Who are adult undergraduates? How do we define this specialized clientele for program designs, support services, and research? Given changing profiles of young collegiate adults as part-time, worker, parent, and e-learning students, how do we differentiate these younger adults from our older adult undergraduates for our services and advocacy?…

Historically, characteristics of student persistence and graduation completion were most often linked to strategies which honored the full-time residential younger undergraduate. Adult students have been viewed as high-risk and typically problematic students for continuous enrollment and degree completion. This article explores the key paradoxical…

Adult undergraduate student identities at research extensive universities were uniquely coconstructed, shaped by this selective and competitive youth-oriented cultural context. Drawing upon social constructivist theory, this study explored this coconstruction through positional and relational adult student identities. Positional identities were…

Learning is an act of hope. Although adults enter learning experiences from many frames of emotion and cognitive beliefs, each views this experience as the purposeful choice for a new and different future, a future of hope and possibilities. For adult learners, the pursuit of higher education is a choice and a life-changing engagement. Given the…

Who are adult learners in higher education, and how do they differ from younger college students? In this chapter, the author presents an overview of adult student enrollment patterns, their participation motivators, and their lifestyle differences from younger college students. (Contains 13 references and 2 tables.) (Author)

A qualitative study of an accelerated, cohort-based degree program identified four elements supporting adult learning: program structure, relationships, student identity, and beliefs about learning. A model of adult engagement in accelerated programs was developed with these components: adult competence, commitment to action, and work identity.…

Adult learners have limited power, privilege, and advocacy in higher education settings. Adult educators should resist hegemonic policies and develop practices grounded in democratic principles. (Contains 35 references.) (SK)

Accelerated learning fills a much-needed role for nontraditional learners. Its popularity and success suggest models for more effective and less costly reforms in higher education. It also requires close monitoring of quality, student outcomes, and the potential for commercialization. (SK)

This study examined patterns of coursework and levels of involvement of 1,099 adult students to evaluate whether some key factors commonly used to predict undergraduate students' academic performance are appropriate for use with this population. Results suggest traditional models are inappropriate for this large and growing proportion of the…

Presents an overview of behavioral effects of neurological disorders. Presents Gagne's model of the learning sequence (apprehension, acquisition, storage, and retrieval) to aid in the identification, design, and evaluation of instructional intervention techniques for neurologically impaired adults. (Author/SK)

Students older than average have usually been defined as adults 25 years of age or older. Research findings note that these students appear to be a different kind of learner than younger students. Older students are more mature, have a well developed analytical-problem-solving capacity, tend to be more motivated, are more goal oriented, spend more…

Assessed younger and older undergraduates' differential usage and perceived need of and satisfaction with student personnel and academic supportive services at a major public university. Results point to differences between these two groups and suggest four general perspectives regarding present supportive services in relation to the older-student…

Reports on a study of the intellectual and socio-emotional orientations of younger and older (over 26 years) undergraduate students. Describes a typology of characteristics of the two groups and discusses the effects of age, circumstances, and prior life experiences upon student motivation and learning. (SK)

Research on adult undergraduates in traditional American higher education is reviewed. A qualitative meta-analysis of 96 research reports indicates 5 domains of reality: image of implied deficiency; image of student entry and adaptation; image of description and characterization; image of psychosocial development; and image of equity and outcome.…

The status of higher education for nontraditional, adult students in a variety of countries is examined, looking at national enrollment patterns and at related public policies and programs. Unique and valuable alternative instructional strategies are found, many based on adult learning theory. (MSE)