A
37
July/August 2003
EDUCAUSE review
By Diana Oblinger
Diana Oblinger is the Executive Director of Higher Education for
Microsoft Corporation. She has served as a Senior Fellow for the
EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) as well as Vice-
President and Chief Information Officer for the University of North
Carolina.
NEW
&
UNDERSTANDING THE
STUDENTS
n essential component of facilitating
learning is understanding learners.
The learning styles, attitudes, and ap-
proaches of high school students differ
from those of eighteen- to twenty-two-
year-old college students. The styles, atti-
tudes, and approaches of adult learners
differ yet again. How well do college and
university faculty, administrators, and staff
understand these differences? How often
do they take the differences into account
when designing programs or courses?
Boomers
Gen-Xers
Millennials
EDUCAUSE review
July/August 2003
36
© 2003 Diana Oblinger
Wendy Ashton/Getty
David Lees/Getty
Marc Romanelli/Getty
What do we know about today’s “new
students”? Perhaps most obviously, we
know that these students have been
heavily influenced by information tech-
nology. The “new” student may be a
seventeen-year-old high school student
(a “Millennial”) who uses instant mes-
saging to contact peers and teachers. The
“new” student may be a twenty-six-year-
old college student (a “Gen-X”) whose
expectations of customer service are
radically different from those of previ-
ous generations. Or the “new” student
may be a forty-year-old working mother
(a “Baby Boomer”) who is completing a
degree via e-learning so that she can
balance work and family responsibili-
ties. One of the greatest challenges fac-
ing American higher education is how
to deal with such a variety of “new”
students.
Changes in the Student Population
Current higher education administrators,
as well as many faculty and staff, represent
a different generation from the majority of
the student population. With an average
faculty age of over fifty, many decision-
makers in higher education graduated in
the 1970s.
1
The experiences of a 1970s
generation of students are likely to be
quite different from those of the current
student body. A comparison of student
data from 1970 and 1999 illustrates some
of these differences (see Table 1).
2
It is no surprise that enrollment has
increased in the last thirty years. The
data illustrate that enrollment growth in
two-year institutions has exceeded the
pace of growth in four-year colleges and
universities. There are other trends
worth noting: more students attend col-
lege part-time than in previous years; a
higher proportion of students are
women; and more students are over age
twenty-five.
The National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES) has reported that three-
quarters of all undergraduates are “non-
traditional.”
3
Nontraditional students are
defined as having one or more of the fol-
lowing characteristics:
■
Delayed enrollment, and did not enter
postsecondary education in the same
year that he or she graduated from
high school
■
Attend part-time, for all or part of the
academic year
■
Work full-time, thirty-five hours or
more, while enrolled
■
Are financially independent, as defined by
financial aid
■
Have dependents, other than a spouse,
including children or others
■
Are single parents, having one or more
dependent children
■
Lack a high school diploma
Many of these characteristics were not
measured in earlier studies, presumably
because they were relatively rare. The im-
plication is that campus populations
today are quite different from those in the
days when college and university
decision-makers were students.
Not only is the profile of today’s stu-
dent body different, but the life experi-
ences that shaped today’s students are
quite different from those of previous eras.
Each generation is defined by its life expe-
riences, giving rise to different attitudes,
beliefs, and sensitivities. The “Depression
generation” experienced World War II and
the Cold War. “Baby Boomers” grew up
with the space race, the civil rights move-
ment, Vietnam, and Watergate. “Genera-
tion X” saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and
the emergence of AIDS and the Web. Con-
sider some of the other defining experi-
ences of Generation X students:
■
The Chinese government killed pro-
testers in Tiananmen Square.
■
The U.S. stock market crashed.
■
The Chernobyl nuclear accident
occurred.
■
The Exxon Valdez caused an oil spill.
■
The Challenger space shuttle exploded.
■
The first computer disk was sold.
