This document summarizes a presentation on models for adult student success. It discusses barriers adult students face such as financial issues, work obligations, and lack of support systems. It also presents promising practices identified by the Non-Traditional No More project, such as prior learning assessment, flexible course scheduling, and targeted advising. The Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium's collaborative tutoring model and CAEL's Learning Counts prior learning assessment center are also summarized as examples of programs supporting adult students.

1. Models for Adult Student
Success
22nd Annual WCET Conference
La Jolla, California
November 11, 2010

2. Presenters
• Patrick Lane, Project Coordinator,
WICHE and Non-Traditional No More
• Cathy Brigham, Senior Consultant,
Higher Education Services and CAEL
• Carolyn Rogers, Director of Student
Support Services, CT Distance Learning
Consortium
• Moderator: Mike Hillman, Vice Chancellor
for Academic and Student Affairs, North
Dakota University System

3. Non-Traditional No More:
Policy Solutions for Adult
Learners
Patrick Lane, WICHE

4. What is WICHE?
Promotes
access and
excellence in
higher
education for
all citizens of
the West

5. Non-Traditional No More: Project Overview
Funding: Lumina Foundation for Education
State partners: Arkansas, Colorado,
Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, South
Dakota
Targets: “Ready adults”
Stop-outs just shy of having enough credits to
obtain a degree but haven’t yet returned.

6. Non-traditional No More:
Goal and Strategies
Goal: To stimulate and guide state and
institutional policy and practice changes
that will make it easier for “ready adults” to
earn college degrees.
Two-part strategy:
Identify ready adults
Build pathways to college
success

7. Dispelling the Myths:
Why Students Leave College
Myth: Most students go to college full-
time. If they leave without a degree, it’s
because they’re bored and don’t want to
work too hard.
Reality: Number one reason for leaving
school: “I had to work as well, and it was
too stressful trying to do both.”
Source: Johnson, Jean and Jon Rochkind. “With Their
Whole Lives Ahead of Them.” San Francisco: Public
Agenda, 2009. www.publicagenda.org

8. Dispelling the Myths:
Why Students Leave College
 Myth: Most students are supported by their
parents and take advantage of available loans,
scholarships, and savings plans.
 Reality: Nearly 6 in 10 students who left college
without a degree say they had to pay for college
alone.
 Reality: More than 6 in 10 of those who
completed had help from parents or other
relatives.Source: Johnson, Jean and Jon Rochkind. “With Their
Whole Lives Ahead of Them.” San Francisco: Public
Agenda, 2009. www.publicagenda.org

9. Dispelling the Myths:
Why Students Leave College
Myth: Students who don’t graduate
understand the value of degree and the
consequences of leaving without one.
Reality: Students who leave college realize
that a diploma is an asset, but they may not
fully recognize the impact that dropping out
will have on their future.
Source: Johnson, Jean and Jon Rochkind. “With
Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them.” San Francisco:
Public Agenda, 2009. www.publicagenda.org

10. Dispelling the Myths About Ready Adults
(Data from South Dakota)
Ready adults performed better
academically than average students.
Why do most students leave? Life
Happens!
Illness/Injury
Work Obligations
Personal Problems
Health/Mental Health Issues
Schedule Conflicts
Financial Problems
Family Leave

11. Barriers and “Promising” Practices
Data
Academic Affairs
Student Services
Financing/Financial Aid
Communications/Marketing

12. Barriers – Data
Limited adult-specific data
Who are they?
How many are there?
Where are they?
Why did they leave?
How do they do once they reenroll?
How well does your institution serve adult
learners?

13. Promising Practices: Data
Identify and contact former students close to
degrees.
Objectively assess how well your institution
serves adults.
CAEL ALFI surveys
Disaggregate institutional data by age.
Conduct exit interviews.

