Meet the New Traditional Student: Adult Learners
Institutions that succeed in re-engaging the some college, no credential population stand to gain significantly in enrollment numbers, competitiveness in the marketplace, and workforce impact.
Recently, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) released its 2024 report, shining a light on the some college, no credential (SCNC) population. The overall number is massive—41.9 million adults in the U.S. have some college experience but no degree. Among them, 36.8 million are under 65, representing 18.1% of the U.S. adult population. This means millions of working-age adults have untapped potential, with education and career dreams put on hold and restrained economic mobility. According to Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the NSCRC, “Higher education regularly generates more students leaving school without a credential than returning to finish one, which is both a persistent challenge and a continuing opportunity for the system to improve and grow.”
In a series of blog posts, we will dig into how institutions can re-engage SCNC learners as a strategy to address the shortfall of enrollments by students ages 18-23 and our country’s urgent need for more skilled workers. The first steps? Find out who SCNC learners are, what motivates them to return, and how to formulate a strategy to reach former students who left school more than a year ago.
Understand the dynamics of the SCNC population
This year’s report revealed that the SCNC population has increased in nearly all states and will continue to expand. The average public university has over 10,000 “stopouts” in their database. But who exactly are SCNC learners?
- SCNC demographics reflect greater diversity compared to traditional undergraduates. This population is more diverse than the general undergraduate population, with learners who are Hispanic comprising 24.4% and learners who are Black 19.1% of this group.
- Age plays a critical role in SCNC engagement and success. Individuals aged 25 to 34 represent the largest segment of the population, accounting for 28% of the demographic. This age group is often balancing work and family commitments, which influences their academic goals and preferences for flexible learning options.
- There are demographic disparities in credential attainment. Despite higher re-enrollment rates among men and racially underrepresented groups, women, learners who identify as white, and those who identify as Asian are more likely to complete a credential within the first year or continue into a second year. This disparity highlights the necessity for tailored interventions to support underrepresented demographics in achieving educational success.
Understanding the demographics and dynamics of the SCNC population is crucial for institutions that want to create new sources of enrollment. The increasing diversity within this group emphasizes the need for targeted recruitment strategies that address the unique needs of underrepresented demographics.
For example, through our work with the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, we found that Black and Latinx learners are more likely to engage in ReUp Success Coaching than students of other racial/ethnic groups. Across all racial and ethnic groups, Black and Latinx learners also have higher re-enrollment rates. These insights indicate that underrepresented students benefit significantly from additional specialized support, like coaching, as they re-engage and re-enroll in school.
What motivates adult learners to return
ReUp has worked with tens of thousands of adult learners and this gives us insights that go deeper than demographics and speak to personal motivations. For example, more than half of the adult learners we’ve engaged have indicated a willingness or desire to return. The reasons that drive this motivation are the most important pieces of information an institution can have about an adult learner. What makes an adult learner want to try again, even if they are already balancing work and family responsibilities? Through millions of interactions with adult learners, ReUp data shows that the top motivation for finishing a credential is to achieve a personal goal.
One learner who worked with a ReUp Success Coach told us, “I’m a firm believer in finishing what you started, despite roadblocks and other issues that can sometimes entangle us or make us lose our way.”
Through regular, consistent communication, ReUp is able to provide adult learners with the right support at the right time so they can overcome challenges that can squash this motivation. Our methods include success coaches, outreach, surveys, SMS that delivers real-time feedback, resources, and program recommendations that help adults navigate a clear path toward their future.
We aggregate all the insights we gain through our outreach channels and share them with our partners, along with recommendations for resources and programs, changes to policies, and financial incentives that make it possible for adult learners to return and persist.
Expand beyond potential completers and recent stopouts
The NSCRC report highlights a group within the SCNC population known as “potential completers.” These learners attended college for a significant period, putting them close to earning a credential, but left without finishing. Potential completers re-enroll at nearly three times the rate of other SCNC students and earn credentials at nearly twice the rate of their peers. This can seem like a quick win for institutions.
When ReUp begins working with an institution, one of the first things we learn is how they are currently engaging their stopout learners. And what we tend to see is a very segmented approach – typically only engaging those who have been gone for a semester or two, or focusing on learners with over 90 credit hours. In other words, the low hanging fruit that has the highest ROI.
But these groups account for just one in eight of the close to 37 million SCNC adult learners under the age of 65. The vast majority are more than one year out from their last enrollment. Engaging these learners requires better data analysis and outreach that is both personalized and consistent. Many institutions do not have the internal capacity to engage this demo at scale, which is what it takes to do this work effectively.
Roughly 88% of ReUp’s database of over one million adult learners are age 25 or older. We regularly re-enroll learners who have been out of higher education for more than two years. For example, of the 3,454 adult learners we re-enrolled for our partner, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, roughly 28% had been away from college for four to six years; 13% left school over seven years ago.
A narrow focus on recent stopout students under the age of 25 contributes to our country’s enrollment and workforce crises. No one has been out too long to re-engage and re-enroll, and outreaching further than potential completers opens up a new pipeline of potential enrollments for your institution. It’s time to update the narrative that adult learners are somehow less desirable than traditional-age students. Of the adult learners we work with, about 30% have a 3.0 GPA or higher, proving that they are not typically low-performing. Most know they are capable of completing their credential–they just need the right support. Joel “Alex” Colon, an adult learner working with a ReUp Success Coach, told us,”For anyone doubting whether it’s too late to return to school, I’m proof it’s not. And having someone by your side makes all the difference.”
In part two of this series, we’ll explore the re-enrollment trends highlighted in the NSCRC report and how your institution can use that information to your advantage. Where are adult learners going and why? How can your institution become a place adult learners want to re-enroll?
Learn more about our work with adult learners and institutions of higher education through our case studies and learner stories. For our latest thoughts on how to support adult learners, follow us on LinkedIn.
Let’s start the conversation
Schedule a call with a ReUp team member to learn more about what a ReUp partnership could do for your institution.