```yaml
website:
  metadata:
    name: "How can colleges reimagine student support for the New Majority Learner? | Genio"
    url: "https://genio.co/blog/how-can-colleges-reimagine-student-support-for-the-new-majority-learner"
    published_time: "2026-06-01T08:47:45.000Z"
    core_info:
      key_takeaways:
        - title: "The New Majority is here to stay"
          description: "Non-traditional learners have made up the majority of US college goers since the mid-1990s, yet most higher education systems were never designed for them."
          link: "https://genio.co/resources/research-and-insights/new-majority-learner-report-2026"
        - title: "Almost 70% of students work while studying"
          description: "Over 40% of students are over the age of 22, almost 70% work while studying, around 30% are first-generation and just under 20% have English as an additional language."
          source: "Genio's 2026 New Majority Learner Report"
          link: "https://genio.co/resources/research-and-insights/new-majority-learner-report-2026"
        - title: "Three core challenges"
          description: "Time-poor learners, underprepared learners, and learners with individual barriers are the three overarching categories, with most students sitting at an intersectionality."
          link: "https://genio.co/blog/new-majority-learner-core-challenges"
        - title: "A working model exists"
          description: "National University (NU) which serves 50,000 students a year refer to the New Majority Learners as 'ANDers', offering a clear example of what data-led support can look like."
    intro_paragraph: "In our recent webinar, we were joined by Angela Baldasare, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Vice President for Research, Strategy and Planning at National University. Drawing on findings from Genio's 2026 New Majority Learner Report, we covered the demographics reshaping US higher education, the three core challenges these learners share, and the shifts institutions need to make in support, technology and data in order to serve them well."
    webinar_link: "https://genio.co/webinars/enrollment-shift-reimagining-institutional-support-for-the-new-majority"

  header:
    primary_elements:
      - "Genio"
    navigation:
      - name: "Resources"
        link: "https://genio.co/resources/research-and-insights/new-majority-learner-report-2026"
      - name: "Webinars"
        link: "https://genio.co/webinars/enrollment-shift-reimagining-institutional-support-for-the-new-majority"
      - name: "Blog"
        link: "https://genio.co/blog/new-majority-learner-core-challenges"
      - name: "About"
        link: "https://genio.co/about/research-accreditation-hub"
    actions: []

  content:
    - section:
        title: "Who are the New Majority Learners?"
        description: "Non-traditional learners now make up the New Majority of students on US campuses. Over 40% of students are over the age of 22 and almost 70% work while studying. Around 30% of learners are first generation, while just shy of 20% have English as an additional language. Within this population sit students who are also parents, veterans, neurodivergent learners and those returning to study after time away. They're juggling many responsibilities at once with each learner facing unique challenges and opportunities in colleges. At National University, this population is known internally as 'ANDers', a name that captures the layered reality of their lives."
        elements:
          - type: "image"
            src: "https://genio.co/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-May-29-2026-04-15-14-2717-PM.png?width=1912&height=1072&name=undefined-May-29-2026-04-15-14-2717-PM.png"
            alt: "Image 1"
        actions:
          - text: "To learn more about the New Majority Learner in higher education, click here"
            link: "https://genio.co/resources/research-and-insights/new-majority-learner-report-2026"

    - section:
        title: "What challenges do New Majority Learners face?"
        description: "The most common challenges faced by the New Majority Learner can be put into three overarching categories. In reality, there's significant intersectionality between them, and most learners sit across more than one at once."
        elements:
          - type: "image"
            src: "https://genio.co/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-May-29-2026-04-15-13-7601-PM.png?width=1912&height=1072&name=undefined-May-29-2026-04-15-13-7601-PM.png"
            alt: "Image 2"
          - type: "list"
            items:
              - title: "1. The time-poor learner"
                description: "This includes working students, part-time students, student parents, and those facing financial pressure. These learners need help balancing competing demands without losing momentum in their studies."
              - title: "2. The underprepared learner"
                description: "This includes first-generation students, mature students, and veterans. They may not have grown up around the unspoken study skills others bring with them, and they often arrive without the family support network that helps traditional students navigate the system."
              - title: "3. The learner with individual barriers"
                description: "This includes English as a second language (ESL) students, immigrants, neurodivergent learners and students with disabilities. They may experience cognitive overload, stigma, or low confidence, and what they need most is to study alongside their peers without standing out."
          - type: "quote"
            text: "They are people for whom being a student is not necessarily their primary identity. They are juggling lots of identities, many of which take precedence and priority over the identity of students. These are remarkable humans, juggling a lot, to do great work."
            author: "Angela Baldasare, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Vice President for Research, Strategy and Planning at National University."
        actions:
          - text: "Learn more about the three core challenges faced by the New Majority by clicking here"
            link: "https://genio.co/blog/new-majority-learner-core-challenges"

    - section:
        title: "Why do traditional support systems fall short for the New Majority Learner?"
        description: "The simple answer is that they weren't designed for these students. As Angela explains, the higher education ecosystem still orients itself around the traditional fall cohort of first-time, full-time freshmen in reporting structures, funding mechanisms and policies. 43 million people in the US have some college but no degree, often carrying the debt that came with the attempt, and the case for change moves from strategic to moral."
        elements:
          - type: "stat"
            value: "43 million"
            context: "people in the US have some college but no degree"
            link: "https://thecollegeinvestor.com/79175/43-million-americans-have-some-college-but-no-degree-heres-why-they-left/?srsltid=AfmBOooZA4J4tgHX9rUvGSb3EtXlMxLQ83eAAJgweQ8pDKHX_EGweQfF"
          - type: "quote"
            text: "If schools don't actually adapt and transform and meet the students where they are, we actually run the risk of just going out and trying to recruit the New Majority Learner and underserve them, which will ultimately do more harm than good."
            author: "Angela Baldasare, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Vice President for Research, Strategy and Planning at National University."

