�鶹��Ƶ honored for an innovative approach to serving contemporary students

Lauren Reuscher — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 20:50:17 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ honored for an innovative approach to serving contemporary students Lauren Reuscher Wed, 01/31/2024 - 15:50

More about Contemporary Student Services

Topics

Campus News

Contemporary Student Services

�鶹��Ƶ’s Contemporary Student Services has been recognized by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), a leading voice for student affairs, for its innovative approach to serving post-traditional and off-campus students.

Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Contemporary Student Services (CSS), part of University Life, earned the Bronze Excellence Award for supporting success in "Commuter, Off Campus, Military-Affiliated, Non-Traditional, and Other" student populations. �鶹��Ƶ’s approach to serving these students sets it apart from other institutions of higher education. The CSS office launched in 2019 as a first-of-its-kind unit dedicated to serving the multifaceted identities of contemporary students at �鶹��Ƶ.

The choice to include a variety of post-traditional student populations under one umbrella was intentional. At �鶹��Ƶ, “contemporary students” include those who are adult learners (25 and older), living off-campus, transfer students, married/widowed/divorced, veteran or military-affiliated, returning to college after taking three or more years off, pregnant or parenting, or previously in the foster-care system. The definition is flexible and may continue to grow.

“Contemporary Student Services provides the latitude to evolve alongside our student population and remain flexible and inclusive,” said Joisanne Rodgers, director of Contemporary Student Services. “�鶹��Ƶ didn't take the path of creating individual units to serve specific contemporary populations, because most contemporary students hold more than one of those identities—for example, they're a military-affiliated student parent living off-campus. The Venn diagram of contemporary student identities has a lot of intersections.”

Kids Zone in the Contemporary Student Lounge. Photo by Joisanne Rodgers/Contemporary Student Services

The Contemporary Student Lounge, in The Hub on the Fairfax Campus, is a place of refuge and support for these students. The space includes a well-equipped Kid’s Zone with age-appropriate furnishings, books, and activities. The lounge is staffed with contemporary student employees and peer mentors who help serve these students and connect them to the broader �鶹��Ƶ community. The space has proven to be a vital resource. Last year, the lounge relocated to a larger space to accommodate the growing number of students using it.

"It's a great privilege to work with a team of innovators who not only put our students first, but also work incredibly hard to ensure we're seeing and recognizing the unique students in front of us,” Rodgers said. “The contemporary student population at �鶹��Ƶ keeps growing, and we're honored to be part of the support network and village that advocates, celebrates, educates, and serves our contemporary students.”

�鶹��Ƶ will be formally recognized for its work in Contemporary Student Services at the NASPA annual conference in March. View the complete list of awardees.

�鶹��Ƶ ranked top school for adult learners in the D.C. region

Melanie Balog — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 09:00:32 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ ranked top school for adult learners in the D.C. region Melanie Balog Mon, 08/26/2019 - 05:00

�鶹��Ƶ is the top school in the Washington, D.C., area for adult learners, according to Washington Monthly’s annual examination of the nation’s colleges and universities.

�鶹��Ƶ’s commitment to serving adult students puts it at No. 6 nationally as a four-year institution for adult learners. It is ranked 18th in the Southeast in the “Best Bang for the Buck” category. �鶹��Ƶ is also ranked 51st among national universities, up eight spots from last year, and is considered one of the 80 best colleges nationally for student voting.

“Serving adult learners requires the willingness to think differently,” said Michelle Marks, �鶹��Ƶ’s vice president for academic innovation and new ventures. “Adult learners have very specific needs. They are often balancing education with full-time jobs and family, so they need flexible and affordable options for learning.”

Through initiatives such as the Online Virginia Network, and graduate courses offered through a partnership with John Wiley & Sons Inc., �鶹��Ƶ has vastly expanded its online offerings, which cater to adult learners.

�鶹��Ƶ also has the Online Adult Student Information Service, a one-stop shop for all information relevant to completing an academic degree at the university.

“To successfully serve adult learners, we have to be willing to fit inside their lives,” Marks said. “They need to be able to study when it’s convenient for them. We have to constantly challenge how and why we do things, and we’re doing that at �鶹��Ƶ. We are continually developing how we can better meet their needs.”

Metrics used in the evaluation by Washington Monthly include ease of transfer and enrollment, flexibility of programs, services, the percentage of adult learners (25-and-up) at an institution, graduation rates of part-time students, mean earnings of adult students 10 years after entering college, loan repayment rates five years after entering repayment, and tuition and fees.