2016 Fact Book

96 Average Age of Students Enrolled in Fall 2015 Mean Median Undergraduate Students Full-time 22 20 Part-time 31 27 Graduate Students Full-time 35 32 Part-time 37 35 First-Professional Students Full-time 26 25 Part-time 31 29 Table 9 shows the mean and median ages of enrolled students by degree level. The majority (80 percent) of full-time undergraduates were of traditional age (defined here as full-time students between 16–24 years old). The age distribution of part-time undergraduates was more dispersed with the mean and median ages outside of the traditional student age range. Overall, 70 percent of all undergraduates were of traditional age during the 2015 fall term. Age distribution patterns for full- and part-time graduate students showed the full-time distribution skewed somewhat toward the traditional graduate-student age group, while the distribution of part-time students was less skewed, with a lower proportion of students less than 25 years old. As shown in Table 9, the mean age of graduate students was in the mid to late 30s, with 30 percent of students 40 or older. This is consistent with the fact that most graduate students enrolled at NSU are working adults at various levels in their professional career. Many have returned to school to upgrade their academic credentials, while others are preparing for a career change. The majority of students (80 percent) attending professional programs at NSU range from 22–29 years old, indicating that most enter immediately, or soon after completing their bachelor’s degree. As shown in Table 9, the median and mean ages of full-time students fall within this age range. Table 9