ABSTRACT
The unique needs of commuter students have been neither adequately understood nor appropriately incorporated into policies, programs, and practices. Despite their numbers, the residential traditions dominant in American higher education have impeded institutional response to their presence. This chapter describes how to use what educators know about commuter, part-time, and returning adult students to design and implement strategies that enhance their success. It begins with a snapshot of the extraordinary diversity of this population and their common needs and concerns, followed by theoretical frameworks that are useful in understanding these students and the nature of their interactions with institutional environments. The final section offers a range of strategies to support commuter students at all points in their college experience.
