Institutions of higher education provide numerous support services to undergraduate students. However, it is debatable that those services assist the adult learner population because most services are structured to assist traditional undergraduate students. Gathering an understanding of factors such as the student's individual needs, age/experience, course modality preference, work, and familial obligations will allow higher education administrators and faculty to provide resources specific to the adult learner. The development of key student services such as tutoring, advising, career development, library services, and counseling with post-traditional adult learners in mind will contribute to the success of all students regardless of demographic and/or individual challenges or situations. This chapter explores how higher education institutions can best support academic success for adult learners in an environment typically designed for traditionally aged students.
TopIntroduction
Institutions of higher education provide numerous support services to undergraduate students. However, it is debatable that those services assist the adult learner population because most services are structured to accommodate traditional undergraduate students. The majority of higher education institutions are designed to administer a curriculum for the traditional college-age population, which limits the options for adult learners to matriculate and receive support. Gathering an understanding of the student’s needs, ages, course modality preferences, and work and familial obligations will allow higher education administrators to provide specific resources for the adult learner.
Adult students experience the challenges of limited time and money for tuition when pursuing an education which are specific to this population. Additional challenges include enrolling in a course modality they prefer, limited class meeting times, work hours that conflict with a schedule of when majority of courses are offered, and familial obligations. Understanding the characteristics of the adult learner provides higher education administrators with a blueprint in which student services should be structured. When support services are offered on weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., students who are employed full-time during similar hours miss the opportunity to utilize them. Factors such as when and how services are available are instrumental in providing equitable support to all students and their progression, which is critical to students who persist at lower rates, such as adult learners. Support services do not need to be separate from those offered, just structured differently to accommodate adult learners.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2017) determined that in fall 2017, students ages 25 and over accounted for approximately 34% of postsecondary enrollment. The percentage of full-time undergraduate students ages 25 and over were represented slightly higher at 13% at private nonprofit institutions when compared to 10% at public institutions while part-time enrollment accounted for 62% at private nonprofits and 42% at public institutions (NCES, 2020). Furthermore, enrollment in degree-granting institutions for students ages 25 and older increased by 5% from 2007 to 2017 (NCES, 2019). While an increase in enrollment has occurred, adult learners experience low completion results (Taniguchi & Kaufman, 2005). The adult student population is significant in size, but institutions lack specific curricular programs and student support services as they are not easily available or completely lacking for this population. Furthermore, colleges and universities who forego enrollment of the adult learner population risk a student population with less diversity.
In addition, limited research exists focused on adult students and appropriate techniques to support this group. The following sections provide an overview about the benefits of understanding the adult learner and an emphasis on specific support services to meet this student population’s needs. Supporting adult learners includes recognizing that this student population brings a diverse set of experiences which contributes to an increased level of dedication and reflectiveness in their learning. In addition to theoretical and research-based content and with the aim of illustrating how to connect adult students to the fabric of higher education, the authors provide examples, where possible, of adult learner support service practices which are offered at higher education institutions. Specifically, the authors will include the practices at Queens University of Charlotte, due to their past and current experiences with post-traditional student populations.