Council for Nontraditional Students
COUNTS (Council for Nontraditional Students), a university-wide council comprised of faculty, staff, and students focused on supporting the success of nontraditional students through resource sharing, collaboration, and tracking emerging needs.
COUNTS is working to:
- Build community for nontraditional student populations by developing new programming and working to create a gathering space for students on campus.
- Increase collaboration among units that support nontraditional students.
- Improve data collection across campus with regard to specific nontraditional student populations such as student parents and caregivers.
Recent successes include:
- Working with the Office of Budget and Planning to add a question to the UMAY survey about students with caregiving responsibilities
- LARC expansion to include gaps in education
- Partnering with Wolverine Wellness to have events for nontraditional students on CANVAS site
- Creation of the COUNTS Toolkit
COUNTS Toolkit
CEW+, the Council for Nontraditional Students (COUNTS), and University Human Resources Organizational Learning have come together to develop an online training module targeting student-facing staff. The COUNTS Toolkit for Student Success is designed to enhance how University staff engage and support students with nontraditional backgrounds.
The Toolkit highlights a variety of experiences, challenges, and topics that many students face on the Ann Arbor campus. The Toolkit is intended for student-facing staff to 1) develop an increased awareness of these students and the common challenges they face; 2) learn about resources across campus that help address the needs of these students, and 3) build recognition of the many strengths these students bring to campus. Module topics include impostorism, wayfinding, navigating the hidden curriculum, and addressing financial obstacles.
Frequently Asked Questions - Supporting Nontraditional Students
To find out how you can support students with nontraditional backgrounds, please view our comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions guide.
The COUNTS FAQ document is a comprehensive list of services and resources available on the Ann Arbor campus. The document is categorized by identity to promote ease of navigation. Many resources may apply to a variety of identities, but will only be located under one identity. If you have any questions about resources available, please contact [email protected].
Membership
Interested in becoming a member of COUNTS? Complete this form.
If you have questions, please contact Grace Christiansen at [email protected].