Describes changing demographic trends in community colleges, referring to older students particularly. Advocates fuller understanding of the adult learner. Stresses: (1) the necessity of teaching how to learn and creating a desire to learn rather than transmitting knowledge, and (2) the importance of flexibility in delivery systems. (JG)

Suggests alternatives to traditional methods of "dispensing" higher education to lifelong learners, focusing on changing teacher responsibilities, older college students, crediting experiential learning, extending services to private and public agencies, and learning contracts. Cites two examples of using contract learning. (JM)

Reviews publications dealing with the teaching of French to adult workers for whom French is either a second language or native language. (AM)

Adult students enrolled in noncredit courses display a diversity of backgrounds, needs and motives. The importance of teacher accommodation of these factors is addressed, including such issues as homework, counseling, course structure, and student skills. (JMD)

Evaluates a comprehensive project in functional literacy education piloted at five sites in North Carolina. Provides information on student characteristics, levels of exposure and achievement, perceptions of the project, and determinants of achievement, revealing growth in student achievement, but no correlation between achievement and length of…

Analyses community-based recruitment techniques initiated by Moraine Valley Community College, Illinois, to stabilize enrollment, expand participation of the under-served, and increase the pool of college attendees. Delineates the eight goals of recruitment and the plan implemented at Moraine Valley. Discusses major activities and results. (CAM)

Discusses a program at Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology (Ontario) for educationally disadvantaged adults which integrates academic training in basic language, math, and social skills with technical skills training. Describes the application of basic skills training in an Advanced Food Preparation course. (JM)

A study to determine the effectiveness of the personalized system of instruction format used in the introductory economics course at Empire State College is reported. Also addressed are the ability of adult students in the personalized system to learn as much as students in conventional settings, and the explaining and predicting of adult…

Adult learners are a lucrative market but little has been said about the adverse impact of higher education on the lifelong learner. Misrepresenting education's benefits, making continuing professional education obligatory, and co-opting learning are areas in which adult learning may be adversely affected. (Author/JMD)

The failure-success ratio for older adults returning to complete university programs is three to one. Only 25 percent of unprepared adults make a C average. The cost of running remediation programs and duplication of efforts with other institutions raises questions for universities trying to be all things to all people. (Author)

Two key elements of the mid-career change phenomenon were examined in a research study: the mid-career students--their characteristics, goals, and educational/training needs; and the environments for learning and retraining created by community-level organizations. Data were gathered from student questionnaires and community visits. (JMD)

Examines the extension education services to part-time students contending that quality services can be accomplished when the institution as a whole begins to view off-campus part-time students not as second-class citizens who merely provide welcome sources of additional enrollments but as equal seekers of the benefits of postsecondary education.…

State policymakers' attitudes toward time-shortened degree programs were investigated through a questionnaire sent to legislators and directors of statewide governing or coordinating boards. Credit by examination and early college entrance are seen as among the best methods of time shortening; reducing requirements, among the poorest. (Author/LBH)

Discusses two current monograph publications that provide frameworks for adult learning approaches that stress active, participatory, and reflective learning experiences for early care and education professionals, in an effort to eliminate passive learning by adults. A constructivist teacher-education approach is drawn from both works. (SD)

Ascertains the influence of the development of receptive phonetic skills on the level of listening comprehension of adults learning French as a second language in a formal setting. Test results indicate substantial gains in phonetics by the experimental group and a significant difference between the performance of experimental and control groups.…