Support services
Adult learners who receive financial aid are more likely to continue with their education. Student aid can help low-income adults get the education and skills needed to increase their standard of living and quality of life. Many low-income adult students need to work while attending school. And, although a majority of these students applied for — and received — financial aid, the aid amount was drastically lower when attending school less than half time.
The American Council on Education (ACE) study
Low-Income Adults in Profile: Improving Lives through Higher Education (PDF) reveals obstacles that adult learners face. Among the findings:
- Fifty-seven percent of low-income adult students worked full time — mainly to pay tuition, fees and living expenses
- Low-income adult students who received financial aid in 1999-2000 received an average of $6,489 if they attended half time or more and $1,843 if they attended less than half time.
Lack of financial aid is one of the major barriers preventing low-wage workers from enrolling in and successfully completing postsecondary education. With funding from Lumina Foundation and several other funding partners,
MDRC is designing and testing innovative support services at community colleges in four states to help low-income adult learners succeed.
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Held Back: How Student Aid Programs Fail Working Adults (PDF), a report from
FutureWorks, investigates how student aid programs might better support adult learners' education and training needs. Among the report's recommendations:
- Amend the Hope and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits so they provide better opportunities for working adults to pursue skill development.
- Make less-than-half-time students eligible for some government guaranteed loans.
- Modify eligibility barriers in the Pell Grant program for less-than-half-time working adult students with dependents.
- Revisit eligibility barriers for short-term and flexible educational programs.
- Encourage employers to help poorly prepared adult workers gain postsecondary credentials.
