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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2001

Financial aid and previous higher ed experience bolster success of adult learners

New study compares adult student success in traditional and accelerated postsecondary programs.

INDIANAPOLIS — Recent figures show that adult learners account for 41 percent of students enrolled in degree-granting, postsecondary institutions. To better serve this growing population, many colleges and universities now offer accelerated courses, which may last only five weeks and include as few as 20 classroom hours. Some researchers predict that 20 percent of all adult college students will be enrolled in accelerated programs within 10 years.

Despite the dramatic growth in accelerated programs, little research has tested their effectiveness. A new study, commissioned by Lumina Foundation for Education, offers insight into the success and persistence of adult students (25 and older) in accelerated and traditional programs.

In the fall of 1999, Regis University at Denver, Colorado, and the University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) began a two-year collaborative study to identify the factors that influence adult learners' graduation and grade point average. Researchers tracked enrollment patterns for students entering both institutions from Fall 1993 through Fall 1999. Regis University is a private, Catholic university with 13,500 students, most of them enrolled in accelerated programs; UMKC is a public university with 11,000 students enrolled primarily in traditional programs.

The study revealed that adult learners benefit from having significant prior college experience before enrolling in four-year colleges. At both institutions, students with more transfer credits were more likely to earn degrees. Also, adult learners with higher grades were more likely to persist and succeed at both institutions.

"The results indicate that we need to help adult students succeed early in their college experience," said Raymond Wlodkowski, co-author and primary investigator of the study and director of the Center for the Study of Accelerated Learning, School for Professional Studies at Regis University. "A postsecondary education should not be a sink-or-swim proposition. We can improve adult student retention by building confidence and providing financial assistance to this important student population."

Other significant findings include:

• Financial aid plays a fundamental role in the retention of adult learners. At Regis University, adult students who received financial aid were three times more likely to persist to the next semester. This effect was stronger at UMKC, where adult students who received financial aid were more than four times as likely to persist.
• Adult students, in many ways, have retention issues similar to the 'traditional' college student. Early college success and need-based financial aid help both groups progress to graduation.



• The study also suggests that women may be more likely to succeed in accelerated learning. Women are twice as likely as men to graduate within six years at Regis University, but are two times more likely than men to drop out after one term at UMKC. Among the students enrolled in the fall of 1999 at UMKC, women also are less likely than men to persist to the spring semester.

For the study, Learning in the Fast Lane: Adult Learners' Persistence and Success in Accelerated College Programs, Wlodkowski and his co-authors reviewed records for 459 adult students who entered Regis University and 370 adult students who entered UMKC in Fall 1993 and tracked their progress until Fall 1999. The study also includes results from a survey taken to assess the internal and external factors affecting the academic lives of the 321 adult students at Regis University and the 253 adult students at UMKC in Fall 1999.

"As the definition of the 'traditional' college student continues to change, we need to focus on how institutions must tailor themselves to meet the needs of the 21st century student," said Martha D. Lamkin, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation, a private, Indianapolis-based foundation. "These results should serve as a steppingstone for a future focus on adult learners. Lumina Foundation plans to address the unique needs of nontraditional learners with additional research, grants for innovative programs, and communications initiatives."

A complete copy of the report is available on the Lumina Foundation Web site (www.luminafoundation.org) among its New Agenda Series publications. Printed copies of the report are also available. To obtain a free copy, please send an e-mail request to pgriffin@luminafoundation.org.

Lumina Foundation for Education, one of the nation’s 60 largest private foundations, is dedicated to expanding access to education beyond high school.  By supporting research, innovative programs and communications initiatives, Lumina Foundation plans to help improve financial access, student retention and opportunities for nontraditional learning.

For more information, contact Sara Murray-Plumer, director of communications, at 317-951-5493 or splumer@luminafoundation.org