The House Committee on Higher Education met Tuesday morning to discuss the 3.7 million Texans that experts say aren’t getting enough academic attention.

“Sometimes when we think about students seeking high education, we tend to think of that 18-22 year old cohort,” Veronica Stidvent, Chancellor of Western Governor’s University in Texas said, “and that is no longer the norm.”

Stidvent said the new “norm” are called “non-traditional” students, and are becoming the majority in Texas.

“They are older students, they are students that have taken a break from college, students who are working full-time,” Stidvent said. “So it is a different population, they have different needs and the higher education system needs to adapt to meet those needs.”

Stidvent and other educators from across the state told lawmakers on Tuesday to focus on helping “non-traditional” students graduate. In doing so, Stidvent said it will boost the state’s economy and fix the nursing shortage epidemic in Texas.

“There continues to be a high demand for nurses in the Texas panhandle,” Lyndi Shadbolt, Professor of Nursing at Amarillo College said, “which mirrors the high demand for nurses in the state.”

Shadbolt said many of her students fall into the “non-traditional” category, and have to drop out because they can’t afford it or simply don’t have the time. Shadbolt, who completed her degree through WGU, a competency-based degree program, said making the education system in Texas more affordable and flexible could fix the state’s nursing shortage.

“It honors the experience that we have as nurses,” Shadbolt said, “and allows us to accelerate and finish a little more quickly.”

Lawmakers seemed on board with the idea during Tuesday’s hearing, suggesting that a financial assistance program be put in place for these students.

“I think we are seeing more and more of that kind of recognition and acceptance that you don’t have to go through the pain of hearing stuff or seeing stuff that you already know,” Chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education, Representative John Zerwas, R-Richmond, said. “Just demonstrate it and then move on.”

Stidvent says lawmakers need to start by focusing their resources on making education more affordable for these students. For example, offering more scholarships for students, as well as a flexible class schedule and online platform.

A similar bill, house bill 3027, was introduced at the end of the last legislative session. The bill would have created a needs-based financial aid program specifically for full-time students in competency-based degree programs at accredited schools. The session ended before the bill could advance to the senate.