More than 82 million adults 25 years old and over have never enrolled in any postsecondary education, and another 43.1 million adults have some college credits, but no credential. Black, Hispanic, and Native American adults are disproportionately represented in both of these categories. But the fundamental structures and practices of colleges were not built with adult learners in mind, and particularly not adult learners of color.
A key takeaway from a previous project is that adult learners experience their institutions in a holistic manner. That is, although individual programs or supports may be helpful to them at a point in time, their overall experience at the institution is critical to their sense of belonging and confidence, as well as their experience navigating the college and successfully making enrollment “work with their lives.”
But a common barrier to better supporting the overall experience and success of adult learners of color is institution-wide motivation and capacity for advancing institutional change and implementing these practices. Activating institution-wide changes requires multiple units and divisions changing together, making changes to business process, systems, and curricula. To support institutions in making these institution-wide changes, AIR, with support from Lumina Foundation, conducted research on factors that contribute to, or hinder, successful implementation—what worked for institutions, why, and how that varies by institutional contexts.