14. Barriers – Academic Affairs
Residency requirements: last 30/15 hours
must be completed at the institution.
Credit for work-based prior learning and
competencies (PLA).
Skill “brush up” vs. full remediation.
Credit transfer.
Previous degree path no longer possible or
relevant.

15. Promising Practices: Academic Affairs
Robust but transparent and fair Prior
Learning Assessment.
ACE Military Transcripts
CAEL’s Virtual PLA
Reverse transfer.
F-L-E-X-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y.
Skill “brush-up” integrated into
adult coursework.
Alternative degree pathways.
Parachute degrees.

16. Barriers – Student Services
Pre-enrollment process usually targets
traditional students.
Confusion about how to navigate the system.
Many services available only during business
hours.
Advising and counseling services are often
designed with traditional students in mind.
Number of steps in the enrollment process.

17. Promising Practices: Student Services
One-stop “concierge” model.
“Secret shopping” to assess services for
adults.
Alternative business hours, modes of
delivery.
Professional development on advising non-
traditional students.
Create Adult Student Centers.

18. Barriers – Financial Aid
Lump sum tuition.
Limited financial aid options for adult/part-
time students.
Misperception that loans are not a useful or
desirable source of aid for adults.
Financial holds.
Incentives sometimes encourage institutions
to attract traditional students.

19. Promising Practices: Financing/Financial Aid
Monthly, automatic debit payment plans.
Present borrowing as a viable option for
adults (consider return on investment).
Examine financial aid programs limited to
traditional students.
Debt forgiveness, workout programs.

20. Barriers – Communications
Adults often hear messages that are
targeted to traditional students.
Overpromising.
“Whisper in a hurricane.”

21. Promising Practices: Communications
Secret shopping, communications audits.
Targeted, personalized invitations to return.
Selling “promising practices.”
Ready adults make compelling news features
= FREE exposure.

22. Now What? Making it happen…
Institutional buy-in, including support from
above.
Internal communications plan.
Solicit and incorporate feedback from
students, faculty, and administration.
Balance between serving non-traditional
students and “special” treatment.

23. Patrick Lane
Project Coordinator
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
plane@wiche.edu
303.541.0266
www.wiche.edu/ntnm

24. Connecticut Distance Learning
Consortium

25. Online Adult Success Center
Total = 4
Institutions
In 3 States

26. Problem to Be Solved
Targeting adult students slipping through
the cracks
Good Programs exist, but how do they
help adults who:
Work part time or full time
Raise Children
Struggle financially
Deal with the complexities of everyday adult
life?

27. Research Says…
Adult Student Retention
Horn & Weko, 2009: 49% of students who
enrolled for the first time had been retained at
or graduated from the institution
For students over 25, that percentage drops
to 38%

28. Research Says…
Student Retention Enhanced by:
articulating clear degree attainment goals
attending at least half time during their first
year
enrolling in a formal degree program

29. Research Says…
 Program Benefits are limited to “those that use
them.” (Karp, O'Gara, & Hughes, 2008)
 62% of the students believe that advising is very
important, only 13% access advising often;
 39% believe that tutoring is important, but only 7%
report using tutoring often (Community College Survey of Student Engagement
(CCSSE), 2008).

30. Research Says…
 Adults approach higher education in ways that
are unlike younger students, including:
 How they allocate their time amongst competing
priorities,
 How they approach their academic work in terms of
their past experiences. (Kasworm, 2000)

31. Program Goals
Increase Persistence via Online Coaching
help students create Success Plans,
identifying academic and career goals;
clarifying avenues to achieve goals
Help adult learners navigate the world of
Higher Education

32. Program Goals
Provide Access to Adult Focused
Resources
creating a returning adult check list;
college culture;
time management;
balancing family, work, and college life;
financial aid;
budgeting;
and study skills.

