Fostering Adult Student Success during COVID: 3 Key Takeaways for College Leaders

The road to recovery continues for U.S. colleges and universities–reporting steep declines in undergraduate enrollment for the fifth consecutive semester since spring 2020. According to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, approximately 1.4 million fewer undergraduates are enrolled today than before the pandemic. And this is particularly true for adult learners who dropped out at disproportionately high rates. But, as campuses return to regular operation, there are critical lessons that college leaders can draw from the pandemic about nurturing student success among adult learners.

Research suggests that adult students who pursue a postsecondary education degree or credential face complex barriers. Adult learners are more likely to work full-time jobs and juggle child-rearing responsibilities. They are also more likely to occupy multiple marginalized identities, with nearly seven of every ten student parents (68 percent) living with incomes below the federal poverty line. Moreover, students often come from racially or ethnically minoritized backgrounds (21-33 percent of Black, Indigenous, and people of color learners have dependents). 

The need for increased resources and support targeting adult learners appears most salient at two-year colleges. In addition to enrolling a sizable percentage of students 25 and older, community colleges serve an even larger demographic of part-time students (65 percent) than their four-year peers. And over half of older students (58 percent) delayed college enrollment for at least one year after high school degree completion (or equivalent)–a risk factor for early student departure from campus. 

For far too long, community college leaders have failed to address adult students’ holistic needs. For example, in a 2018 study centering the voices of student parents at Coastal City College in California, researchers found that participants faced considerable challenges securing their basic needs, difficulties accessing assistance with childcare, and perceived campus environments as unwelcoming. As one single mother from the study lamented:

“You’re dealing with the stigma -- ‘I am the only one in college that’s a single mom’ -- and if I am struggling – why don’t I just work full time and get the money and get the hell out of [community college] instead of me trying to pursue a higher education?”

These barriers partly explain why many community college systems witnessed a drastic enrollment decline following the onset of the pandemic. And with the rollback of Roe v. Wade, students raising children will have to traverse more significant barriers to college completion. But policymakers can do more to prevent the reproduction of inequality. While some federal support already exists to address the unique needs of older college students, such as student parents, increased aid will be critical to closing persistent gaps in college completion among adult learners. 

During the pandemic shutdowns, most college staff shifted to remote work, affecting the ability of student affairs educators’ to fully address students' needs. As a result, critical student support services were only accessible remotely. Spontaneous in-person conversations that often occurred before the pandemic were suddenly replaced with email forms or busy helplines, weakening relationships between students and college staff. In addition, many students lacked access to essential campus resources such as child care centers, computers, and reliable internet. Consequently, many of these students stopped out, citing difficulties balancing academic work with other pressures on their lives. 

Studies indicate that building trusting relationships is vital for facilitating help-seeking behaviors and encouraging students’ use of campus-based resources. When educators are careless in customizing engagement efforts to connect students to campus, evidence suggests they become disengaged and disconnected, resulting in their temporary or extended departure from campus or underutilization of crucial institutional resources. 

College leaders should adopt intentional policies and practices to support adult students, especially student parents, who often hold several marginalized identities. 

Here are some ways to do that:

Implement a proactive advising strategy. New research suggests that proactive advising can foster more positive, meaningful, and trusting relationships between students and college staff, cultivating feelings of belonging and social ties to the campus. Federal and state policymakers should respond by offering under-resourced community colleges more funding to hire more qualified staff, which helps lessen capacity issues.

Improve campus-based resources for mental health support. In May 2022, President Biden recommended that HEERF funds be used for campus mental health services. College leaders should leverage HEERF and institutional funds to create a unified, holistic approach to hiring more racially diverse mental health professionals. Community college leaders should also consider forming partnerships with local community-based organizations with a similar mission. 

Lessen financial concerns and barriers. During our research, we found that many adult learners encountered financial hurdles as one of the primary reasons for stopping out since Fall 2020. Complicated administrative procedures for financial aid verification, course enrollment holds, and insecure basic needs were other sources of frustration. In March 2021, Education Secretary Cardona announced that colleges could utilize HEERF funds to reimburse themselves for lost revenue and other pandemic relief costs, including discharging unpaid tuition and fee balances and subsidizing child care services for student parents. College leaders, such as financial aid officers, must take swift action to remove existing financial barriers and concerns that undermine adult student enrollment and persistence leveraging HEERF and institutional funds.

The needs of adult learners are diverse; therefore, solutions require innovative yet flexible approaches. Through proactive academic advising and targeted support, colleges across the U.S. have found it helpful to meet students where they are. But, more importantly, swift action by Congress and college leaders will help ensure that our most vulnerable students return to campus, complete their programs of study, and competitively (re)enter the labor market, especially in occupations projected to see rapid growth.

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