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Non-Traditional Students
Are you a Non-Traditional Student? Take this simple quiz to find out!
- Are you 24 years of age or older?
- Are you a veteran of the armed services?
- Are you returning to school after four or more years of employment, homemaking and/or other activity?
- Are you assuming multiple roles such as parent, spouse/partner, employee, and student?
If you answered YES to any of the
above questions, then you are considered a non-traditional or adult learner.
(Center for Adult Learner Services, Penn State University web site) Though many
on campus do not realize it, there are approximately 400 students at Miami University,
Oxford who fall into this category. Realizing that your life might be
very different from the traditional-aged Miami student's, the Commuter Center
staff's goal is to provide an atmosphere outside of the classroom that will
meet your needs as a non-traditional learner. These services include:
- Lockers, study area, relaxation lounge, staff assistance, computers, phone for local calls, microwave, and a refrigerator.
- Information on campus resources including Financial Aid, Child Care, and community resources.
- Resources to help develop familiarity with computers, math, writing and other study skills.
- The Commuter Center and the Organization of Commuter Students (OCS) serve as advocates for non-traditional students. OCS has representation on Student and University Senates where concerns and/or issues can be presented to the campus community. Reference
Child Care in Oxford and Surrounding Communities
Miami University Hamilton Campus Child Care Facility
Miami University Middletown Child Care Facility
Miami University, Oxford Mini University
City of Oxford Kaleidoscope Before and After School Child Care
Oxford Press Child Care Advertisement
Oxford Early Childhood Center (Web site not available)
5175 College Corner Pike
513-523-1003
A Non-Traditional Student Shares Secrets of His Success
Returning to school and getting a Ph.D. at the age of 47 wasn't easy for former mechanic and rock musician Frank Koscielski.
He admits, "Probably the greatest challenge for me, and I think one that is
shared by most non-traditional students, is finding time to work, live and go
to school. I developed a variety of strategies to maximize the time available
for study and writing:
- Take a speed reading course. Reading fast need not be an end in itself. What Speed Reading teaches you to do is to keep going through a text without re-reading words, sentences and sections over and over. It is really a form of self-discipline. You will amaze yourself how much faster you can read and still understand and retain information. http://www.speedreading.com
- Never go anywhere without a book. Time spent waiting in line or in the car while someone is shopping or playing soccer or whatever can be study time.
- Keep a tape recorder in the car. After reading a chapter or a book sometimes the ideas flow when you can't write things down. I have dictated entire papers this way that then can be transcribed.
- Find a quiet place to study and be a little selfish with your time. Learn to say no.
- Use post-it notes as bookmarks. Simply put a word or two at the top to create your own reference index. This saves you when writing a paper from having to reread whole chapters.
- Kill your TV! There is very little you can watch on TV that won't be a rerun or appear on ESPN Classics. If you must, discipline yourself to tape a selected show that you can watch later and zip through the commercials. Don't waste time!
- Be an active reader. Take notes. In your own books write in the margins. Highlight the most important parts with your own code of x's, *'s or whatever. Don't reread irrelevant stuff.
- Find time to rest. If you allow yourself to get totally exhausted, not only will you be unable to learn, but you could get sick, further hampering your learning efforts. If you keep falling asleep while reading, don't blame the text, don't tell your teacher the course is "boring" get some sleep!
- Exercise a bit. It stimulates blood flow to the brain and relieves tension.
- Read all your work aloud to someone else. It'll save valuable time proof reading, and improve your writing. If it sounds crummy, it is.
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