Returning to Learning: Adults’ Success in College is Key to America’s Future

Summary

As part of the Emerging Pathways project funded by Lumina Foundation, this paper focuses on the need to recognize adult learners as a diverse and complex set of individuals with widely divergent aspirations, levels of preparation, and degrees of risk . The evidence gathered in the Emerging Path­ways project suggests that although institutions are becoming sensitive to the challenges adult learners face, institutional actions and strategies do not sufficiently account for the diverse identities, characteristics, and needs of the adult learner population. Institutions that serve the most disadvantaged popula­tions in higher education cannot improve student experiences, persistence, and success unless they understand the complex personal and academic obligations that character­ize these populations. This paper identified several areas of concern and points to a number of promising avenues that institutions can adopt to better serve adult learners, including the population of low-skilled adult learners, demographic composition of those adult learners, and the current focus of related state educational resources. The author suggests offering convenient and affordable access, creating flexible subsidies, and developing innovative planning tools to increase adult student success in postsecondary education.

Citation

Pusser, B., Breneman, D. W., Gansneder, B. M., Kohl, K. J., Levin, J. S., Milam, J. H., & Turner, S. E. (2007). Returning to Learning: Adults’ Success in College is Key to America’s Future. Lumina Foundation for Education.

Retrieved From

http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/ReturntolearningApril2007.pdf