Project helps nontraditional students connect

Students at UCF who don't fit the traditional standards of a young student straight out of high school can easily feel out of place on campus.

However, programs like the Non-Traditional Knights Project have students of all kinds feeling more at home.

The NTK Project is an interdepartmental collaboration of faculty, administrators and students who seek to assist students who don't subscribe to the traditional student lifestyle. 

According to an analysis done in 2002 by the National Center for Education Statistics, nontraditional students are generally those who delay enrollment after high school, work full time, attend a higher educational institution part time, are established financially as an independent or who have dependents beyond a spouse. These categories are expanded by the NTK Project to include students seeking a second degree, enlisted or veteran military personnel, registered disabled students and international students.

Chantel Carter, committee chair of the NTK Project, said that one cannot clearly define what a nontraditional student is, but feels its slogan "ever changing, ever evolving" is flexible enough to encompass as many students as possible.

"Depending on who you talk to, different people have different definitions on what a nontraditional student is, and we do not want to have a precise definition that would deter those students who might be nontraditional into thinking they don't qualify," Carter said.

The NTK Project does not just offer services tailored specifically toward helping nontraditional students, but rather serves as a way to better network those who work with these students on a day-to-day basis and better prepare them with information that will enrich a student's academic experience.

Some of these services include helping students get to know the campus, providing up-to-date information about daycare services at the Creative School for Children and assisting with international student services.

Established in 2008 by Student Development and Enrollment Services, the NTK Project is headed by Carter and a handful of volunteers as a way to reach out to UCF's nontraditional student body. A mixed group of faculty, staff and students meet once a month to discuss ways they can best assist students.

Officer Jeannette Emert of the UCF Police Department, a NTK member, said she feels her participation in the project has better equipped her with information specific to her duties as an officer.

"I try to share the information with people I know are nontraditional students, like some of the officers who are attending master's degree programs here at UCF and offer suggestions at the meetings on what links can be added to improve safety," Emert said.

Aimee Booth, the designer of the NTK Web site, identifies herself as a nontraditional Knight. Booth is seeking a second degree in digital media after receiving a bachelor's degree in psychology from Florida State University.

 "In my first year at UCF, I was commuting 30 miles every day. I wasn't able to participate in any of the clubs or activities on campus," Booth said. "While this didn't have a negative impact on my academic performance, I did feel distant from other students because I didn't share as much in common with them."

Aside from maintaining the Web site, Booth said that she also maintains a list service that is tailored toward delivering campus information to nontraditional students.

 "Because we all work with students, we often work with the same students," Carter said.

"So if we can connect and network with each other, we can direct them to departments and offices to better provide students with the services and resources at UCF."

Carter said she also feels that this aspect will better lines of communication and cohesion among faculty, administrators and departments on campus. 

"The NTK Project wants every Knight to have a positive experience at UCF," Booth said.

The NTK Project is continually updating its Web site and looking for new ways to approach and serve UCF's nontraditional student body. For more information about the program visit www. ntk.getinvolveducf.edu.