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Success
for Adult
Students
Looking at the demographics of today’s student
body, nontraditional is the new traditional. How
can public universities best serve today’s older
student population?
by Stephen G. Pelletier
N
ews stories just before Labor for financial aid purposes; has dependents
Day always capture the back- other than a spouse; is a single parent;
to-college ritual of young or does not have a high school diploma.
first-year students moving in Those criteria fit a wide swath of today’s
a frenzy into dorms. There’s something college students.
comfortable and familiar in those Within the nontraditional cohort,
accounts. Trouble is, they’re not a very of course, are a great number of adult
accurate depiction of college life today. students—a pool often defined as those 25
As everyone who helps lead a or older. According to Stamats, more than
university knows, the stereotypical 47 percent of students who are currently
student is but a sliver of today’s college- enrolled in colleges and universities in
going population. Data reported by the the United States are older than 25. Public
consulting firm Stamats suggests that universities know this cohort well: In
as few as 16 percent of college students the fall of 2008, just over 1 million of the
today fit the so-called traditional mold: students enrolled at AASCU institutions
18- to 22-years-old, financially dependent were 25 or older. As Daniel J. Hurley,
on parents, in college full time, living on AASCU’s director of state relations and
campus. policy analysis, says, “AASCU institutions
The National Center for Education recognize that nontraditional is the new
Statistics defines nontraditional students traditional.”
as meeting one of seven characteristics: The very label of “nontraditional”
delayed enrollment into postsecondary suggests that business as usual might
education; attends college part-time; not work in serving this large cohort of
works full time; is financially independent current and potential students.
Do nontraditional students need
nontraditional approaches from “One problem for
adults is the constant,
educational institutions—both in and out
of the classroom? And if so, how well do
four-year institutions fill the bill?
A Varied Group
If so-called traditional students
competing tension between life
are somewhat alike, at least by virtue
of age, adult students are anything but obligations and educational
homogenous. They may be 25—or 75.
They may work full-time or part-time, or
be between jobs. They may have children
obligations.” —Jamie Merisotis,
Lumina Foundation for
or other dependents. They may be striving Education
for their first professional career foothold,
retooling after a reduction in force, or
perhaps even coming off active duty in the
deserts of Afghanistan.
As president of the University of
Maryland University College (UMUC),
Susan C. Aldridge knows a thing or two
about this cohort. UMUC has staked its
mission on a commitment to providing a classroom environment, particularly the conditions where students can stay
“top-quality educational opportunities to during the day but also on a traditional focused, on task, and be able to complete
adult students.” Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday- their credential in a reasonable amount
Aldridge offers this snapshot of adult Thursday schedule. Their lives are just of time so that they can benefit from
students: “Most of them are working, a too unpredictable for them to commit to actually having that credential,” Merisotis
lot of them working fulltime. That means those types of schedules.” says. “That’s a challenge. But we think
that they go to school part-time rather Another implicit barrier for adult that’s something that must get increasing
than on a fulltime basis. Many of them students is that, from billing to career attention.”
have children or others that they are counseling to tutoring, student support Demarée K. Michelau, director of
supporting financially. They’re coming offices traditionally require patrons to policy analysis at the Western Interstate
back to school, so they are either career visit an office in person—perhaps between Commission for Higher Education
changers or career enhancers.” Adult the hours of 9 to 5. To work within those (WICHE), directs the Lumina-funded
students might be pursuing their first constraints, though, an adult student project “Non-traditional No More: Policy
degree, an advanced degree, or another might have to leave work early, drive a Solutions for Adult Learners,” which has
credential. long distance and perhaps scramble to identified strategies to help adults who
“Because they are older and working find a parking spot. have nearly enough credits for a degree to
and tend to go to school part-time,” “One problem for adults is the complete their education.
