Eileen O’Connor
Are you an undergraduate adult student who is enrolled in college for the first time? Are you planning a career change and in need of new qualifications? Are you returning to college, determined to finish your degree this time? You’re not alone! You may be surprised to learn that there are more than 550 undergraduate adult students presently enrolled in classes at C.W. Post, and many of them have the same questions and concerns as you.
Did you know, or are you surprised to know that C.W. Post has a place – the Office for Non Traditional Students – in Winnick House, Room 210, dedicated to the special needs of undergraduate adult students, that is those over the age of 25? Morgan Lyle, an adult student Journalism major, who also works full time on campus as the Assistant Director of P.R. knows pretty much every office on campus, so it was no surprise that he knew about the Office for Non-Traditional Students. Another adult student, Ronica Copes, Journalism Senior, was referred to the office by the Financial Aid Office because she was looking for additional funding to help pay her college tuition. Copes felt that she might not have heard about the office if it were not for that referral, and expressed an interest in knowing what other services are offered there.
Adult student Stacy McKenna was introduced to the office about five years ago, by her step-mother, a Post employee. McKenna is a Finance Junior and she finds the Office for Non-Traditional Students to be “tremendously helpful” to her. For example, she learned from the office that she was eligible to apply for Life Experience Credits for three classes. Since McKenna takes one or two classes each semester, this invaluable advice has not only cut a year off her studies, but it cut her tuition bill in half for those three classes.
The Office for Non-Traditional Students is headed by Rita Jorgensen, and her assistant Mike Santoro. Jorgensen said that she and her staff assist adult students with their queries and also refer them to the many resources available at Post. She encourages adult students to feel free to visit the office, or send an email outlining their questions to adult-services@liu.edu. The Office for Non-Traditional Students helps with topics such as the Life Experience Program, the Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society for Adults, the Returning Adult Scholarship, and an upcoming Return-to-Learning Workshop in October.
If you are new at Post, and even if you are not new but have not yet participated in this workshop, you might find it very useful to attend the Return-to-Learning Workshop for all undergraduate adult students on Saturday, October 1, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in the Lobby of the B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library. The workshop provides strategies on how to study more effectively, approach test-taking with less stress, and how to navigate the resources available in the library. It will include a hands-on demonstration in the library’s computer lab, as well as a tour of the library.
The Office for Non-Traditional Services has agreed to set up a network for adult undergraduate students at Post. Jorgensen’s office will accept e-mails from adult students interested in participating at adult-services@liu.edu. Put “ASAP Network” in the subject line.
As an adult student, your life is probably already filled to capacity between work, family obligations, classes and study. Therefore, you might find it extremely helpful to tap into a network of other adult students, where you will be able to find support and guidance in addition to the help you already receive from faculty and staff at C.W. Post.
Lyle thought this new networking initiative “might be a good idea” and said that he “would register.” Likewise, Copes said that she would try it, and thought that being in touch with another older student, “someone who is serious” about school, “might be a good networking tool, a good idea.” When asked is she would join, McKenna replied “sure” and elaborated that she is interested in finding out from other adult students “what experiences they have had with resources available at Post.”
The Pioneer, too, is reaching out to adult students, asking you to write to us and give us feedback and comments, at Eileen.OConnor@my.liu.edu. Here are some questions to get your thoughts flowing and your e-mails coming to us.
What have been your experiences here at Post as an adult student? Have you found it easy to navigate the Post campus? Do you know about the Office for Non-Traditional Services? Have you used that office? If yes, what has been your experience there? If no, are you interested in finding out more about the services offered there? Do you have tips to share with others coming after you to guide them? What help do you need to succeed and are you getting that support here at Post? How about telling us about help that you did get and how important it was to you and your success?
If you have some funny stories to share about your own experiences, we’d like to hear those too.
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