This dissertation in practice utilized a qualitative case study approach to understand the experiences of adult learners who are completing their secondary education program at a selected school site in the region of Los Angeles County, California. The aim of this study was to gain insight on the varied needs and challenges of adult students who…

This paper used data from a multi-institutional study of community colleges developing and implementing degree reclamation strategies (adult reengagement and reverse credit transfer) to understand and unpack the factors that influence implementation and capacity development. The data come from seven colleges that are implementing equity-focused…

Nearly half of students enrolled in colleges and universities today are adult learners, who often must balance their education with other family or work-related priorities. However, institutional policies and practices continue to be largely developed based on the needs of traditional students. Drawing on national research findings, widely cited…

Supporting adult learners as they complete their postsecondary certificates and degrees is essential to meeting Washington state's educational attainment goals and meeting the employment needs of students and Washington employers. Academic Credit for Prior Learning (ACPL) is awarded when a student's prior learning is assessed and found to be the…

Lumina Foundation seeks to increase the proportion of Americans who hold a postsecondary credential to 60 percent by 2025, across all racial, ethnic, immigration, and income groups. Recognizing that this goal cannot be achieved through a focus on traditional-age college students alone, Lumina launched the Adult Promise initiative in 2017. Between…

In this report we walk through a systematic review of how PLA [prior learning assessment] was implemented under the ideal circumstances provided by the TAACCCT [Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training] grant program. We found that there was positive policy development, but student use of PLA opportunities remained low. In…

The composition of the college population has shifted from a bastion of full-time 18- to 22-year-old students to a far more diverse population that typically works part-time or full-time, has greater family commitments, is over 24, and is juggling various competing responsibilities while attending college. This shift has prompted researchers to…

This dissertation examines the relationship between community colleges and prisons as similar institutions that absorb and manage displaced workers, economic refugees, and dispossessed adult populations. Based on interviews with adult learners in two community college settings, I discuss how these two seemingly distinctive institutions work…

This paper examines ageism among older students in U.S. higher education. Ageism involves any uncalled-for reaction to any age and does not require racism and sexism to exist. Social closure theory is the research framework used in this analysis. The theory posits that specific parties (i.e., in-groups) gain benefits by closing off favorable…

This paper is a reflection, on the basis of empirical research conducted in Italy, on theoretical, methodological and systemic-organisational aspects linked to the recognition and validation of the prior learning acquired by adult learners or workers who decide to enrol at university at a later stage in their lives. The interest in this research…

This study examined motivators for and barriers encountered by non-traditional adult students in their efforts to access, persist in, and succeed in obtaining higher education. It surveyed four-year institutions to examine the extent to which different categories of four-year institutions are meeting adult students' needs and thereby…

This qualitative evaluation focused on the problem of student attrition at a northern California college, its attendance policy, the policy's impact on previous students' decisions to persist in school, and on administrators' attempts to increase retention. The purpose for this study was to evaluate the participants' perceptions about their…

The transition from high school to college is an important milestone, but it is only one of many steps in the journey through higher education. This volume is an annotated bibliography of the emerging literature examining the many other transitions students make beyond the first year, including the sophomore year, the transfer experience, and the…

As adult students constitute nearly half of all undergraduates in the United States, college practitioners need to identify effective disciplinary strategies for this population when violations of institutional rules and regulations occur. The purpose of this quasi-experimental, action research study was to modify the student conduct process for…

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of institutional policies and practices, based on the perspectives of minority adult learners, which contribute to and militate against underrepresented adult learners' persistence in college until baccalaureate degree completion, describe why these policies and practices influence…