The increase in the number of youth under age 18 enrolling in federally funded adult basic and literacy education programs is a trend that is putting increasing pressures on programs designed to serve an adult population. Documenting the extent of the trend is difficult due to the way in which federal statistics on age of program participants have…

Nontraditional students are the fastest-growing segment of the postsecondary population. About 41% of students are over 25, and nearly 12% are over 40. Previously, the bulk of financial aid went to traditional-age, usually full-time, students in degree programs. Today, however, the sheer numbers of nontraditional students, including distance…