Running Head: MAJOR PROJECT PROPOSAL PROJECT FINISH LINE

Major Project Proposal: Project Finish Line

Barbara Kahn-Sales
Northern Arizona University

Program, Population Served, and Identified Need

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My program is titled Project Finish Line a title that is meant to be inspiring to adult learners
approaching postsecondary education for the first time, or after a long educational gap. Our
target demographic is the adult learner, aged 25 and above, who has little (in this case, an
incomplete associates degree) to no prior experience in college. The inclusion of students who
have been to college before is a change from the draft version of this project, which only
considered first-time adult college students. The reasoning behind this Project Finish Line is that
one of the issues the author has seen come up repeatedly is the need for more assistance in
transferring from a community college to university; students frequently lose many credits hours,
and thus spend longer in college, because they are not clear on college transfer agreements.
Additionally, course difficulty frequently changes between community colleges and universities,
in addition to class size and even the expectations on the student. Many undergraduate students
enrolled in a university are expected to do undergraduate research or internships to be successful
post-graduation - all of this change can be overwhelming for any student, but this is especially
the case for adult learners.
Why focus on this population? To answer that question, one must examine what an adult
learner is. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) classifies adult learners as nontraditional students by the presence several metrics, such as age, independence from parents
(financial independence), and whether these students have dependents such a spouse or children,
(NCES, n.d.). In 2013, the Department of Education placed the percentage of adult learners in
the US Educational system as 33% of the total college-going population, and half of the
population of students attending college or university part-time (Department of Education,
2013). The American Association of State Colleges and Universities put the rough estimate of
adult learners enrolled in colleges and universities at just about one million students in 2008

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(Pelletier, 2010), and enrollment in both types of educational setting is expected to continue to
grow (Department of Education, 2015). Despite their constant presence on college campuses,
however, the adult learner graduation rate is low, and their dropout rates are high 42.1% of
adult learners (25+) did not complete their degrees within six years (NSC, 2012); further, 44% of
adult learners were not enrolled anywhere after the six year study period (as opposed to being
enrolled, but taking longer than 6 years to graduate) (NSC, 2012).
When asking why college attendance and success is such a pressing matter for adult learners,
consider the job prospects and salaries of college graduates. A 2010 study by Georgetown
University projected that by 2018, up to 63% of jobs will require some amount of college, up
from about 59% when the study was published in 2010 (Carnevale et al., 2010). Further,
educational attainment has been shown time and again to positively correlate with higher
earnings the U.S. Department of Educations 2015 Condition of Education showed a median
increase of $7,500 for adults 25-34 that had received an Associates Degree over only completing
high school; that figure increased another $9,000 upon completion of a bachelors degree
(Department of Education, 2015). It is clear that to be competitive in the workforce, college
even at the associates level is an increasingly necessary commodity.
Program Description
Project Finish Line is an academic success and intervention program meant to successfully
guide adult community college students into a 4-year university system and provide them with
the tools they will need to successfully graduate. Our goals are to (1) provide a solid foundation
in basic adult education for students that require these services; (2) facilitate a successful
transition into college-level classwork; (3) provide workshops on time management, financial

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literacy, and balancing multiple priorities; and (4) increase students knowledge of college
resources, including an understanding of the 4 year institution transfer process. (Please note that
this is another major change from the initial project draft, in which the program would continue
through their first year of undergraduate work at a larger university.)
The author proposes that Project Finish Line begin with an initial cohort of 50 community
college students, aged 25+, with the goal of providing services over a 2 year time span. An
additional third year will be taken to follow up with program participants and track their
progress. Participating students will need to be enrolled a minimum of half-time throughout the
program, maintain a passing GPA, and be able to commit to the following schedule to remain
eligible to participate:
1) weekly meetings with a peer cohort of 5-10 other students in Project Finish Line and a
program advisor
2) monthly/bimonthly (every other month) workshops, presentations, and other programming
3) 1x/semester meetings with their academic advisor to formally track academic progress
Peer and advisor meetings are but one of the ways that Project Finish Line can track student
progress while they are enrolled, by informally listening and noting the comments, concerns, and
frustrations of these students. It is in this way that program advisors can gauge whether students
require more or less academic intervention, and gather satisfaction data on the program itself, as
well as perform periodic, informal needs assessments. These meetings also provide students
with an opportunity to make connections on campus and find other students with similar interests
or at a similar place in their lives.

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Workshops are Project Finish Lines opportunity to gather its students together for special
programming. This includes information sessions about student services on campus; financial
help (i.e., how to pay for college or manage student debt); sessions on best-practices for test
taking, college writing, or managing heavy workloads; administration of practice exams; and
other topical and relevant content that may arise. Finally, students will have the responsibilities
of reporting to their academic advisor at least once a semester to ensure that they are eligible to
remain in the program.
Outcomes, Assessments, and Similar Programs
Project Finish Lines Student Learning Outcomes will be based on the skills that these
students have learned throughout the program, for example:
1) Students will be able to effectively compile their experience into a resume, CV, or
personal statement
2) Students will apply what they have learned about financial literacy towards paying down
student debt or applying for college funding
3) Students will understand the transfer articulation pathway and consult the correct office
when questions arise
As for our program aims, students who have successfully gone through Project Finish Line
will:
1) Demonstrate sound knowledge of their colleges student services offerings
2) Demonstrate the ability to consciously choose an educational pathway that also allows
room for work, family, and other demands
3) Have acquired a support network of their peers and pertinent college personnel
4) Be able to discuss financial aid, student loans, and the impact of college education on
future career and salary prospects
Project Finish Lines efficacy will be assessed, in part, from observations gleaned during the
weekly student meetings such qualitative data will inform us about future additions that we can
incorporate, workshops that were not helpful, and the general state of the students throughout the

