Learning about Students with General Education Development Diplomas on College Campuses: Implications for Academic Advisors
As the numbers of students who earn the general educational development (GED) high school equivalency diploma increase, so too does the presence of GED credential holders on college campuses. Yet in large universities, they make up a relatively small demographic group whose advising needs may go unnoticed. In this article, we describe a series of studies undertaken to learn more about Kent State University students who hold GED diplomas, and we focus on results that have implications for academic advisors. The studies were designed to summarize and analyze demographic, academic, and interview data so that a portrait of students with GED diplomas could be developed. We hope that these portraits provide a more complete understanding of the academic needs and aspirations of GED holders in higher education.
Relative emphasis: * research, theory, practice
Contributor Notes
Christopher Tokpah is the Student Development Coordinator in the Academic Success Center at Kent State University. He can be E-mailed at ctokpah@kent.edu.
Nancy Padak is a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Reading and Writing Center in the Teaching, Leadership and Curriculum Studies Department in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services at Kent State University. Readers can reach her at npadak@kent.edu.
Dianna Baycich is the Literacy Projects Coordinator at the Ohio Literacy Resource Center, located at Kent State University. Her E-mail address is dbaycich@literacy.kent.edu.
Teaching Fellow Dawn Marie Trehan works in the Teaching, Leadership and Curriculum Studies Department of the Kent State College of Education, Health, and Human Services. Inquiries can be sent to her at dtrehan@kent.edu.
Darrell Turnidge is senior special assistant in Information Services at Kent State University. His E-mail address is dturnidg@kent.edu.
*See note on page 4.
