View all blog posts under Articles. This chapter of our guide will provide you with statistical insights and facts about the adult student population in the United States and around the world. It will help you to gain a sense of the strength of the adult student body and give you the necessary encouragement to make the decision to enroll in an academic program. There has been a marked increase in the number of adult students enrolling in college programs across the country in the last 10 years. It all started with the major economic downturn in , which was accompanied by widespread job losses. At that time, many people realized that they needed further education to improve their chances of landing employment. Even though the economy has picked up since then, adult enrollment has continued to grow year over year since There are a number of reasons for the tremendous growth in the number of adults enrolling in higher education, certificate, and degree programs:. Check out the programs available to you, and see how they can help you discover your new career path.


The Rise of Adult Students


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Of those surveyed, 70 percent assigned an "A" or "B" to the overall success of higher education in preparing adult students for the workplace. Laackman, president of Champlain College. Adult learners appear conflicted when it comes to the quality of higher education, specifically online education. Nearly two-thirds of all respondents believe the overall quality of online education to be "excellent" or "very good. Laurie Quinn, provost and senior vice president for academics at Champlain College.
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The Hechinger Report is a national nonprofit newsroom that reports on one topic: education. Sign up for our weekly newsletters to get stories like this delivered directly to your inbox. More than 19 million undergraduate students are enrolled in colleges and universities for fall , according to a report this week from the National Center for Education Statistics , and many of them are adults aged 25 and older.
Millions of American adults either have no education beyond high school or have some college but no degree. By , 65 percent of all jobs will require a degree or certificate. Although traditional-age students outnumber adult learners in college, the percent of adults enrolling in college continues to grow. One report found that only about 36 percent of students who enroll in college when they are 20 years or older complete a degree within six years, compared with 59 percent of students who enroll when they are 19 years old or younger. A number of factors may be at work: Adults going to college usually have other responsibilities, such as work or family, which may limit the hours and energy they can bring to their studies. Financial responsibilities such as rent or mortgage payments make it difficult to afford ever-increasing college tuition. Adults, as opposed to traditional students, do not come directly from high school but have taken years off from studies and may have forgotten academic concepts and habits and need developmental courses. Low-income adult students face these and other barriers.