Home: Research Agenda: Adult learners research

Adult learners research

Selected research reports

Returning to Learning: Adults’ Success in College
is Key to America’s Future (PDF) — Lumina Foundation, 2007

Adult Learners in Higher Education: Barriers to Success and Strategies to Improve Results (PDF) — Jobs for the Future, 2007

Transitioning Adults to College: Adult Basic  Education Program Models (PDF) — National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, 2006

Tough Choices or Tough Times (PDF) — National Center on Education and the Economy, 2006

Paying for Persistence: Early Results of a Louisiana Scholarship Program for Low-Income Parents Attending Community College — MDRC, 2006

Fixing the Formula: A New Approach to Determining Independent Students’ Ability to Pay for College (PDF) — Lumina Foundation, 2006

Income of U.S. Workforce Projected to Decline if Education Doesn't Improve — National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2006

Waiting to Attend College: Undergraduates Who Delay Their Postsecondary Enrollment — National Center for Education Statistics, 2005

Tabular Summary of Adult Education for Work-Related Reasons: 2002-03 — National Center for Education Statistics, 2005

Improving Lives through Higher Education: Campus Programs and Policies for Low-Income Adults (PDF) — American Council on Education, 2005

Lifelong lessons: "Nontraditional" becomes the norm as adults blaze new trails to college — Lumina Foundation, 2005

Rio Salado College provides learning opportunities online, anytime — Lumina Foundation, 2005

To Ensure America's Future: Building a National Opportunity System for Adults — Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy, 2005

One Day I Will Make It: A Study of Adult Student Persistence in Library Literacy Programs — MDRC, 2005

Paths to Persistence: An Analysis of Research on Program Effectiveness at Community Colleges — Lumina Foundation, 2005

Participation in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning: 2000–01 — NCES, 2004

Keeping American's Promise: A Report on the Future of the Community College
(PDF) — Education Commission of the States and the League for Innovation in the Community College, 2004

Powerful Partnerships: Independent Colleges Share High-impact Strategies for Low-income Students’ Success (PDF) — Lumina Foundation, 2004

Adult Learners and State Policy (PDF) — State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) and Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), 2003

The Adult Learning Gap: Why States Need to Change Their Policies Toward Adult Learners (PDF) — Education Commission of the States, 2003

Participation in Technology-Based Postcompulsory Education — National Center for Education Statistics, 2003

Work First, Study Second: Adult Undergraduates Who Combine Employment and Postsecondary Enrollment — National Center for Education Statistics, 2003

Distance Education at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions: 2000-2001 — National Center for Education Statistics, 2003

Held Back: How Student Aid Programs Fail Working Adults (PDF) — Future Works, 2002

Early Exit: Understanding Adult Attrition in Accelerated and Traditional Postsecondary Programs (PDF) — Center for the Study of Accelerated Learning, School for Professional Studies, Regis University and Lumina Foundation for Education, 2002

Opening Doors: Students' Perspectives on Juggling Work, Family, and College, MDRC, 2002

Learning in the Fast Lane: Adult Learners' Persistence and Success in Accelerated College Programs (PDF) — Center for the Study of Accelerated Learning, School for Professional Studies, Regis University and Lumina Foundation for Education, 2001

Opening Doors: Expanding Educational Opportunities for Low-Income Workers — MDRC, 2001