    - section:
        title: "How is National University reimagining support for the New Majority Learner?"
        description: "National University (NU) offers one of the clearest models of what whole institution support for the New Majority Learner can look like. Angela described the institution's approach as anchored in three pillars: learning, support and value."
        elements:
          - type: "pillar"
            name: "Learning"
            description: "NU offers four and eight week classes, allowing students to focus on one subject at a time. The model reduces cognitive load and fits more naturally around the rest of a busy life. Group-based instruction and individual mentorship models add further flexibility."
          - type: "pillar"
            name: "Support"
            description: "NU's wraparound services are designed around the reality of modern student life like childcare, mental health, financial aid, and the deliberate use of technology to ease the load of demanding coursework."
          - type: "pillar"
            name: "Value"
            description: "NU was recently recognised by Carnegie as an opportunity institution. Stackable credentials mean that even students who leave before completing a degree walk away with something marketable."
          - type: "note"
            text: "Angela added that the anchor of this system is a human approach to education, grounded in purpose and in care, designed to support each student's wellbeing at every step of the way."

    - section:
        title: "What role does data play in supporting the New Majority Learner?"
        description: "National University (NU) adopted the Loss/Momentum Framework as its student success model, examining the journey across four stages: connection, entry, progress and completion. The team uses data to look for moments where momentum can be built and moments where loss can be mitigated."
        elements:
          - type: "framework"
            name: "Loss/Momentum Framework"
            link: "https://www.completionbydesign.org/s/cbd-lmf"
          - type: "example"
            title: "Low or no transfer credit students"
            description: "This group turned out to be at significantly higher risk of stalling early. NU responded with a peer navigator network modelled on supplemental instruction, a new orientation experience, and a focus on the first four courses. Persistence has gone up and attrition has dropped meaningfully over the last year."
          - type: "example"
            title: "Last-mile drop-off"
            description: "Around 14% of students were leaving in good academic standing within sight of the finish line. NU now tracks students approaching the 75% completion milestone and runs targeted recruit-back campaigns to help students return and finish what they started."
          - type: "note"
            text: "Underneath this sits an institutional commitment to root cause analysis, and to consistent, scalable impact measurement. The aim is to learn what works, for whom, and under what circumstances and to keep refining the support around that."

    - section:
        title: "What practical steps can institutions take to support the New Majority Learner?"
        description: "Three practical recommendations were discussed and they apply whether you're just starting to think about your New Majority Learners or already deep into the work."
        elements:
          - type: "recommendation"
            number: 1
            title: "Equip students with evidence-based technology"
            description: "Look for tools that are research-backed like Genio Notes that have been shown to improve confidence, reduce stress and lift academic performance."
            link: "https://genio.co/about/research-accreditation-hub"
            stats:
              - "76% of first-generation students using Genio Notes say it helped them stay in school."
              - "Student parents using Genio Notes saw an average GPA rise of 7.6% over a single semester."
              - "Volunteer State Community College, with over 1,300 students using Genio Notes, reported that 89% of those students felt more confident, and the institution has tracked links to stronger persistence rates."
            case_study_link: "https://genio.co/webinars/how-volunteer-state-community-college-improved-student-persistence"
          - type: "recommendation"
            number: 2
            title: "Empower students with considered AI"
            description: "AI use is now ubiquitous, but skill development around it is not. AI tools should always help to scaffold the learning process for students, facilitating proactive participation, while maintaining the right level of productive friction."
            links:
              - "https://genio.co/blog/pedagogical-debt-ai-best-educators-friction-architects"
              - "https://genio.co/blog/productive-friction-future-learning-ai-driven-approach"
          - type: "recommendation"
            number: 3
            title: "Encourage evolution in your student support systems"
            description: "What worked before won't necessarily work again. Evolving student support systems, and expanding opportunities to access them, will enable institutions to improve all manner of New Majority Learner outcomes, from increased retention and overall academic achievement, to student wellbeing and academic self-efficacy."
            link: "https://genio.co/resources/research-and-insights/how-does-genio-notes-increase-academic-self-efficacy"

    - section:
        title: "Conclusion"
        description: "Across confidence, stress, persistence and grades, our 2026 research continues to show what's possible when New Majority Learners are given the right kind of steady, structured support. For institutions trying to serve a more complex population with tighter budgets, tools like Genio Notes can take meaningful pressure off accessibility and student success teams without compromising on what students actually need."
        elements: []
        actions:
          - text: "Download our New Majority Learner Report"
            link: "https://genio.co/resources/research-and-insights/new-majority-learner-report-2026"

  footer:
    links:
      - text: "Research and Insights"
        url: "https://genio.co/resources/research-and-insights/new-majority-learner-report-2026"
      - text: "About Genio"
        url: "https://genio.co/about/research-accreditation-hub"
      - text: "Webinars"
        url: "https://genio.co/webinars/enrollment-shift-reimagining-institutional-support-for-the-new-majority"
      - text: "Blog"
        url: "https://genio.co/blog/how-can-colleges-reimagine-student-support-for-the-new-majority-learner"
    info: []
    social: []
```