This paper examines the needs of the adult learner and how these needs are being met at Kent State University, Ohio, and by other colleges and universities. Factors explaining the rise of adult learning on college campuses and demographic information on the current adult student population in colleges and universities are presented. Reasons for returning to school, and differences between traditional and non-traditional students are examined. Institutional, situational, and dispositional barriers confronting adult students are discussed, and strategies to overcome those barriers are offered. Current services for adult learners at Kent State University are described in relation to the barriers discussed in the preceding section. Results of a survey of 31 institutions of higher education concerning their services to adult students are summarized as they respond to the institutional, situational and dispositional barriers. Differences among the institutions surveyed are examined, and recommendations for changes and for implementing changes at Kent State University are provided. The adult services questionnaire used in the survey is appended. (LLL)