Aldridge says, adult students tend constant, competing tension between life The WICHE project has found that
to “view the structure of education obligations and educational obligations,” adult students who are pursuing higher
differently than do traditional students.” says Jamie Merisotis, president of the education have “general confusion about
“Adult students have a difficult Lumina Foundation for Education. “Life how to navigate the system,” Michelau
time with the traditional format and obligations often come first. The price says. As one finding, the project is
structure—length of semesters, parking that you pay for that is that it takes much publicizing a “concierge” model, or
on the campus, getting to a traditional longer to get the credential. One thing single point of campus contact that
campus with a traditional schedule from that we know very well is that the longer connects returning adult students with
their place of work,” Aldridge says. “If it takes, the less likely it is for people to services they need. Among many other
their travel schedule sends them out of actually achieve that credential.” recommendations, the project suggests
town, they have a difficult time being in “We have to find a way to create that universities extend student services
Fall 2010 n Public Purpose 3
beyond “regular” business hours and While paying for college is a concern Another complicated but critical
find creative ways to tailor services to for virtually all students, regardless of age, concern for adult students is the transfer
accommodate the varied needs of the this issue poses unique challenges for adult of academic credit. Michelau says that
diverse adult student population. students. Institutional policies may gear the “Non-traditional No More” project
Echoing WICHE’s findings, Aldridge financial aid to full-time students, leaving has found that a pivotal marker for
says that to the extent possible, support adult students who attend part-time or adult student success is a university’s
services for adult students “should be intermittently out of the loop. Institutions ability to process transfer credits from
available online or through a 24/7 call with a serious commitment to serving other institutions. Aldridge says that
center so that the students are not at a adult students recognize that they may universities that take weeks or months
disadvantage just because they happen to need to change their financial aid policies, to process transfer credits create
be working.” as have state agencies (see sidebar). impediments that can delay a student’s
In Context: Adult Students and Policy
P
resident Obama wants the United States to lead in Arkansas, Colorado, Nevada, North Dakota and South
the world with the highest proportion of college Dakota to help create “a more navigable path to degree
graduates by 2020. Meeting that goal will require that attainment for adults.” The effort targets “ready adults”—
more adult students complete their higher education. those who have nearly enough credits for a degree but who
That reality rings true with Jamie Merisotis, president haven’t yet completed that credential.
of the Lumina Foundation for Education. He views adult Nine AASCU member institutions are among the 35
students in the context of Lumina’s “Big Goal,” which is to colleges and universities involved in Project Win-Win, an
increase the proportion of Americans with high-quality effort sponsored by the Institute for Higher Education
degrees and credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025. Policy, also with Lumina support. The goal of this project
“We could dramatically improve high school graduation is to find former students who are no longer enrolled in
rates and significantly increase participation rates [of so- college and who were never awarded a degree, but whose
called traditional students] in college and simply not have records qualify them for associate degrees, and get those
enough people to meet the goal,” Merisotis says. Achieving degrees awarded retroactively.
the foundation’s ambitions “cannot happen without
S
adults,” he states. “It’s that simple.” tate initiatives are also working to tear down
Beyond reaching the numbers, though, barriers that adult students face. The Indiana
Merisotis says that getting more adults Commission for Higher Education, for example,
through the educational pipeline is important recently announced recommendations to redress the
to society for economic, cultural and social reality that the state’s current financial aid system
development—to say nothing of economic provides limited support and flexibility for
recovery in the short term and “advancing working adults, who today comprise the majority
success for people who are unemployed and of all college students in the state. Proposed
underemployed.” And while much recent discussion in changes would create a dedicated fund for adult and part-
adult education has emphasized associate-level credentials, time students, allow state aid to cover summer tuition, and
Merisotis makes a point of saying that “too little attention offer increased aid for students who complete a two-year
has been focused on the baccalaureate conversation in degree at a community college and successfully transfer to a
the sense that many [available] jobs are high skill/high four-year college.
experience jobs that in fact do require a baccalaureate “There’s no magic bullet in all of this,” Merisotis says.
degree.” “We are talking about a series of efforts that will increase
Lumina has focused some of its programming on adult degree attainment.” In that success for adult students hinges
students who have some college experience but have not on whether they are prepared academically, financially and
yet earned a credential. With support from the foundation, socially, he says, “you increase success by ensuring that the
for example, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher right kind of support systems and structures are in place to
Education is working with policy makers and educators serve them well.”
4 Public Purpose n Fall 2010
pursuit of a degree, or even cause the
student to drop out of higher education
altogether.
Ultimately, Aldridge says, adult
students “need a very clear pathway, a
degree audit, that tells them exactly what
courses they need, how long it will take
them to finish, and how much it is going
to cost them for their degree.” While 18-
to 22-year-old undergraduates might get
that kind of roadmap routinely, Aldridge
says that when it comes to adult students,
“most traditional institutions aren’t used
to providing that information in a timely
University of Maryland University College students outside of Dorsey Station in Elkridge, Md.
manner.”
