of his past history of being incarcerated in his early adulthood he wanted to prove folks wrong. He stated, If I’m gonna give these people five years of my life, why not give myself five years of my life. I made the decision to give myself five years, and enrolled in school. . . [Once] I did that and fell in love with school I didn’t want to stop.
In this situation, when Dr. Carey was referring to “these people” he was describing the criminal justice system. Thus, for him, he believed that because he was incarcerated which in essence gave his time to the criminal justice system, that he could dedicate the same amount of time in his education.
In another example, Bill explained he decided to return to college due to the perception about individuals, even when wealthy, who do not have a college degree. Bill elaborated, [At the time] I didn’t have a high school diploma or college degree, but . . .I was doing business on the same level with those [with a college degree], and I told myself, “you know what, you have got to get yourself back in the classroom because people are only going to value you based on the [academic] accomplishments.” People regarded me and they gave me plenty of money, but I needed the education to actually self-validate who I was. And that’s really what pushed me to go and finish.
Regardless of who the naysayers were, these men wanted to prove a point to them. In essence, achieving academically was one of the ways in which they accomplished this task. Unfortunately, for the participants in this study, there was no discussion about how the college they attended had targeted recruitment for adult learners. Thus, the men in this study sought to return and stay enrolled in school due to these various life events and circumstances and the idea that they needed to make up for the lost time of not finishing school as traditional-aged collegians.
Making Up for Lost Time
Throughout interviews, participants described that they wanted to transition back to school because they always felt that something was missing. For instance, Marquis explained, “My focus was on learning and I was kind of . . . It was kind of like I was making up for lost time.” In addition, Travis described a pivotal conversation in his African American history class that he had with other Black men that propelled him to take his education seriously and succeed academically in college: [The professor] put us into these groups to do a project. And each person had a part to do, but [the professor’s] thing was you can’t get an A unless you work with each other. . . .I remember one of the guys in the class got arrested for robbing a bank. And we had this rap session [in class] about what we could do and what our potential was a Black men. . . .I was like “I want to be, I to do something with my life. I want to be somebody.” So I just made a decision to push forward.
Travis’s narrative highlights the sentiments shared from other participants who often reflected on how they always believed that their education was important, but now as older students, they saw an opportunity to get the degree to fulfill a life goal.
In addition, the men in this study learned that while they could be successful with one company, without having a college degree, their changes for upward mobility were limited due to many jobs in their professions requiring a college degree. For instance, George stated, “That was one of the big, main reasons, like I said, was for me to actually better myself, because working at dead-end jobs, it was not productive for me.” Moreover, Rahim noted that while he made millions of dollars in the construction industry, “without a degree, I can’t even teach a community college class in construction management.” As a result, participants saw their transition back to college as necessary to their future success.
Participants explained that as nontraditional students, they saw college through an entire new lens. In many ways, they believed they had a second chance and succeeding in school was their Number 1 priority. As older students, they did note how getting back into doing academic work was not as difficult because their outlook changed. Will explained, “I found out that the academics were not as hard as I thought it was, because by that time, my mentality had changed.” Each participant explained in their own way what Henry would describe as “a love for learning, [which] made education a no brainer.” As a result, participants were motivated to succeed and were willing to put in the work and get the help needed. However, during our conversations, we would explore the various institutional support these men utilized and I quickly learned that this structured support on campus was inconsistent.
Inconsistent Institutional Support: Where Are the Programs and Resources for Nontraditional Students?
Given that these men were reentering college, as we discussed their transition experiences, they expressed differing perspectives about how their institution provided access and programming specifically for adult learners. In this study, only two participants stated that there was a university program available to them on their respective campus to help with their transition into the university. As Bill explained, “At JU they had some sort of an adult learner program. When I went to JU I was easily in my 30s and with [the program] I never felt isolated.” The other participant, Travis, explained that there was a program on his campus for transfer students that he utilized. He explained that the program had “an orientation [that was] very generic. But there I had people point me in the right direction of how to go to the writing lab, math labs, and how to use professor’s office hours.”
