Nontraditional Students, Accelerated Programs, Grade Expectations, and Instructor Evaluations
Journal of Legal Studies in Business, Vol. 23, No. 2, Summer/Fall 2006
38 Pages Posted: 23 May 2010 Last revised: 24 May 2010
Date Written: May 22, 2010
Abstract
This article is intended as both a cautionary tale and an encouraging guide for instructors who are beginning to teach in accelerated programs designed to attract nontraditional students. This paper is based, in part, on classroom action research conducted through surveys, observations, exams, and assessments, in an introductory business law course taught in two different universities. Initially, this paper seeks to define and examine the particular issues of the nontraditional student using demographic and anecdotal data gathered on nontraditional students at the University of Cincinnati and traditional students at Southeast Missouri State University. Special attention is given to the role of gender and role strain in nontraditional students. Role strain has 3 dimensions: 1) role conflict from simultaneous, incompatible demands, 2) role overload (insufficient time to meet all demands), and 3) role contagion or preoccupation with one role while performing another. The paper also examines the relationship between grade expectations/grade inflation and instructor evaluations
Keywords: Nontraditional Students, Pedagogy, Undergraduates, Role Strain, Role Overload, Role Conflict, Role Contagion, Instructor Evaluations, Grade Inflation
JEL Classification: A22
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation