Colleges and universities across the United States are turning to non-traditional programs to help keep revenue afloat as traditional-aged students drop in numbers. As colleges turn to this source of revenue, many are doing so without proper guidance or evaluation of recent, relevant research on best practices for how to evaluate marketing…

Since its inception almost 30 years ago, BC Student Outcomes has looked at the outcomes of students who have taken associate degree, diploma, and certificate programs. Subsequent study or further education has always been considered an important outcome for the students who leave these programs. Each year for the last two decades, between 40 and…

The ever-increasing spread of English as the language of global communication leads to ever-increasing demand for learning it among adult populations of non-English-speaking countries. If such people did not have a chance of acquiring English during their school or university years but urgently need it for professional or personal purposes, they…

Proponents of a blended course paint an ideal picture of participants leisurely learning and reflecting on how they can apply their new knowledge. The reality is of course much more complex, especially in the lives of working adults. This study sought to understand the complexity better through analysing the experience of 123 participants enrolled…

This action research project explored the use of gestures for teaching and learning French vocabulary in an upper-beginner adult classroom with 21 students from various language backgrounds. Over the course of 4 weeks, the teacher developed and used 4 sets of themed activities using both teacher- and student-generated gestures to introduce new…

This paper examines ageism among older students in U.S. higher education. Ageism involves any uncalled-for reaction to any age and does not require racism and sexism to exist. Social closure theory is the research framework used in this analysis. The theory posits that specific parties (i.e., in-groups) gain benefits by closing off favorable…

This qualitative study examined the identity of doctoral students in their quest to become scholars. The research question asked: What impact did a Community of Practice have on the doctoral students? The findings illustrated that on the journey the participants struggled to integrate multiple identities and roles. They also refined their…

Online learning has an important place in widening access and participation in higher education for diverse student cohorts. One cohort taking up online study in increasing numbers is that of mature-age, first-in-family students. First-in-family is defined as those who are the first in their immediate family, including parents, siblings, partners…

The adult learner has experienced a massive change in learning options. From a traditional face-to-face classroom with the professor imparting knowledge to a mobile digital learning venue that encourages self-direction and transformative learning, the student is the focus and the professor becomes the facilitator. Adult learners seek out learning…

Historically, older and lower-skilled adults in the U.S. have participated in Adult Education and Training (AET) at lower rates than other groups, possibly because of perceived lack of return on investment due to the time required to recover training costs. Global, knowledge based economies have increased the importance of lifelong learning for…

Writing anxiety is one of the most essential factors influencing language learning. The current study is to explore the effect of sentence-making practice on reducing writing anxiety of two classes of adult EFL learners, one in low-intermediate level (LI learners), the other in high-intermediate level (HI learners). Two classes received two-week…

The 44th annual conference of the Adult and Higher Education Alliance (AHEA) was held at the University of Central Florida in March 2020. Papers in these proceedings include the following: (1) Enhancing Pedagogy in the Virtual Classroom: An Exploration of Qualitative Student Assessment (Jeff Aulgur); (2) Does Gender Influence Major Selection?…

This paper examines the literacy and post-literacy needs of rural women in Nepal, describes a pilot study in using community radio to supplement a classroom-based post-literacy programme for these women, analyses the findings of this intervention and considers the implications for similar programmes in other settings.

Nonprofit private colleges lag behind their public and for-profit counterparts in offering online programs. Many nonprofit private colleges affiliated with the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) launched their first online programs within the past five years. As a result, administrative structures to manage online programs at…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the motivational orientations of non-traditional adult students to enroll in a degree-seeking program based on their academic goal. The Education Participation Scale (EPS) was used to measure the motivational orientations of participants. Professional advancement, cognitive interest, and educational…