While Travis and Bill had access to programs tailored to them as nontraditional students, other participants expressed having to learn how to utilize individuals (e.g., professors and staff) to get the support they needed to get acclimated to campus. Malakai who attended a bible college explained, “Since it was a bible college which was a little different [in that] you turn to the chapel [for] support. There were also certain professors who understood older students and they were preachers themselves.” Furthermore, Reginald discussed how his academic advisor from the community college played a large role in his return to the undergraduate institution where he initially dropped out of as a traditional-aged college students: Once I got accepted to [SSU] I was talking to one of my advisors from the community college. We were talking about our future plans and I told him I was re-enrolling at SSU. . . .I was going to go straight Business Administration for my Bachelor’s but we kept talking and he felt that I had worked in the hospitality industry for a long time and he was like “Well, look CSU has a great hospitality program. You should go and do that.”
For Reginald and others in the study, these one-on-one encounters with professors and advisors were critical to shaping their academic and career trajectory. Unfortunately, for those participants who did not have this support, they relied on family and other community members for guidance.
Although several participants utilized individual faculty and staff as well as family to support their transition, they also did discuss the potential consequences of not having campus-wide resources in place. One particular resource that the men discussed that would have supported their transition back to college was access to child care. Carson, for example who was a single father while enrolled in college mentioned the strain that he had to be a parent and student due to trying to figure out child care. In our interview, he explained, “To be honest with you, if I didn’t have a girlfriend that would lookout [for my son] or something at that particular time [college] wouldn’t have panned out.” While those who were fathers did not expect the institution to provide child care, they believed that having access to a directory of child care providers would have helped them feel that they did not have to figure out how manage their parental and school responsibilities in isolation. This particular example and others described by the participants speak to the inconsistencies of support available for nontraditional Black male students.
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to explore the academic and social experiences and life events that lead nontraditional Black male students to transition back to college and the institutional agents and programs on campus that these men utilize during their undergraduate tenure. Findings from this study indicate that for these men who returned to college as adult learners, they experienced some difficulties adapting to the college environment as traditional-aged students. Moreover, given their financial situations, some participants went directly into the workforce to make a living. This finding provides insight to Rosser-Mims, Palmer, and Haroff’s (2014) study which found that once Black male adult learners reenter higher education, they experience financial barriers. While participants in this study did not discuss finances as a barrier once they entered higher education, institutions of higher education must be cognizant of the financial barriers that prevent Black male adult learners from entering higher education and staying until graduation. Given the men quickly found that not having a bachelor’s degree became a hindrance to their upward mobility in the workforce as they could not work in certain positions without a college degree, having financial support was a key ingredient to their success.
Interestingly, the men in this study were pushed to transition into college not only to improve their financial futures, but they were also motivated to prove those that doubted them wrong. Arbelo-Marrero and Milacci (2016) suggested in their study for Hispanic nontraditional male students that often life events such as divorce and taking care of children and elderly family propelled them to persist in college. Findings from this study are similar as these men were motivated from family and society more widely that believed they would be a “statistic” rather than a college graduate. Given this finding of the men in this study having to prove their doubters wrong, it is important to explore the messaging that is being portrayed about obtaining education. In many ways, some of these men were told that as they did not finish college that they would never finish. While we know this is not true given the increase of nontraditional students on college campuses as practitioners, we must be cognizant of the messaging we exude about nontraditional students. Moreover, as other scholars (Bonner, 2010; Brooms & Davis, 2017; Harper, 2009; Johnson & McGowan, 2017) have suggested, there is a need for more asset-based research to explore how Black men overcome the various barriers previously mentioned to succeed in higher education as there is a pervasive deficit narrative that positions Black men as educational failures.
Along with messaging, having supportive institutional agents (i.e., staff and faculty) and programs targeting nontraditional students are important to their success (Bonner et al., 2015). The men in this study eluded to the notion of needing a cultural navigator, which Strayhorn (2015) described as “individuals who strive to help students move successfully through education and life” (p. 59). Findings from this study indicated that while the men used their professors and advisers for support, there were very few programmatic efforts geared toward nontraditional students on campus. For the men in this study that did utilize programs on campus, only one participant discussed a program for adult learners, whereas the other program was in place to help transfer students transition into the university.