33. CTDLC
Director
Facilitates
Monitors
Schedules
Trains
Create Platform
Technical Support
Host
INSTITUTIONS
Market Hire
Pay
Meet Regularly
Set Policy Collectively
Supervise Coaches
Coordinators
CTDLC COLLABORATIVE TUTORING MODEL

34. The Collaborative Model
CTDLC Facilitates, Monitors, Builds
College Partners
Manchester Community College (CT)
Northwestern CT Community College
Middlesex Community College (MA)
Passaic County Community College (NJ)
Will be open to more 2 and 4 year
Institutions

36. Learning Counts:
An Online Prior Learning
Assessment Center
Cathy Brigham, Ph.D.
Higher Education Services
Learning Counts
The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL)

37. Higher Education Services
ALFI Consortium
Prior Learning Assessment
Adult-learner focused consulting
LiLAs
Publications and white papers
Conferences and webinars

38. How Can PLA Help?
The evaluation for college credit of the knowledge
and skills one gains from life experiences (or from
non-college instructional programs) including:
 employment
 travel
 hobbies
 civic activities
 volunteer service
 military service
Credit for learning, not just experience

39. Methods of PLA
 Standardized exams
 Challenge exams
 Evaluation of non-college training (e.g.,
corporate or military)
 Individual student portfolios
 Specialized training for assessors, advisors,
administrators
 Lack of resources – both human and financial –
at many institutions

40. Why PLA?
A College Board study of 1500 adults
rated “credit for prior learning policy” as
more important than “small class size” or
“availability of financial aid.”
A Kentucky survey indicated that the
opportunity to earn credit for prior
learning is one of 3 motivators for adults
with some college but no degree.
Contribute meaningfully to national calls
to increase degree and certificate
completion rates.

42. Graduation Rates
6%
13%
15%
43%
1%
0%
78%
44%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Did not earn PLA credit
(n=46,881)
Earned PLA credit
(n=15,594)
Did not earn degree or
credential
Other
Earned Bachelor's Degree
Earned Associate's Degree

43. Credit Accumulation, No Degree Earners
28%
12%
16%
13%
9%
22%
1% 2%
7%
16%
18%
56%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Earned few er
than 10% of
credits for
degree
Earned 10-
19% of credits
needed
Earned 20-
39% of credits
needed
Earned 40-
59% of credits
needed
Earned 60-
79% of credits
needed
Earned 80% or
more of credits
needed
Did not earn PLA credit
(n=23,101)
Did earn PLA credit
(n=1,800)

44. Time to Bachelor’s Degree
39.7
36.1
34.5
35.8
29.6
33.1
37.2
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
45.0
No PLA
Credit
(n=5,342)
1-6 PLA
credits
(n=860)
7-12 PLA
credits
(n=782)
13-24 PLA
credits
(n=1,170)
25-36 PLA
credits
(n=668)
37-48 PLA
credits
(n=161)
49 or more
PLA credits
(n=219)
MonthstoBachelor'sDegree

45. Time to Associate’s Degree
44.6
47.4
45.4
40.1
42.9
36.0
38.0
40.0
42.0
44.0
46.0
48.0
No PLA Credit
(n=1,906)
1-6 PLA credits
(n=230)
7-12 PLA credits
(n=176)
13-24 PLA credits
(n=78)
25-36 PLA credits
(n=55)
MonthstoAssociate'sDegree

46. Learning Counts
College Credit for What You Already Know
 Online PLA center
 National faculty pool, available to students
and unaffiliated individuals
 Academic advising
 Portfolio preparation course
 Transcript by ACE

47. Who Will it Serve?
Individuals already enrolled
 Support for institutions w/o programs
 Augment existing programs
Unaffiliated individuals
 Active duty military and veterans
 Workers in transition
Employers and industry groups
 Credential employees
 Document learning and identify skill gaps

48. Cathy Brigham, Ph.D.
Senior Consultant
Higher Education Services
Director of Faculty Development
Learning Counts
312.499.2651
cbrigham@cael.org
twitter.com/cathybrigham