Undergraduate college-going is now undertaken well into adulthood, but knowledge about what leads individuals to enroll derives nearly entirely from the study of the "traditionally-aged". I examine whether and how predictors of enrollment vary as individuals progress through the life-course using nationally representative data from the…

This quantitative study utilized Tinto's model of academic attrition and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) to explore the educational attainment of a rarely studied group, single-father students. For the first question, "What effects do the parental status, marital status, and gender of a student have on educational…

Adult students are an important component of the current U.S education landscape. They account for over 40% of the degree-seeking fresh enrollees in the U.S. colleges and according to the U.S. Department of Education, their growth will soon outpace that of traditional students. Adult students have also received considerable attention in higher…

Analysis of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth samples shows that, for both associate degree and nondegree community college programs, returning adults experience the same earnings increases as continuing high school graduates. Returning males in nondegree programs receive an earnings effect 8-10% above that of continuing students. (SK)

Adult students (25 years old and over) currently constitute 43% of all college students. This paper investigates the importance of college timing in determining earnings. Findings show that those who complete college at a later age receive a significantly smaller initial earning increase than those who acquire their education earlier in life.…