Running head: ADULTS 1

Adult Learners in Higher Education

Erica Longamore

Western Carolina University

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The typical assumption of the average college student is usually an eighteen to twenty-

two-year-old coming in straight from high school with intentions on graduating in four years.

One group of students often not thought of are adult learners, or adult students. Adult students

have been a growing population on college campuses over the last few decades (Ritt 2008). For

the use of this paper, I will define adult students as students who are at least twenty-five years of

age and have been out of school but are now returning to a four-year institution for various

reasons. In this paper, I will discuss the characteristics of adult learners, problems that these

students tend to face, and also will touch on some engagement strategies for the particular

population.

In 2008, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data indicated that thirty-

eight percent of the 2007 enrollment of college students were twenty-five years of age or older

(NCES 2009). There are many reasons why one would go into college at a later time than the

average student. These reasons can include but are not limited to taking time off after high

school to work full time or to travel, getting married and/or starting a family, not having the

financial means or other types of support to go straight into college, or not receiving a high

school diploma at the traditional time. Whatever the reason, many students decide not to go

straight into a four-year institution after high school. But a great deal of them attend at a later

time. Some major characteristics of adult students are that they sometimes have families, they

usually have jobs, they tend to attend class part time, and they are often commuters. A 2003

NCES report indicated that at least fifty-six percent of students over the age of twenty-four saw

themselves as workers first and students second. Twenty-six percent identified themselves as

students who work. Only eighteen percent did not work at all while they were enrolled (Berker

and Horn 2003).

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There are many problems that adult students face when trying to attend a higher

education institution. Although issues are not limited to these, I will discuss three big issues that

this population faces: Balancing student life and home life, accessibility, and cost. The first issue

I will discuss is the issue of balancing home and school life. As any student knows, class time is

not the only time commitment to face. When registered for a class, the student must consider

time for preparing for class and also time for homework, papers, and other assignments. When

adults return to school, they are often not used to this kind of time management and it can be

difficult to adjust (Hector-Mason, et al. 2017). If an adult student has a family, that is also a lot

of time to try and add into their day so this can of course lead to frustration in a lot of adult

learners.

Another big issue that adult students deal with is accessibility. As mentioned previously,

adult learners face a lot of time commitments and usually have a lot of responsibilities that make

it difficult to attend classes regularly and on time (Ohio Department of Higher Education, 2015).

If a student has a day job, that adds an extra issue since most typical classes occur during day

time hours. Additionally, looking at commuting students specifically, the issue of traffic comes

up as well, especially if the students attends school in or near a big city (Ohio Department of

Higher Education, 2015). All of these accessibility issues can cause frustration in adult learners.

The last issue I will discuss is the issue of cost. The cost of higher education can be

challenging for almost anyone, especially adult students. The cost of tuition, books, and extra

school supplies all add up rather quickly. If these students have mortgages, or kids that they need

to put into daycare, balancing these finances can become almost impossible for the student. Not

to mention, a lot of the time, adult learners do not qualify for student loans, either because they
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are independent students, or because they work full time and make “too much” to be able to

qualify (Osam, et al. 2017). On top of all this, there is the scare of the student not being able to

balance student and home life and in return, becoming unemployed (Osam, et al. 2017). These

reasons are enough to make an adult nervous about going back to school.

Despite all of these issues, many adult learners conquer the odds and end up either back

in higher education or find themselves attending for the first time. There are many things that

student affairs professionals can do to help ease the stress of being an adult student. I will discuss

strategies for the three previous issues facing adult students before I conclude. As far as helping

students with issues such as balancing out their campus and personal lives, accessibility

problems, and lack of financial support, unfortunately there is only so much practitioners can do.

However, we can always offer support. A lot of times, when students are stressing out about

managing their lives and attending school, just having someone to sit and listen can help out

tremendously (Sogunro, 2015). We can also offer information about other resources on campus

that can help, including but not limited to career services (who often help with tutoring and/or

time management skills), counseling services, and financial aid. This could of course not be

helpful if the student does not have the time to attend meetings with said services, but it is of

course always an option to offer. It is important to be informed of all other resources on campus

because if you cannot figure out a way to help a student, there are so many more professionals on

campus that might be more educated on certain matters and can help the student with resolutions

that you might not have thought of.

In conclusion, adult learners are a diverse and underrepresented group when it comes to

higher education. They can be characterized as students who are at least twenty-five years of age,
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they may or may not have spouses and/or families, and there are a number of various reasons as

to why they did not attend and complete higher education right after high school. These students

face a number of challenges including but not limited to issues with balancing campus and home

lives, accessibility, and financial burdens. While there are many factors that student affairs

professionals cannot resolve, we can always offer support. There is no reason why adult learners

should not be offered the same access as other students when it comes to higher education.
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References

Berker, Ali, and Laura Horn. Adult undergraduates who combine employment and postsecondary

enrollment. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. 2003.

Hector-Mason, A., Narlock, J., Muhisani, H., Bhatt, M. P., Regional Educational Laboratory

Midwest, (., American Institutes for Research, (., & National Center for Education

Evaluation and Regional Assistance, (. (2017). State strategies to facilitate adult learners'

transitions to postsecondary opportunities. REL 2017-223.

National Center for Education Statistics. Digest of Educational Statistics 2009. Table 192. Total

fall enrollment in degree-granting institutions by control and type of institution, age, and

attendance status of student:2007. 2009.

Ohio Department of Higher, E. (2015). Student success for adult learners. 8th Report on the

Condition of Higher Education in Ohio.

Osam, E. K., Bergman, M., & Cumberland, D. M. (2017). An integrative literature review on the

barriers impacting adult learners' return to college. Adult Learning, 28(2), 54-60.

Ritt, Elizabeth. “Redefining tradition: Adult learners and higher education.” Adult Learning 19.

2008.

Sogunro, O. A. (2015). Motivating factors for adult learners in higher education. International

Journal of Higher Education, 4(1), 22-37.