In reviewing the diverse range of work that colleges embarked on during the REACH initiative, the evaluation team identified two broad themes. The first, being intentionally adaptable, involved finding ways to bring services to where students are and embracing flexibility in the delivery of courses. The second, building strong relationships on campus and in the community, involved building trust and partnerships with community organizations and industry, forming coalitions of the willing on-campus, and cultivating anchoring relationships with adult students. Weaving through these practices are several values, which we believe are important for institutions to adopt in cultivating adult-centered college ecosystems.
These values include: flexibility, humility, consistency, care, relationality, and commitment.
These values and actions emerged from various “aha moments” that college leaders shared with the evaluation team. For example, faculty across colleges emphasized the importance of honoring adult students’ dynamic and complex lives outside of the classroom that shape how they are able to engage. This recognition led faculty to be more mindful of students’ family and caregiving responsibilities, transportation barriers, pedagogical preferences, learning anxieties, life challenges, and work-related obligations among other factors. Another essential moment of insight for college leaders was seeing the college as part of the fabric within a broader community, which led to new and stronger partnerships and relationships with organizations, tribal nations, agencies, and employers off-campus.