Abstract
As Americans remain in the workforce longer due to increased life expectancy, personal preference, and economic need, many adults seek education and training to gain the skills and credentials needed to start new careers or advance in their current careers. Community colleges, with their open access and focus on workforce preparation, are often highlighted as well suited to provide the education and training needed by adult workers. However, adults bring unique needs to postsecondary education that must be addressed to help them be successful, including the need for better access and services to support adult learners with disabilities. Numerous recent initiatives have focused on how to improve the success of a range of adult populations at community colleges, including working adults, low-skilled adults, and adults over age 50; none have focused on the specific issues of adults with disabilities. However, these different subpopulations may share common challenges and concerns in postsecondary education relative to younger students so that lessons from one adult subpopulation might be relevant to others, including adults with disabilities.
To generate lessons based on the recent activity in this area, this report synthesizes knowledge about how community colleges serve adults. The first section of the report provides background and context on adults at community colleges, and the second section details the methodology used in this research. Subsequent sections describe the findings on the following issues: the enrollment of adults at community colleges, recent initiatives that have sought to improve community colleges for adults, lessons from recent research on state policies and college practices to support adults at community colleges, the state policy and college practices related to adults’ enrollment, and research on student outcomes and the implications for what is known about state policy and college practice. The final section highlights recommendations for policymakers and practitioners seeking to better serve adults at community colleges, including adults with disabilities.