The New College Experience: How Campus Life Has Shifted
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Professors at Rutgers University–Camden are adjusting their teaching as students aged 25 and older now make up about 34% of the campus population. Many of these students balance coursework with full-time jobs and family responsibilities, prompting faculty to rethink classroom structure and engagement strategies.
Founded in 1926 as the South Jersey Law School, Rutgers–Camden is part of Rutgers University, one of the nation’s oldest public institutions. Approximately 92.5% of undergraduates are New Jersey residents, with about 5% coming from out of state. While many students are between 18 and 23 years old, more than one-third of the campus consists of adult learners enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs.
The student body also reflects growing diversity: 43% identify as White non-Hispanic, 18.8% as Hispanic, 17.4% as African American, and 13.2% as Asian. Over the past decade, enrollment has expanded among students over 25 and those from varied cultural and economic backgrounds, creating classrooms shaped by a wide range of perspectives.
Professor William Fitzgerald of the Communications Department, has taught for 40 years, including two decades at Rutgers–Camden. As a former nontraditional student during graduate school, Fitzgerald said adult learners often contribute focus and practical insight to class discussions.
“If they get the jokes, they relate to the topics,” he said, explaining that older students frequently connect course concepts to lived experience. Their participation, he noted, often helps younger classmates better understand abstract material.
Fitzgerald described today’s classrooms as more dynamic and serious, with adult learners sometimes serving as informal peer mentors. He said his teaching has become more flexible over time to reflect the evolving student population.
He also noted increasing diversity among nontraditional students, including a greater number of multilingual learners. Faculty have adapted by incorporating clearer communication strategies and a variety of instructional methods while maintaining academic rigor.
Beyond in-class adjustments, professors are expanding hybrid and online options to accommodate students managing work and family obligations. At the same time, in-person instruction continues to play an important role in fostering discussion and connection.
As enrollment patterns shift, some faculty members are refining their approaches to meet the needs of a changing student body, one that spans generations, experiences, and expectations.
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