Theses and Dissertations

Advisor

White, Carol

Committee Member

Coats, Linda

Committee Member

King, Stephanie

Committee Member

Oswalt, Katie

Date of Degree

5-15-2026

Original embargo terms

Immediate Worldwide Access

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Community College Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Industrial Technology, Instructional Design, and Community College Leadership

Abstract

Nontraditional students have been part of higher education for over a century, yet their enrollment has increased substantially in recent decades and is expected to continue rising. Many return to college to gain credentials and skills needed for career advancement or reentry into the workforce. Despite their growing presence, nontraditional students remain less likely than traditional students to complete a degree within six years, often due to competing responsibilities such as work, family obligations, and financial strain. The purpose of this study was to compare nontraditional community college students who transferred to four-year institutions with their traditional counterparts in terms of bachelor’s degree attainment, time to degree among completers, and predictors associated with completion. The study used nationally representative data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) and applied a modified version of Bean and Metzner’s (1985) model of nontraditional student attrition, focusing on environmental, background, and academic variables. Findings show that traditional transfer students had higher overall graduation rates than nontraditional students. However, among students who completed a bachelor’s degree, time to degree did not differ significantly by student type. Having dependent children emerged as the strongest predictor of non-completion, with student parents showing substantially lower odds of graduating. Gender was also significant, with women demonstrating higher odds of completion than men. Additionally, earning an associate’s degree before transfer nearly doubled the likelihood of bachelor’s degree completion. The combination of being nontraditional and having dependent children was associated with notably longer time to degree compared to other groups. Although nontraditional status alone did not predict completion, environmental factors especially caregiving responsibilities posed significant barriers. The findings underscore the need for institutional policies that support student parents and highlight the value of structured transfer pathways, articulation agreements, and associate degree completion prior to transfer. Future research should examine why many nontraditional students exit before transfer and explore caregiving responsibilities in greater depth.

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