The Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) provides leadership, professional development, advocacy, and communication for the field of adult education. In our leadership role, we often have the opportunity to recognize exemplary work taking place at the state and local levels. Such was the case with a grassroots training that was developed to…

Adult learners, including those who are employed at least part-time, have children or other family responsibilities, and are older than 25 years can benefit from the flexibility and convenience of online courses. In community colleges, adult learners enroll in online courses at a higher rate than in-person courses, but their success rates are low,…

The North Carolina General Assembly allocated funding for the expansion of adult learner initiatives. The North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) distributed $50,000 to each of the ten schools in FY 2022 which was from the John M. Belk Endowment (JMBE), other partners, and the state. The colleges were given until June 30, 2023 to spend the…

Recruiting in today's higher education landscape is not without challenges. Prospective students have options which means the market is saturated with advertisements and messages from postsecondary institutions of all types. And when you add the layer of recruiting students who are no longer in high school and often have competing demands, the…

In 2021, the John M. Belk Endowment (JMBE) launched NC Reconnect -- an initiative aimed at re-engaging adult learners in North Carolina. The goal of the program is to ensure adult learners across North Carolina have maximum opportunity to pursue a degree or credential at one of the state's 58 community colleges. Starting with five community…

NC Reconnect's goal is to ensure adult learners across North Carolina have maximum opportunity to pursue training at one of the state's 58 community colleges. NC Reconnect consists of two outreach components, re-engage adult students who previously earned some college credit but left without a credential, and deliver targeted communication to…

Real differences do exist among the generations in terms of attitudes, behaviors, expectations and motivations that have an impact at work and in the classroom, in spheres of activity like building teams, dealing with change, motivating and managing, and teaching. But community college leaders and other administrators and faculty can leverage…

In 2019, MDRC launched the Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) project to improve college completion rates for traditionally underserved students, such as students from low-income backgrounds and students of color, at community and broad-access colleges (those that have open or minimally selective admissions…

The CAEL (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) announce the inaugural winners of the Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) Equity Awards, recognizing strategies that have been proven to put CPL in reach of key adult learner populations and/or increase their CPL credit-earning.…

The rapid pace of technological change is revolutionizing every sector of the economy, transforming how value is created and delivered to consumers through technologies like robotics, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. This transformation underscores the need for a diverse workforce as the new skills valued and…

Many postsecondary institutions already recognize that adults comprise a significant portion of their student body -- or they may be starting to recognize the potential for serving more adults as they face declining enrollments from their traditional student pipelines. These institutions realize that they should have programs and services in place…

Under the leadership of Governor Ivey, the residents of Alabama are getting the post-secondary education needed for in-demand careers. The Alabama Community College System is tasked with promoting WIOA Title II adult education programs, postsecondary career and technical education programs, and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)…

Young adults today are the least happy demographic group, departing from a long-established U-shaped relationship between life satisfaction and age in many countries worldwide. The longstanding U-curve reflects the unhappiness and stress that most people experience in the midlife years as they juggle financial and family constraints while both the…

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) annually produces a report examining degree and credential production in Kentucky in the previous academic year (July 1 through June 30) and over the last five years. Using data from the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Data System (KPEDS), the report details the number and types of credentials…

Across the nation, community colleges are serving an increasing number of adults who are trying to learn new skills or return to the workforce. Some of these students offer particular challenges, such as newly released prisoners, older adults and veterans transitioning to civilian life. While each of these nontraditional populations has its own…