This evaluation report presents the findings from the project-level evaluation of the CareerTech Challenge, delivered between May 2020 and June 2021. The report examines how the design and delivery of evaluations were undertaken, the findings across process and outcome evaluations and key learning from capacity building support delivered by…

The goal in personalized assessment is to best fit the needs of each individual test taker, given the assessment purposes. Design-In-Real-Time (DIRTy) assessment reflects the progressive evolution in testing from a single test, to an adaptive test, to an adaptive assessment "system." In this paper, we lay the foundation for DIRTy…

Prior learning assessment (PLA) supports student persistence, shortens time-to-degree, and boosts degree completion, particularly for post-traditional (adult or non-traditional) students and underserved populations. This proceeding examines an innovative approach to PLA using block credit. Administered within the award-winning Department of…

Whirlwind growth in the technology sector has led to heightened demand for workers with specialized skills in coding and computer science. Projections for continued expansion of the sector feed a persistent fear that traditional educational offerings won't generate enough graduates with the skills the economy demands. Bootcamps focused on coding…

This article examines the innovative past of the large-scale, single-mode open universities that follow the model of the UK Open University (UKOU), analyzes the main challenges which they are currently facing in the digital era, and concludes with highlighting leading prospects for their future operation. The establishment of the UKOU in 1969…

This article investigates the innovation concept in two key welfare areas where the demands for innovation are substantial, namely vocational education and elder care. On the basis of ethnographic fieldwork and interviews on the collaboration between an educational institution and elder care services, the article develops a tripartite empirical…

For more than one hundred and fifty years, until 2008, California was an undisputed national leader in its commitment to adult education. The state's investment in adult learners topped $750 million, a sum greater than the combined total of every other state in the nation. However, for the past several years recession and fiscal crisis have left…

Many states are experimenting with mechanisms for making college more affordable while maintaining quality and access. This report examines promising or innovative state programs to improve college affordability and credential attainment. Many of these approaches show innovative thinking and bear watching to see if they result in meaningful…

Without appropriate education, American workers are hampered in their ability to have the requisite technical skills needed to participate fully and effectively in the modern workforce. Higher education as a system must develop programs and infrastructures that ensure adult learners receive postsecondary education, including at the baccalaureate…

As more and more teachers leave the classroom, states are looking to actively recruit the returning adult learner into the teaching profession. This study examines an innovative teacher certification program in South Carolina whose goal is to do just that. Issues such as planning and scheduling are presented that offer insight into the design and…

Elderhostels are examined in terms of the circumstances influencing their rise, class participation, kinds of students involved, and factors making the elderhostels an irreversible program. It is suggested that future elderhostels may join national adult education programs, national issues may surface around regional courses, and courses may have…

As more and more teachers leave the classroom, states are looking to actively recruit the returning adult learner into the teaching profession. This study examines an innovative teacher certification program in South Carolina whose goal is to do just that. Issues such as planning and scheduling are presented that offer insight into the design and…

Elderhostel, modeled on the youth hostels of Europe, is a national nonprofit organization offering older adults a week-long learning experience at any one of a national network of participating colleges and universities. The history and reasons for its success are described, along with a profile of its participants and an optimistic projection of…

The process is described by which Aquinas College developed a series of seminars for adults into an ongoing "college." Problems of recruitment and fund raising are discussed, but the program is judged as successful based on the response of students. (JSR)

The plan for the University of Mid-America to establish the autonomous, fully accredited American Open University (AOU) is presented. AOU, a university for working adults who wish to study part-time, will utilize modern communications technologies and methods of distance education. The American Open University will be a nationwide system that will…