Over the past 20 years, an estimated 30 to 35 million Americans have left college with some academic credit but no postsecondary credential. Such students are more likely to be students of color, have dependents, face unmet financial needs, or experience other hardships that cause them to struggle in degree programs. A study team drawn from across…

School re-entry for pregnant girls and young mothers is increasingly recognized by African governments as a critical measure to improve the education of marginalized adolescents and mitigate school pushout. In Uganda, the high rate of teenage pregnancy, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, prompted the government to approve "Revised…

This study uses Critical Discourse Analysis through a Critical Race Theory lens to analyze grant applications of community colleges that applied for funding to build or support programs for justice-impacted students. I analyze how colleges problem-frame the need for their program, finding that 'colleges' use of race-evasive and ahistorical…

This critical phenomenological study investigates the lived experiences of young women returning to secondary school after pregnancy in Malawi. Through the lens of "Ubuntu," an African philosophy on humanness, the article conducts an analysis of the driving and restraining forces affecting student mothers' schooling experience. The data…

Objective: States increasingly create promise programs to increase college enrollment and degree attainment. The objective of this study was to understand the experiences of adult learners using the Tennessee Reconnect Grant (TN Reconnect) as they transitioned to becoming college students. Methods: Drawing upon interviews with 23 adult learners,…

In recent years, the goal of 60 percent of adults holding a postsecondary degree has been set as a key benchmark for the United States to build a skilled workforce and remain economically competitive. Engaging adults with some college credit but no degree is critical to reaching this goal. Efforts to increase adult degree attainment, however, have…

The white paper synthesizes existing literature around higher education for formerly incarcerated individuals and describes the need for more work in this area. More than 650,000 individuals are released from state and federal prisons and return to the community each year. However, most programming and research have been concentrated on…

Federal education benefits for veterans represent a substantial investment--$18 billion since 2009 under the Post-9/11 GI Bill--in the development of a skilled American workforce. Unfortunately, this investment does not always pay off because many veterans encounter serious obstacles as they attempt to navigate the higher education system and the…

The new schooling-leaving age policy in New South Wales, a state in Australia, requires all students to stay at school until they are 17 years old. The policy was introduced in January 2010, with little warning and, it appears, little consideration of its impact in complex contexts. In south-western Sydney, the most diverse region in the city, the…

Access courses have been designed to facilitate entry to higher education, either universities or polytechnical institutions, for nontraditional students. Basic characteristics of access courses include clear entry criteria that target nontraditional students; no insistence on formal educational requirements; recognition of prior, experiential…

This document explains how tutors and managers in adult education programs across the United Kingdom can smooth the journeys of adults with mental health difficulties who are returning to learning. The handbook begins with suggestions for its use and case studies of two adult learners with mental health difficulties. Sections 1 through 4 discuss…