Five Most Critical Needs of Adult Students
Adult learners have some specific needs institutions must fulfill to help support their success in higher education.
Last fall, my university conducted the Noel-Levitz Adult Learner
Inventory for the second time. The inventory asks students to rate the
importance of, and their satisfaction with, 77 statements about their
educational experience. I was struck by the similarity of the results
between when we first administered the survey in 2008 and those from
2012. For the most part, the needs of adult learners have remained
fairly constant, although their expectations for how those needs should
be met have dramatically changed. Based on my experience with adult
learners, I believe five of the most important elements to help adult
learners succeed in higher education continue to be:
1. Programming that works with their schedules
Adult learners continue to rank the convenience of their schedule and
the location of courses as critical. Initially, I was surprised
flexibility continued to rank as a top concern since more adult students
in 2012 were unemployed and taking full-time course loads than in 2008.
However, this likely reflects the fact that adult learners are
primarily in school to either improve their occupational skills or to
prepare for a new or different career. Plus, most adult learners have
dependents at home. Thus, they need to finish their degrees as quickly
as possible to return to, or advance in, the workplace, but they must
have flexible options in order to fit courses into their weekly
schedules.
2. Relevant degree programs
Adult learners want programs aligned with their life and work goals.
They know they need a degree to advance their careers, but they have
specific occupational aspirations. Among those completing the 2012
survey at my institution, the top five majors were (in order):
organizational leadership, nursing, computer information technology,
business administration and education. Some of these majors pursued by
adult students support the need for advancement in their current
occupations while others, such as nursing and education in particular,
suggest students are looking to change careers.
3. Clear expectations
Time-conscious adult learners want to know what is expected of them
with regard to completing their degrees. They expect their advisors to
be clear and knowledgeable about degree requirements. Beyond advising,
they want to be able to access institutional information when it is
convenient to them, in a variety of methods including online and via
email, fax or telephone. Timeliness of response is the key, and may
challenge the “8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.” mindset of administrative offices
throughout many traditional institutions.
4. Feedback from instructors
Faculty who frequently teach adults are well acquainted with this
expectation. Adults want formal feedback via graded assignments, but
they also seek informal feedback as they progress through their courses.
Many of them have not been in a classroom for years; often, their first
attempts at college result in poor academic performance. Therefore,
they lack confidence in their academic abilities and need reassurance.
Sometimes, this need for feedback results in conflict between adult
learners and their instructors. I often tell faculty who are new to our
adult programs to be as clear as possible about how and when students
can expect to receive feedback. Related to this is a strong disdain for
assignments that may be viewed as “busy work.” Adults want to know what
they are learning and how it relates to the subject matter and their
overall lives. Instructors who can articulate the learning outcomes of
their courses and relate them to broader degree program objectives are
typically very respected by adult learners.
5. Acknowledgement of prior learning
Increasingly, adults want opportunities to receive credit for prior
learning. I believe this stems from both personal and financial needs.
On a personal level, adults want validation that what they have learned
through their work and volunteer experiences matters. Similarly, they
want to trim the total cost of their education, and with good reason:
they are now largely paying for their education themselves. When I began
working with adults in 1997, the vast majority relied on tuition
reimbursement from their employers to cover their tuition. In our 2012
survey, only 22.75 percent of adults were using tuition reimbursement,
compared to 31 percent in 2008. Similarly, reliance on loans is up from
52.3 percent in 2008 to 58.6 percent in 2012. Adults need, and want, to
contain costs through prior learning opportunities. At my institution,
we are actively working to increase the number of courses that can be
obtained through testing and portfolio options. We are particularly
focusing on competency -based options.
The options available for us to address student needs continue to
change rapidly through new technologies and partnerships but, at the
core, the needs of our adult learners have not changed dramatically.
