by Dr. Jason Huett
I have taught online courses for eight years now. Additionally, in my work as the Associate Dean of Online Development and USG eCore, as a tenured Associate Professor at UWG, and as the 2013 President of the Distance Learning Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, I have heard countless stories from adult learners, both good and bad, about their experiences with “traditional” higher ed. On one end of the spectrum, I have seen teary-eyed gratitude for universities that have made the effort to offer adult-friendly degree programs that literally change lives for the better. On the other, raw frustration at universities from adult learners who just want the chance to continue their education and improve their lot in life but do not fit into the full time, traditional student paradigm. They feel ignored, marginalized, unappreciated.
Non-traditional students are the majority on college campuses across the US. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlighted that traditional students now make up only 29% of total college enrollments in the US, and future projections have adult enrollments far surpassing those of traditional students for the foreseeable future. In Georgia alone, there are more than 1.3 million adults with some college who never completed a degree for whatever reason. If even a fraction of those folks want or need to return to college, are we not obligated to help them?
For years, traditional universities have been slow to react to the demands of this growing audience and have largely ceded these adult learners to questionable for-profit institutions. However, rising college costs and associated student debt; reductions in state funding; soaring unemployment; demands from political leaders; and national movements like Complete College America have universities scrambling to find ways to better appeal to the new “traditional” adult student audience.
Adult learners require accelerated classes, online and hybrid formats, new advising and financial aid models, friendlier credit transfer policies, re-imagined student service models, and new avenues for competency-based and prior learning credit assessment. In short, transformational change centered on adult learners is upending many parts of the traditional education system, and it is about time. The silent majority is raising its collective voice, and we would do well to listen.
As public educators, we need to tackle this learning divide and challenge our assumptions about who it is we serve and how best to serve them. Our goal should be a better educated citizenry—of all ages.
Jason Huett, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean of Online Development and USG eCore.