Unfortunately, because of the lack of programmatic options along with professors and advisors, the men in this study relied on family for support. For the men with children, they appreciated their family who often provide child care while they were in class. This particular finding about the lack of programmatic efforts for nontraditional students leaves several pressing questions such as follows: Do universities expect nontraditional students to just have the mentality that they are older and more focused and will just come in and do well academically? What happens to the men who do not have the outside support from family members to take care of children while also going to school? Are institutions through their lack of programmatic efforts telling nontraditional Black male students that they are not concerned with their matriculation and success in college? Institutions of higher educations must take these questions into consideration when thinking about how best to support the recruitment and retention of nontraditional Black male students. Moreover, as Rosser-Mims, Palmer, and Haroff (2014) explained, “institution must find ways to adapt to a changing clientele and then design their programs to address the special needs of this population” (p. 66). As found in this study, institutions have not adapted their programmatic offerings; thus, the men in this study had to look in other spaces such as home to be supported.
Recommendations for Practice
Based on the findings from this study, there are a plethora of opportunities for institutions of higher education to step in and recruit Black male nontraditional students back to college. Below are some recommendations that would be helpful for colleges and universities to consider when seeking to recruit and support the transition of Black male nontraditional students.
Development of Child Care Centers on Campus
Given that for many nontraditional students they are responsible for the care of young dependents, there is an opportunity for colleges and universities to develop child care centers so that students can attend class and not have to coordinate child care with family or other outside entities. While this can benefit students, this also can serve as a benefit for faculty and staff who have children. Moreover, for students majoring in education, psychology, and other disciplines who are interested in working with children, there is an opportunity for them to gain experience working with youth prior to their formal internship experiences in their major. At the very least, colleges should provide prospective students with directories of nearby child care centers so that they can seek out those options when necessary.
Targeted Admissions Recruitment for Nontraditional Students
Given the increased stories of institutions of higher education experiencing low enrollment, there is an opportunity to recruit Black male nontraditional students back to college. However, based on the findings in this study that the men were not specifically recruited, there should be an intentional recruitment strategy from admission offices for nontraditional students. While some universities offer financial incentives to adult learners (e.g., Osher Reentry Scholarship Program), there should be strategic marketing by universities for this population. One way to do this can be to utilize nontraditional students on campus to be spokespersons for the university and work with admission officers to target specific companies and industries that have a large workforce that would benefit from earning their college degree. Then, based on these partnerships, universities could offer adult learners a reduced tuition-rate for enrolling at their university. While some of this can be done via online marketing, there is a need for admission officers to go into the field to recruit adult learners directly.
Development of Programs Focused on Specific Nontraditional Student Groups
Participants in this study indicated that they had limited access to programs specifically geared toward them as nontraditional students. Thus, there is a need for college and universities who are intentional about supporting nontraditional students to have programs that provide them support. Not only should these programs provide support for new students with matters such as orientation and initial academic advising, but these programs should follow students throughout their college tenure and provide academic support along with social gatherings to build community among the adult learners on campus. When looking to the literature on recruiting and retaining nontraditional students, there has been a focus on treating this group as a monolith. However, based on this study and others on Black male nontraditional students which highlight their unique experiences as Black men (Goings, 2017b), there is a need for programs to also have a focus on the various intersectional identities of students (e.g., Black men, Black woman).
Conclusion
Findings from this study suggest Black men may experience life events that create barriers to entering or staying in college. However, we must know that Black men like the participants in this study are committed to furthering their education and have aspirations to return to college. Thus, in many ways, these life events and experiences become a catalyst for their future success. As a result, it is imperative that institutions of higher learning provide a campus that has the supports (e.g., child care, targeted programs for Black male adult learners) for Black men so the life events they experience do not push them to leave higher education.
As colleges and universities continue to experience the economic impact of decreased enrollments, there must be more conversation and action on recruiting nontraditional students generally, and Black male nontraditional students specifically back to college. Not only will this have an impact on the enrollment trends for college, but having students with diverse life experiences only adds to the educational experiences of both traditional and nontraditional collegians. Given the needs of the Black male nontraditional population, institutions of higher education will need to think different in terms of recruiting and supporting these men. However, if institutions are truly committed to this work, there is a tremendous opportunity to contribute to the growth of our educated workforce.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research project was supported in part by the Loyola University Maryland Summer Research Grant.
Author Biography
Ramon B. Goings, EdD, is an assistant professor of educational leadership at Loyola University Maryland. His research examines gifted/high-achieving Black male academic success PreK-PhD, diversifying the teacher and school leader workforce, nontraditional/adult learner student success in higher education, and the student experience and contributions of historically Black colleges and universities to the higher education landscape.