Our Future Students: Who Will They Be? The American population is aging. In 1970, the medium age was 27; by 1990, it will he over 34; and by the year 2000, it will he over 37. This shift is also reflected in the average age of students attending institutions of higher education and almost certainly will dictate a change in the operating philosophy of such institutions. On the surface of it, recent demographic statistics suggest that the uncomine decade will he a bleak one "" for h~ghereducation. The population of 18- rn 24-year-olds which has heen the traditional source of college students is at its peak this year and will declinern5millim by theend ofthis decade. In addition, the effect uf the sharp CUB in federal aid tu student.-atd the promise of more tu come--must IIP tnktn int(>account.'l'hegent.raldrive to tighten the federal budget is also ret1t:ctcd in spending at the state level. A numher of major public universities are currently facing financial crises. These institutions to~cut their budaets-and ---... ~ have~heen told ~ ~ ~ in some instances to cut them again-to fit the constraints imposed by faltering economies and legislators who are attempting to circumvent the need for additional taxes. Some kno&le&eahle oersons see the attempts to shift educational programs from federal to state control as the start of an era dnrine" which less money will he available for colleges and universities. In spite of the grim implications of these elements of the demographic and kconomie forecasts, there are countervailing factors in each of these areas. Over a dozen hills have been introduced in both Houses of Congress to provide incentives in the form of educational benefits designed to hasten the nresent adminstrations' build-uo of the armed forces. As loans r- and grants to the civilian sector decrease, there is a real chance that comolimentarv funds will appear in the budgets of the ~ e ~ a r t m kofn DeLnse t and the veteran's ~dministrationto orovide educational opportunities for military .. . personnel and veterans. The comoensating factor in the demographic data involves during the 1970's in the number of the continhus oart-time students rnrolled in cdlegei and univrrsities. In 1972,29%of the students were over 24 years of age. By 1978, the pr~portionof older students had risen to 3190, and 70% of all stud& enrolled were part time. Part-time undergraduate enrollment has increased much faster than full-time enrollment in recent times. Thus. in 1978. a part-time enrollment at public institutions was 70% greater than in 1970 at public institutions: a 25% increase occurred in private institutions over the s a k e period. Some observers expect much of the impact of the current decline in the traditional college-age population predicted by the demographic data will in large part he offset by an increase in the numher of older students ~
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enrolline in colleee on a part-time basis. The shift to a more mature student population has important im~licationsfor higher education. Since about 1972, learning as a life-long puriuit has become an established idea at univrmitiei and wlleres and has resulted in "wen learning" and "external degree"programs on many campuses. This responsiveness to adult continuing-educational needs has accelerated the interest of the shift in the student body to include learners of all ages and circumstances into the educational system; apparently no region of the country or type of institution of higher education has been immune to this trend in which adults seek an oonortunitv to obtain the hen.. efits that they perceive further education can bestow. Citizens in todav's societv find work to he more complex and to require more hducation than it did in earlier times. Skills become obsolete more rapidly and employees require renewal and retraining more frequently. The cirrent r i t e of expansion of knowledze requires a greater effort on the part of citizens to remain current, hut at the same time the need to learn u,hile working.requires educational pn,grams that arc mure flexible with resoect to scheduline. -. location. and duration. Since people are better educated than ever before, and are more conscious of their potential. thev are more insistent that educational opportunities he made availahle to help them further develoo their talents: thev want to exercise more control over their lives and to enhance their capahilities. Their interest in continuing education is more sophisticated than simply heing avocatknal, and broader thansimply heing vocational. Added to these ideas is the growing recognition that people have different learning capahilities, skills, and styles, and therefore they have a concurrent need for educational programs which are tailored to suit their individual needs. The present chemistry curriculum in most institutions is a resoonse to the interests. hackeround. and abilities of traditional college-age students. T i e logi&ics of arranging for lahoratory experiences, the way in which equipment is used, the kinds of lahoratory experiences, and the current content of lecture courses are geared to 1%-24-year-old, full-time students. There is a realpo~sihilit~ that this curriculum is less than optimum for more mature students who bring to their studiei more actual experiences, a deeper insight into their own personal needs, and a less predictable (or conventional) their studies. If the demotime-frame in which to graphic and economic data come close to predicting future trends, the vitality and success of chemistry programs may well depend on the way in which they respond to these JJL changing circumstances.
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Volume 58 Number 12 December 1981
973
