As today’s job market grows ever more complex, more people are returning to school to gain additional training.

Most college students attend a college or university fresh from high school, but Iowa State, as of Fall 1996, has 6,010 adult students, defined as those over 25.

According to the Office of the Registrar, adult students make up 13.1 percent of the undergraduate class and 74.8 percent of the graduate students on campus, a total of 24.1 percent of the student body.

In addition to a normal university workload, adult students may have additional challenges to deal with.

Stephanie Chervinko, program assistant for the Office of Adult Learner and Commuter Student Programs, said “life circumstances” set adult students apart from traditional students.

“Adult students have to juggle multiple responsibilities,” she said. The juggling happens as adult students try to balance out home life and work responsibilities with their school schedules.

Iowa State does, however, offer services to ease the transition of adult students.

“We offer special orientation for adult students and help them connect with one another,” Chervinko said.

While a major age difference could be seen as a hindrance in meeting new people, some adult students do not find socializing hard at all.

“I don’t think it is difficult to relate to them [students under 25], as I was that age,” Danny Lubovich said. Lubovich, 44, is classified as a special student in the music department.

“I associate youth with being less conservative, more daring and having passion about something,”

The attitudes of today’s students apparently have changed from those of the previous generations. “The students are more conservative than when I was 18,” Lubovich said.

Lubovich said the conservatism may be due to worries about the future.

“They are sitting on their feelings. Maybe they think they are going to do something and it will affect their career,” he said.

While students may find many services available to them at Adult Student Services, Chervinko said there are still some problem areas that have not been covered.

“One of the things that is always important is that we do not deal with curriculum issues or career development,” she said.

Child care options are also an issue. “Iowa State offers some child care, but there is no evening care available, [which] can cut adult student involvement in campus activities, such as evening lectures.”