Abstract Failure to thrive among nontraditional graduate students—whether by attrition, degree noncompletion, or failure—may represent an inability to manage competing demands rather than an inability to perform academically. University personnel have considered themselves limited in the ability to support non-traditional students to overcome nonacademic barriers to persistence and degree completion. However, nontraditional graduate students possess a capacity to change in order to participate successfully in higher education, and university personnel can positively inform such changes. This study examined the experiences of nine students who overcame imposed withdrawal (i.e., dismissal or academic disqualification) and continued successfully or completed a graduate degree. An analysis of interview transcripts revealed eight change attribution themes demonstrating how nontraditional students enacted several changes to themselves or their approaches to learning and how they shared responsibility for changing in their relations to others—all as an effort to overcome failure and to succeed academically.

中文翻译：

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非传统研究生克服强制退学的调整

摘要 非传统研究生未能茁壮成长——无论是因为减员、学位未完成还是失败——可能代表无法管理竞争需求，而不是无法在学业上表现。大学工作人员认为自己在支持非传统学生克服坚持和完成学位的非学术障碍方面的能力有限。然而，非传统研究生拥有改变的能力，以便成功地参与高等教育，大学人员可以积极地告知这种变化。本研究调查了 9 名克服强制退学（即被开除或取消学业资格）并继续成功或完成研究生学位的学生的经历。