This dissertation study explores the relationship between student's experiences in taking the Villanova University Professional Human Resources Certification course and their perceived thoughts and explanations as to how their efforts contributed to whether they passed or failed the Society for Human Resources (SHRM) national certification examination. The literature review looks at specific adult learning theories and gives some explanations about these theories and their connection to adult student's performance in the classroom as they learned. The research study also reviews the learning ecosystem of the course and the components that learning ecosystem, which may have contributed to the students learning outcome. Additionally, the study will look at the modality of delivery of the same course and briefly compare the student's experience in each different modality, traditional classroom setting versus an online virtual classroom environment. The findings can be used to interpret the students' experiences and possibly link these student perceptions to test results. The ultimate goal is to connect these finding towards course improvement. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]