How Institutions can Support Adult Learners

One in five college students today is raising a child. But the systems meant to support them still reflect outdated assumptions about who college is for and what students need to succeed. Student parents—overwhelmingly women and disproportionately women of color—comprise the “new majority” of adult learners who are navigating #HigherEd along w/ caregiving, full-time jobs, and serious financial pressure. Nearly two-thirds of student parents spend 40 hours/week caring for dependents (Trellis Strategies). The demographic cliff has finally forced institutions to look beyond the 18-year-old "traditional" student. What they’re finding is a massive, motivated population that’s too often unsupported. But there are bright spots and promising strategies that others can build on. 👩⚕️ At The College of Health Care Professions, #studentparents attend in-person classes just 1–2 times/week thanks to a #HyFlex model. They also get tailored advising & coaching. 🏫 Austin Community College's Parenting Student Project has improved retention, graduation, mental health, and financial stability. Over 95% of participants stay enrolled semester-to-semester. (Russell Lowery-Hart) 💡 The Single Moms Success Design Challenge—launched by Education Design Lab and supported by ECMC Foundation—aims to boost completion rates for single moms at #CommunityColleges by 30%. Early results are encouraging. 👉Bottom line: If we want to close equity gaps and boost credential attainment, we need to treat student parents as the high-potential, high-return population they are. And doing so will have outsize, multi-generational impact. That means: ✔️ Hybrid and flexible learning ✔️ Child care and housing supports (see: Beam, formerly Edquity) ✔️ Mental & behavioral health services (see: TimelyCare)  ✔️ Affordable, outcomes-based financing (see: Ascent) ✔️ Stronger workforce pathways If you're working on strategies to unlock #economicmobility and better serve #adultlearners —or want to start— I’d love to connect!

One underlying factor in some of society’s most challenging issues—health disparities, workforce gaps, and educational inequities—is the breakdown in the transfer of generational knowledge. In higher education, this is especially evident for non-traditional students, including servicemembers transitioning to the civilian sector, who bring decades of experience and unique insight into our classrooms. Consider, for instance, a military medic with years of experience providing critical care in high-stakes environments. When they separate from the service and pursue a career in the health professions, they’re often met with frustration and disappointment. Their years of expertise and practical knowledge in medical care don’t translate into meaningful credit or career advancement in the civilian healthcare system. This gap is not only frustrating but also a missed opportunity—for the individual and the healthcare workforce. To address this, higher education must evolve in ways that actively support returning adult learners and transitioning veterans: - Aggressive, Constructive Credit Awarding: We need to recognize and credit life experience and industry expertise in meaningful ways. For military medics, this means granting academic credit and pathways that honor the skills they’ve honed under pressure. - Flexible Learning Models: Learning pathways must reflect real-world constraints and diverse goals. This includes offering micro-credentials, certificates, and other targeted credentials that provide an accessible approach to education and a valuable onramp to more advanced opportunities. For many, these options offer a viable, practical path toward meaningful work without the immediate need for a full degree. Timing and life circumstances matter, and flexible options empower learners to choose what best fits their journey, allowing them to build skills progressively and re-enter formal education when the time is right. - Policies Supporting Intergenerational Learning: By promoting diverse learning environments that blend traditional students with those who have extensive real-world experience, we create richer educational experiences. This approach benefits all students, fostering an exchange of insights that’s essential to tackling society’s complex challenges. Promoting intergenerational learning requires building inclusive, supportive systems that recognize and value the expertise accumulated through life and work. By intentionally bridging the gap between military and civilian sectors and supporting veterans and adult learners in higher education, we can create classrooms that reflect the diversity of skills, perspectives, and experiences needed to address the issues of our time. Sincerely, A former combat medic finding his second calling in higher education

Each year, the federal government distributes $1.4 billion in Perkins funding to expand career and technical education (CTE) opportunities. But how do institutions ensure these funds are used effectively? Quinsigamond Community College took a data-driven approach—during its needs assessment, the college discovered that 40 percent of its CTE students were parents. These learners had higher GPAs than their peers but struggled with retention due to external challenges like child care and scheduling conflicts. Recognizing these barriers, the college hired a student-parent coordinator and expanded access to child care and faculty training to better support student parents. These targeted interventions demonstrate how Perkins funding can be leveraged to address real student needs. When institutions take the time to understand their learners’ challenges, they can design policies that foster success. Expanding this model could improve retention and completion rates across the country. https://lnkd.in/eSjN4yjk

This article by Lexi Anderson, Ed.D. & Mike Krause gives outstanding insight into the importance of serving "near completers" in #highereducation. But for many - if not most - institutions, this article will become the beginning of frustration for changemakers working to serve adult working learners (many that want online convenience) that have "some credit and no credential". Why? Because many institutions can't provide the basic foundation to serve this population (trust me, I know). Here is what I see as foundational to do so, and why so many can't do it effectively. 1. The Modern Learner (cred to EducationDynamics) wants start date flexibility, which means that institutions with decades of commitment to standard terms have to move to non-standard terms to add more intake periods and move to BBAY Title IV. 2. Most of the policies at an institution are built for the traditional 18-22 year old. Take a 45 year old with earned credit from multiple places and you break your institutional policy structure - try changing those policies and you'll meet the policy police! 3. An institution wants to recruit more online students, but they don't have employees working in multiple time zones from 8 am eastern to 9 pm pacific - and most institutions are not equipped to manage employees in multiple states. Table stakes. 4. TECHNOLOGY - back to number one above - many have not pressure tested there student information system to account for alternative scheduling. 5. Ownership - who is going to over see what and how much control will a person lose or gain - the WIFFM resistance is stronger than any other. This includes "updating" or "adjusting" curriculum for a different type of student...because you can't take something designed for one student type and expect that it serves another, right? Curriculum adjustments take you down the committee process which will make you burn your eyebrows off! 6. Support Services - recruiting greater levels of adults means that resources must be poured into retention, leave of absence policy monitoring, re-enrollment, and learning community creation. Resources - not easy to move resource commitments around without whipping that hornets nest! Great article - hopefully I've added some of the real considerations changemakers must undertake to serve the adult student/working learner/some college no credential market (The Modern Learner) effectively. #change #educationpolicy #highereducation