Still, another important consideration
is the assessment of prior learning. As
“Faculty members
Michelau says, adult students “want credit
for their work-based prior learning and
competencies.”
need to know
“Prior learning assessment is an
emerging science in higher education,”
Merisotis says. “There has been some
derision of prior learning assessment
in the past, because measurement
tools haven’t been very precise. But I
that adult students learn
think there’s an increasing degree of
sophistication around prior learning
assessment where, if we are shifting to a
differently...They don’t just
system where what we are measuring is
not inputs but the outcomes—the learning memorize. They have a
that results from higher education—prior
learning assessment could become very
important.”
context within which they take
Lumina has joined with the Joyce and
Kresge foundations to help fund a new information [they learn] and
nationwide center whose evaluators will
assess prior learning. Under the aegis of
the Council for Adult and Experiential
apply it.” —Susan Aldridge,
University of Maryland
Learning, a pioneer in the assessment
University College
of prior learning, the new center seeks
to increase access to assessment of
teaching and learning experience. to interact with professors.
prior learning in order to help boost
Apart from the fact that they prefer UMUC has found that adult students
completion of postsecondary credentials
evening and weekend classes, for example, like to get actively engaged in the
and degrees.
Aldridge says adult students prefer classroom. “They are not as tolerant of the
hybrid classes that combine face-to-face lecture-type format,” Aldridge says. “They
Different Expectations and online learning. That pedagogical have experiences and they want to talk
Aldridge believes that universities mix, Aldrdge says, decreases a student’s about those experiences.”
also need to recognize that adult students commitment to a specific time and place,
bring different expectations to the but also opens new channels for students
Fall 2010 n Public Purpose 5
absolute minimum.” He further believes
that adults in college would be better
served if student support services were
embedded directly into the courses they
take, rather than offered separately in
campus offices.
More broadly, Bosworth also believes
that educational content needs to be tied
much more directly to the needs of the
labor market. “The educational process
would be enriched and enhanced by
far greater engagement of employers,”
Bosworth says, “both in terms of shaping
the competencies required but also in
helping students develop the soft skills
appropriate to their educational needs and
UMUC student takes notes during a course at Dorsey Station. to the economy.”
“I think faculty members need to Kasworm, a professor at North Mission Focus
know that adult students learn differently,” Carolina State University, does point, To best serve adult students, Aldridge
Aldridge says. “They don’t just memorize. however, to institutions that serve says universities need to understand how
They have a context within which they adult students well. For example, she this cohort differs from their younger
take information [they learn] and apply says, the Office of Adult Students and classroom colleagues. Adult students
it. They tend to ask more questions. They Evening Services at the University of “need a lot of information,” she says.
challenge issues more in a classroom.” North Carolina-Charlotte, provides “They may be a little bit older, but some
Moreover, Aldridge says, adult “robust and targeted” outreach to adult of them are insecure about coming back
students have an experiential focus. “They students. Another example is USF4YOU, to school into a traditional environment.
want to apply the knowledge that they the University of South Florida’s They’re worried about failure, cost and
gained in their education to their work comprehensive set of academic programs about whether they can balance the
environment in order to enhance their and support services focused on adult other activities in their lives along with
career right away,” she says. Consequently, students. academic studies.”
Aldridge has found, adult students Brian Bosworth, the founder A university’s assessment of how
gravitate to faculty who have real-world and president of FutureWorks, well it is serving this unique group
experience. UMUC has found, too, that a consulting and policy needs to start with that institution’s
faculty with rich work experiences can development firm, believes fundamental purpose, Aldridge
provide de facto career advising in the that universities need to go suggests. “It goes back to assessing
classroom, and give assignments that help even further. “Time is the the mission in terms of the extent to
students build portfolios that can help enemy for working adults which the institution wants to serve
them land jobs. as they contemplate adult students,” she says.
postsecondary “Think about how you are
Not Far Enough education,” Bosworth says. delivering education to all of the
Some observers of academe believe Arguing that the traditional path to students you are serving,” Merisotis
that higher education doesn’t go far earning a degree takes too long for counsels. “Don’t assume that serving
enough in supporting adult students. students in the workforce, Bosworth [adult] students is an add-on—that is, it
Carol E. Kasworm, a leading authority argues that the educational process needs has to be part of the fundamental change
on adult students, notes, for example, to be reorganized “to fit the reality of the that I think most institutions are now
that many universities “have dissolved needs of working adults.” He advocates exploring.” P
specialized entities that have focused on that time-to-degree be shortened with
tools such as block scheduling, and for Writer/editor Stephen G. Pelletier is based in
adult students,” often because of financial Rockville, Maryland.
pressures. “compressing classroom time to the
6 Public Purpose n Fall 2010
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