Non-traditional students are grateful to be back on campus but still want more flexibility, as Highline tries to find the right balance between in-person and online instruction.

Highline students from non-traditional backgrounds, such as veterans, English as a Second Language (ESL) students, and international students, bring a variety of experiences to the campus community.

From serving abroad in the Middle East, to being the first in their families to attend college, their differences enrich Highline College and their enthusiasm about being in the classroom again is contagious.

After taking solely online classes via Zoom, some are thrilled to be on campus for the opportunity to meet their classmates. “It’s amazing,” said Vanessa Argueta, a second year student studying English who is originally from El Salvador. “You can talk more with other students…Zoom [is] ok, but you can learn more in-person.” 

Deepening social relationships is not the only benefit for ESL students to be back. Ibtisam Aldulaimi, a third year student also studying English as well as computer basics, has found getting back in the classroom with instructors face-to-face has made asking questions directly and learning overall much easier.

However, these students face unique challenges unlike your typical college student. Overcoming technical barriers has been an ongoing struggle for ESL students, like Aldulaimi, who has taken several online courses at Highline, but found it to be “more difficult because I don’t know how to use Google Doc.”

Linh Nguyen, a second year student and Marine Corps veteran, has also experienced limitations to his education due to academic program restrictions for his Business Direct Transfer (DTA) program. 

Planning to enroll at the University of Washington next fall 2023 to complete his business degree, Nguyen hoped to take an Excel class at Highline “because Excel is one of the most used tool[s] in business” to better prepare him. However, because an Excel course is not currently in the Business DTA program, it will not be funded by Veterans Affairs so Nguyen has decided not to take the course to prevent the financial burden, despite its clear functionality for his career.

In spite of this, Nguyen had a wide smile when asked how his first few days back on campus had been, saying, “…every quarter has different learning curves. I have noticed…it takes a little bit to get used to. I just feel like it’s different every time. I wouldn’t say it’s the same.” Like most students, the majority of his education has been in-person in the classroom, but adapting to online courses has had, “benefits and cons, of course.”

Former Highline student and current program specialist for TRiO Student Support & Retention Services, Bila Xiong can remember a time when the campus was “super busy” and much more engagement among the plethora of student clubs the first week of fall quarter. 

Xiong shared that this year’s return to campus has been noticeably inactive compared to her time as a student. “For this quarter, we don’t see that many students walking around. Because I’m thinking that maybe their first day is online, and then maybe on Wednesday or Thursday, they’re here on campus,” Xiong said.

Despite the “educational flexibility” and convenience of virtual learning as shared by Nguyen, Xiong noted that enrollment of students was down during the pandemic between 2020 and 2021, but have slightly increased this year. 

However, in comparison to pre-pandemic academic years the numbers are still low. Xiong speculated that the main reasons why enrollment numbers may still be low could be due to students also having parental duties for their children, responsibility to care for someone else, or “lost their job or don’t have the funds to pay for college.”

Given that we are now in a “post-pandemic era,” Xiong concluded the conversation encouraging students to complete the survey Highline sends out to all students so they can continue to improve for future students.

“We’ll take it into consideration and try to figure out the best we can to make things work out for both students, staff and faculty,” said Xiong. One can hope that Highline is learning its own lessons to better prepare and serve all students for the next pandemic, should there unfortunately be one again.