4
But Gen-Xers do not necessarily rep-
resent current college and university stu-
dents. A new group is entering higher
education—a group called the “Millennial
generation.” The Millennials were born in
or after the year 1982. Millennials exhibit
different characteristics from those of sib-
lings just a few years older. Millennials
■
gravitate toward group activity;
■
identify with their parents’ values and
feel close to their parents;
■
spend more time doing homework and
housework and less time watching TV;
■
believe “it’s cool to be smart”;
■
are fascinated by new technologies;
■
are racially and ethnically diverse; and
■
often (one in five) have at least one im-
migrant parent.
When asked about problems facing their
generation, many Millennials respond
that the biggest one is the poor example
that adults set for kids.
5
Along with differences in attitudes,
Millennials exhibit distinct learning
styles. For example, their learning prefer-
ences tend toward teamwork, experien-
tial activities, structure, and the use of
technology. Their strengths include
multitasking, goal orientation, positive at-
titudes, and a collaborative style.
6
View of Technology
Some general trends are emerging about
how learners view technology. Not sur-
prisingly, technology is assumed to be a
natural part of the environment. The
younger the age group, the higher is the
percentage who use the Internet for
school, work, and leisure. This comfort
with technology often leads to a percep-
tion that the use of technology in schools
is inadequate.
38
EDUCAUSE review
July/August 2003
Table 1. Student Data in 1970 and 1999
1970 19 9 9
Enrollment 7.4 12.7
million million
Two-year enrollment 31% 44%
Attend part-time 28% 39%
Women 42% 56%
Older than age
twenty-five 28% 39%
Nontraditional N/A 73%
Have dependents N/A 27%
Employed N/A 80%
Source: National Center for Education Statistics,
“The Condition of Education 2002”
More students attend college part-time than
in previous years; a higher proportion of
students are women; and more students are
over age twenty-five.
In a study of how those age twelve to
seventeen use the Web, researchers
found that 94 percent use the Internet for
school research and that 78 percent be-
lieve the Internet helps them with
schoolwork. Among teens, instant mes-
saging and e-mail seem to be natural
communication and socialization mech-
anisms: 70 percent use instant messaging
to keep in touch; 41 percent use e-mail
and instant messaging to contact teachers
or schoolmates about classwork. An even
higher percentage (81 percent) use e-mail
to stay in touch with friends and relatives.
In fact, a slight majority (56 percent) pre-
fer the Internet to the telephone.
7
Perhaps because of the contrast be-
tween their comfort with technology and
the technology comfort level of teachers,
many students find the use of technology
in schools to be disappointing. Students
consider themselves more Internet-savvy
than their teachers. They indicate that
their teachers’ use of technology is unin-
spiring. Students report seeing better
ways to use technology than do their
teachers. They also state that administra-
tive restrictions, older equipment, and/or
filtering software inhibit their in-school
use of technology. Their greatest use of
technology is outside of school.
8
A few years their senior, today’s col-
lege and university students were born in
the years immediately following the in-
troduction of the PC. Among this group,
20 percent began using computers be-
tween the ages of five and eight. Virtually
all students were using computers by the
time they were sixteen to eighteen years
of age.
9
Another measure of the ubiquity
of technology to current college and uni-
versity students is the percentage who
own computers. In a recent survey, 84
percent reported owning their own com-
puter, with 25 percent owning more than
one computer. Twenty-eight percent
own a notebook computer. And in 2003,
more students plan to buy a notebook (47
percent) than a desktop (43 percent). Stu-
dents spend an average of eleven hours
per week online. Other indicators of
their comfort with technology include
the percentage who make online pur-
chases (54 percent, with $1.6 billion in
sales) and the percentage who bank on-
line (43 percent).
10
When asked about the impact of the
Internet on their college experience, 79
percent said the Internet has had a posi-
tive influence: 60 percent believe the In-
ternet has improved their relationships
with classmates; 56 percent believe it has
improved their relationships with profes-
sors. Contrary to fears expressed by some
in academia, students are not using e-
mail as their sole mode of communica-
tion. Only 19 percent communicate with
professors more by e-mail than face-to-
face. However, 55 percent use e-mail to
arrange face-to-face meetings. They also
tend to use e-mail to clarify information:
75 percent use e-mail for explanation of
assignments. Even more (89 percent)
have received class announcements via e-
mail. In addition, students report that the
Internet allows them to express ideas that
they would not have voiced in class. Fi-
nally, 73 percent of students say they are
more likely to conduct research by using
the Internet than by going to the library.
