For some of the smaller schools across the UNC system that rely more exclusively on state funding, one demographic has been hit particularly hard by budget cuts — older, part-time students.
Academic departments across the system are in the process of eliminating course sections, making scheduling particularly difficult for these older students.
Departments at UNC-Pembroke and Fayetteville State University have discontinued offering some evening courses, which older students usually take in order to graduate on time.
“Adult learners … typically have families, they have children, they have jobs,” said Jon Young, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at FSU.
Students 25 or older, who are usually part-time, make up about 16 percent of the UNC system undergraduate population.
The same demographic comprises almost 40 percent of the undergraduate population at FSU.
The university increased online course offerings to help these students, and it has an office specifically dedicated to assisting those who commute to campus and have atypical schedules.
Young said part of FSU’s mission involves reaching out to high school graduates who discover the value of an education later in life.
“Part of our goal is to serve students who may have been out of school for awhile and want to come back to improve their professional prospects,” he said.