The changing face of accelerated second bachelor's degree students.
Although accelerated second bachelor's degree programs have existed for more than 30 years, few studies have tracked the changing student profile over time. This study compared demographics and academic performance of accelerated students enrolled during 1997 to 2003 with those enrolled during 2004 to 2006 at a small, rural, public mid-Atlantic university. Recently enrolled students were older, more diverse in gender and ethnicity, held multiple degrees, and had a significant time delay since their first degree. Modifications in educational strategies, support services, and curricular design, as well as suggestions for future research are proposed.
Seldomridge
Lisa A
LA
Department of Nursing, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland 21801, USA. laseldomridge@salisbury.edu
DiBartolo
Mary C
MC
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D003479:Curriculum / Q000639:trends; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000639:trends*; D004518:Education, Professional, Retraining / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015279:Organizational Culture; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D016730:Program Development; D011588:Psychology, Educational; D012424:Rural Population; D012944:Social Support; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*