11
When students were asked, two-thirds
39
July/August 2003
EDUCAUSE review
indicated that they know how to find valid
information from the Web. However, they
added that they realize the Web does not
meet all their information needs.
12
One way to describe these trends is the
emergence of an “information-age mind-
set.” The attitudes—and aptitudes—of stu-
dents who have grown up with technol-
ogy (or who have spent significant
amounts of time with it) appear to differ
from those of students who rarely use
technology. Jason Frand has described
ten attributes of an information-age
mindset:
■
Computers aren’t technology. Students
have never known life without com-
puters and the Internet. To them the
computer is not a technology—it is an
assumed part of life.
■
The Internet is better than TV. In recent
years, the number of hours spent
watching TV has declined, being sup-
planted by time online. Reasons for
the change include interactivity and
the increased use of the Internet for
socializing.
■
Reality is no longer real. Those things that
appear real over the Internet may not
be. Digital images may have been al-
tered. E-mail sent from someone’s ad-
dress may not have come from that
person. And the content may or may
not be accurate.
■
Doing is more important than knowing.
Knowledge is no longer perceived to
be the ultimate goal, particularly in
light of the fact that the half-life of in-
formation is so short. Results and ac-
tions are considered more important
than the accumulation of facts.
■
Learning more closely resembles Nintendo
than logic. Nintendo symbolizes a trial-
and-error approach to solving prob-
lems; losing is the fastest way to master-
ing a game because losing represents
learning. This contrasts with previous
generations’ more logical, rule-based
approach to solving problems.
■
Multitasking is a way of life. Students
appear to be quite comfortable when
engaged in multiple activities simulta-
neously, such as listening to music,
sending instant messages, doing home-
work, and chatting on the phone. Multi-
tasking may also be a response to infor-
mation overload.
■
Typing is preferred to handwriting. Stu-
dents prefer typing to handwriting.
Many admit their handwriting is atro-
cious. Penmanship has been super-
seded by keyboarding skills.
■
Staying connected is essential. Students stay
in touch, via multiple devices, as they
move throughout the day. Cell phones,
PDAs, and computers ensure they re-
main connected anyplace and anytime.
As the network becomes more ubiqui-
tous, increasing numbers of students
participate in real-time dialogues from
anywhere using a variety of devices.
■
There is zero tolerance for delays. Having
grown up in a customer-service cul-
ture, today’s students have a strong de-
mand for immediacy and little toler-
ance for delays. They expect that
services will be available 24x7 in a va-
riety of modes (Web, phone, in per-
son) and that responses will be quick.
■
Consumer and creator are blurring. In a
file-sharing, cut-and-paste world, the
40
EDUCAUSE review
July/August 2003
distinctions between creator, owner,
and consumer of information are fad-
ing. The operative assumption is often
that if something is digital, it is every-
one’s property.
13
Implications
What do the differing learning prefer-
ences and views of technology of the “new
students” mean for colleges and universi-
ties? There might be few implications if
students were passive consumers and did
not use their “purchasing power.” How-
ever, there are many indications that
students actively compare programs,
evaluate institutions based on the charac-
teristics they consider to be important,
and make choices. Beyond the tuition
provided by students, many institutions
actively seek out the “right” individuals to
be part of their student body in the belief
that the caliber of the student body in part
determines the quality of the institution.
As a result, colleges and universities may
find that understanding—and meeting the
expectations of—the “new students” is im-
portant to their competitiveness.
A number of current programs exem-
plify a good match between expectations
and services. A few examples will illus-
trate some of the options available to
those institutions that seek to modify
their programs to address the needs of the
“new students.”
Elimination of Delays
In a 24x7, customer-service culture, de-
lays cause dissatisfaction and disengage-
ment. Institutions are finding ways to
eliminate delays in processes that range
from admission to academic support.