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semester. Academic advisors play a key role in assessment from them, we can get an idea of
student grades, to see whether participants have taken advantage of the student services and to
what extent. We can also track grade point averages and attain information about student
coursework, our students fields of studies, and the types of classes that these students take.
Faculty feedback will also be key, and easier to obtain at the community college level than in a
University setting due to smaller class sizes. The largest component of our programs assessment
will come from our 3rd year data. Through tracking program participants, we can learn if and
where students transferred, how well they are performing, the kinds of courses in which they are
participating. Finally, throughout all three years, we can gather self-assessments of their
progress.
With regards to similar programs at other institutions, a number of colleges and universities
offer Adult Learning Programs through their Student Affairs and Services Departments, though
budget cuts have diminished much of the services offered to part-time students. The US
Department of Educations Community College Virtual Symposium highlighted three adultspecific bridge programs in their 2012 report: the state of Washingtons integrated Basic
Education and Skills Training Program (I-BEST), Oregons Pathways for Adult Basic Skills
Transition to Education and Work (OPABS), and the Illinois Adult Education Bridge Initiative
(Department of Education, 2012). Of those, OPABS is quite similar to Finish Line, in that it
utilizes a cohort model for its students, and emphasizes continuing education for basic-skills
adults in addition to career and technical skills. It differs, however, in its scope participants in
OPABS range from 17-50 years old (Bagwell, 2011), a younger audience than Finish Line. Two
other college-based examples are Kishwaukee College in Northern Illinois, and Dona Ana
college in New Mexico. These institutions offer Adult Transition programs for individuals

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returning to or attending college for the first time, both of which offer help with the transition
process and assistance in finding campus resources (DACC, 2016; Kishwaukee, 2015).
Budget and Funding
Even though a cohort of 50 is small (and not much quantitative data can be gathered), we will
still require substantial funding to hire program advisors, securing meeting spaces, and provide
the programming we have outlined above. To that end, we propose the following budget:

(1) FT Director for Project Finish Line

(2) FT Classified Staff (Program Advisors)
(1) Student Assistant
Room securing fees, furniture, equipment
Promotional materials, printing
Speaker fees/program materials
(test prep, trips, etc.)

Total

$55,000
$35,000
$5000
$8,000
$2000
$20,000
$160,000

Funding may be procured as part of a Student Support Services grant through the Federal
TRIO Programs, as we will provide adequate student services to meet the requirements to apply.
Further, the National Association of Student Affairs Professionals offers the NASPA Foundation
Large Grant for research into student affairs best practices one of the areas is in the
examination of how student affairs programs and initiatives support student success, especially
with regards for post-traditional students (NASPA, 2016). IES the Institute of Educational
Science further offers funding of up to $250k to evaluate educational interventions (adult
education is a valid option for study using these funds) over a 2 year term (IES, 2016).

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References
Bagwell, M.J. (2011). Oregons OPABS Initiative Opening Doors to Opportunity for Adult
Learners. ACP News 1(3). Retrieved from https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/html/acpnewsletters/vol1issue3.html
Carnevale, A.P., Smith, N., and Strohl, J. (2010). Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and
Education Requirements through 2018. Retrieved from https://cew.georgetown.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2014/12/fullreport.pdf
Dona Ana Community College. (2016). Adult Education Transition Program. Retrieved from
https://dacc.nmsu.edu/abe/adult-basic-education-transition-program/
Institute of Education Science. (2016). Funding Opportunity: Education Research Grant
Programs. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/funding/ncer_rfas/ncer_lcsd.asp
Kishwaukee College. (2015). Adult Transitions. Retrieved from
https://kishwaukeecollege.edu/community-friends-adult-education-transitionprograms/adult-transitions
National Center for Education Statistics. (2015). The Condition of Education 2015. Retrieved
from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2015144
National Center for Education Statistics. (n.d.) Trends in Nontraditional Student Enrollment.
Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/web/97578f.asp
National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (2012). Completing College: A National View
of Student Attainment Rates. Retrieved from
https://studentclearinghouse.info/signature/4/NSC_Signature_Report_4.pdf
Pelletier, S.G. (2010). Success for Adult Students. Retrieved from
http://www.aascu.org/uploadedFiles/AASCU/Content/Root/MediaAndPublications/Publi
cPurposeMagazines/Issue/10fall_adultstudents.pdf
Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. (2016). NASPA Foundation Large Grant.
Retrieved from https://www.naspa.org/foundation/grant/largegrant.
U.S. Department of Education. (2012). Promoting College and Career Readiness: Bridge
Programs for Low-Skill Adults. Retrieved from
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cclo/brief-1-bridge-programs.pdf