OBSTÁCULOS PARA LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DE RELATOS DE AMPLIO ESPECTRO

The motivation for adult students to connect to support structures at Tri-County is to meet an immediate need or an important long-term goal. One of the concepts embedded in Donaldson and Graham’s (1999) model as part of this study’s theoretical framework is the ability of adult learners to differentiate their learning into learning that can be applied to meet their educational goal and learning that can’t. The learning that can be applied to their educational goal is more meaningful to them and they will commit to engage more fully to those learning experiences (Donaldson & Graham, 1999). Similarly, based on participants’ descriptions of when and how they engaged in support structures and programs at Tri-County, adult students are willing to make the time and effort commitment to access a support structure if they can see how the support structure can help them meet a need or goal. This decision to engage is important, as choosing to devote time to such engagement takes time away from the rest of their commitments. As discussed previously in the findings, many adult students are challenged by a lack of time. Engaging in these support structures by choosing to visit a support office, attending a campus event, or attending a workshop, for example, necessitates a time commitment that may be outside the student’s ordinary academic schedule. The adult student may need to adjust logistics and juggle details with individuals in their personal support system to do so. It’s important that Tri-County considers the weight of this decision to engage and make those support structures efficient and productive for the students.

The literature review showed that adult students benefit from the ability to engage in services that both provide direct assistance and an opportunity to engage with others (Wurtz, 2015). As outlined earlier, adult students are engaging in formal student support structures at Tri- County, with the Tutoring Center and Career and Employability Resources being the two service-

based structures being used the most. The engagement with these two support structures also fits with the conclusion that adult students engage in those support structures which are most relevant to their needs and goals.

The Tutoring Center assists students in meeting an immediate need to be successful in a class or on a particular assignment, as well as providing assistance with developing longer-term skills such as time management and study strategies. Adult students see the connection with passing an assignment or class to their ultimate success in finishing the educational goal. By devoting time to visiting the Tutoring Center, the student is meeting an immediate need. Career and Employability Resources help students meet their longer-term goal, which often includes obtaining a job. Participants described visiting Career and Employability Resources to have resumes reviewed, to practice for interviews, and to connect directly with an employer for a work- based learning experience. All of these experiences are viewed by the adult student as a clear way to promote themselves in the best way to potential employers and navigate the hiring process as successfully as possible. This is important as many adult students are motivated by finding a better job so they can better support their families (Pusser et al., 2007).

Similarly, resource-based support structures, like the Financial Aid and Wellness Programs offices provide students with the solution to meeting an individual need or long-term goal. However, the scope and breadth of the services that these resource-based structures provide was not known to most of the participants. While students may have been familiar with one or two of the services available through these services, there were services that were unknown.

Financial Aid is a natural support structure for students to engage with. It is part of the admission process and emphasized in new student orientation programs. All students are encouraged to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be eligible for

grants and scholarships. As students experience challenges being able to pay for tuition and supplies, they often visit the Financial Aid office as the first natural step. Offering financial aid services and assistance navigating those services is important to helping students stay enrolled (Bean, 1990; Cummins, 2014) At the same time, Financial Aid is a familiar resource to faculty and staff on campus and is frequent referral to students in financial need. What seems to be less known to adult students, discovered through these conversations, is the general financial management education that the Financial Aid office can provide to students.

Wellness Programs was also talked about with an apparent lack of knowledge about the complete roster of their services. Students often found their way to Wellness Programs by direct referrals from a faculty or staff member, and often referrals from the Financial Aid office. It didn’t seem that students connected with them because they previously knew what Wellness Programs offered. Students talked about Wellness Programs providing them with direct connections to resources to help them mitigate challenges that were competing with their ability to focus on their academic work, such as assistance connecting with resources to assist with food and housing deficits. Similar to the assistance provided by financial aid to navigate tuition expenses, these types of needs are fundamental to the student’s ability to engage successfully in the academic process. Students are willing to engage in the process to secure these resources as they see the direct connection to how doing so helps them stay enrolled, or in some cases helps them meet basic life needs. This further illustrates the conclusion that students are willing to devote time to engaging in support services if they can see the direct benefit. This may be why adult students are not engaging in the Leading Edge Experience programs and events, at least as addressed in this study.

Adult students may not see the direct benefit to engaging in the Leading Edge Experience programs. An analysis of who is engaging in the Leading Edge Experience programs performed by the Student Development personnel at Tri-County indicated that traditional students are engaging in these programs at a much higher frequency than adult students. Part of this is because programs through the Leading Edge Experience are not generally available at times that adult students are. At the same time, it seems that adult students are not engaging in these programs because they don’t see the connection between the Leading Edge Experience’ content and how it can help them meet their needs and long-term goals. This may be due to the broad nature of the Leading Edge Experience, which includes educational, social, multicultural, and health-related programming.