The University of North Carolina at
Greensboro utilizes online personal as-
sistants, automated e-mail responses, dy-
namically created Web portals, and cus-
tomized Web-mail to provide instant
responses to students. Through their
Virtual Information Station (http://
infostation.uncg.edu/), students can get an-
swers to a range of questions that often
begin with “How do I . . . ?” “Where do I . . . ?”
or “When do I . . . ?” The Web site covers
topics from admission to graduation. For
example, an online chat tool allows staff
to respond to Web-based queries in real
time. Prompt responses make a differ-
ence in the decision-making process of
prospective students.
14
At many institutions, financial aid is a
chronic source of dissatisfaction for stu-
dents. Confusion over the process, com-
plicated paperwork, and data-entry er-
rors cause delays and even rejections.
Compliance with federal guidelines fur-
ther complicates the situation. To provide
better service, the University of Phoenix,
with 152,000 students and more than 120
campuses, created the Financial Aid Pa-
perless Project (FAPP). Prospective stu-
dents can complete an online applica-
tion, then link to the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid Web site to obtain a
federal financial aid application, includ-
ing a master promissory note. A student
may then file the application online with
the lender of his or her choice. If the
lender participates in the university’s
FAPP project, the lender’s system com-
municates with the FAPP computers at
the university and pulls data from the stu-
dent’s application for enrollment. The
lender uses the information to complete
the student’s master promissory note,
eliminating the need to rekey data and
ensuring that data is consistent across the
two applications. The university then re-
trieves the completed master promissory
note, enabling the university to validate
the information and process the applica-
tion. The student is informed almost im-
mediately that his or her application is
complete and has been received for pro-
cessing. The time to fill in and process an
application has also been cut by several
days, so students get faster responses to
their applications.
15
Customer Service
For today’s learners, customer service is
an expectation, not an exception. Yet it is
rare that students and institutions have
the same expectations for service.
At Athabasca University, service ex-
pectations are clearly spelled out on a
Web site (http://www.athabascau.ca/
misc/expect/) as well as in print material
provided to entering students. Whether
provided by the registrar, counseling ser-
vice, academic support, or library, each
service is accompanied by a standard as
well as a contact person’s e-mail address
and phone number. This practice helps
set expectations for students as well as for
staff. How well units meet service expec-
tations is measured, as is also the level of
student satisfaction.
16
Adult learners bring customer-service
expectations to the institutions they at-
tend. In many cases, customer service is
more than a preference—it is a prerequi-
site to retention and effective learning.
One reason often cited by adult learners
for abandoning their studies is the lack of
timely support. As an institution focused
on serving adult learners, Rio Salado Col-
lege has adapted its approach to ensure
that learners have the services they need.
A “beep-a-tutor” program, available seven
days a week, guarantees students that tu-
tors will respond to their question within
one hour. With beepers, the tutors receive
questions no matter where they are.
Tw o other Rio Salado programs focus
on being sure the right person responds to
queries. Online students often seek help
from instructors when they encounter
problems, whether these are related to
technical issues or to the subject matter. To
ensure that instructors are not deluged
with technical questions—and to ensure
that students get the best responses—Rio
Salado created a technical help desk.
Staffed by noninstructional personnel, the
help desk is specifically tasked to help stu-
dents resolve technical issues.
Also, because instructors cannot be
online at all times, Rio Salado has an in-
structional help desk staffed by generalist
faculty who answer questions about the
logistics of a course at times when the
class instructor is not available. The in-
structional help desk personnel, avail-
able seven days a week, also provide e-
learning orientations to students and
serve as a liaison between the instructor
and the student. By reducing the number
of non-learning-related inquiries, this
service assists students who need imme-
diate answers and also maximizes the
amount of time an instructor can spend
on activities directly related to learning.
17
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EDUCAUSE review
July/August 2003
For today’s learners, customer service is an
expectation, not an exception. Yet it is rare
that students and institutions have the same
expectations for service.