This overview of the characteristics and needs of adult, nontraditional students attending community colleges argues that enhancing the self-concept and self-esteem of adult students fosters and increases their academic success and life chances. After chapter I introduces the issues and defines terms, chapter II provides a literature review covering the history, description, philosophy, purpose, and mission of community colleges; and theories about adult development, psychosocial development, and principles related to andragogy. This chapter also describes the characteristics of adult learners, indicating that the typical adult student has family and job obligations; has been away from schooling for a period of years; and tends to be stimulated to return to school by life transitions, which can also create anxiety and lower self-esteem. In addition, the literature review focuses on studies of the constructs of "self-concept" and "self-esteem"; the associated concepts of attribution, locus of control, self-efficacy, mentorship, pygmalion, and self-fulfilling prophecy; and the influence of the educational environmental. Chapter II also reviews the work of Knowles and Brookfield in the field of andragogy and their guidelines for establishing a conducive educational environment for interacting effectively with nontraditional adult students. Chapter III describes a workshop-seminar on the role of the learning environment in enhancing self-concept and self-esteem. The following seminar modules are described: (1) The Postsecondary Educational Setting; (2) Nontraditional, Adult Student; (3) Adult Development; (4) Self-Concept/Self-Esteem; (5) Associated Dimensions; (6) Learning Environment; and (7) Andragogy. A 50-item bibliography is attached. (JSP)