The perceptions about online teaching and learning are frequently different from the reality. Some students say they expected the online course to be easier than the traditional face-to-face course and are surprised by the rigor, while skeptics decry the quality of online offerings since students cannot possibly learn as well online as they do in…

In 2011, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that, in the 24 to 54 age range, the United States ranked thirty-fourth among all for individuals with a postsecondary credential. For the United States to increase in rank, adult students, who are projected to increase by 1.9 million in postsecondary enrollment by…

There are many types of student portfolios used within academia: the prior learning portfolio, credentialing portfolio, developmental portfolio, capstone portfolio, individual course portfolio, and the comprehensive education portfolio. The comprehensive education portfolio (CEP), as used by the authors, is a student portfolio, developed over…

As institutions seek to promote student engagement, the National Survey of Student Engagement has become a measure commonly used to document how institutions are meeting educational goals, but there is some question as to its applicability for certain undergraduate populations. 2010 survey results were analyzed for 125 adult and 69 traditional-age…

Education practices focused on adult learners, such as prior learning assessment (PLA), are becoming more established in the United States. Initially, PLA was developed to provide greater access to higher education for World War II veterans and later for adult learners more generally as a way to balance the concentrated efforts most colleges and…

Adult learners bring a wealth of experience and prior learning to college. Much of this prior learning may, in fact, qualify for college credits, so many adults assemble portfolios and write learning narratives to demonstrate their learning and apply for credits. Despite their many skills and rich knowledge, however, adults are often unsure about…

The purpose of this article is to provide leaders of continuing education enterprises with an integrated model for sustaining strategic planning initiatives. Global economic conditions, shifting competitive forces, continuing calls for accountability, and dramatic changes in institutional funding streams contribute to an environment characterized…

This article discusses how faculty members feel about the growth and quality of distance, distributed, and online higher education. The twenty-first century university must innovate to survive as the Internet becomes the dominant source of knowledge and learning. The twenty-first century student connects with information differently than earlier…

Of 247 graduates of a management and organizational development program, 188 identified themselves as leaders; 155 responded to a survey of learning outcomes. Only 3 of 27 outcomes were frequently applied in their work (communication skills, flexibility to adapt to change, and adjustment to organizational culture). (Contains 63 references.) (SK)

Suggested principles for designing accelerated degree programs for adults are provided the following components of a model of adult learning: prior experience/personal biographies psychosocial and value orientation, the connecting classroom (relating life experiences and academic learning), adult cognition, the life-world environment, and college…

Registered nurses (n=344) rated the following as most influential on practice change after continuing education: potential benefit to patients, nature of the proposed change, and relevance to practice problems. A multivariate model of practice change was validated. (Contains 49 references.) (SK)

A study of 13 returning undergraduates over 26 showed that their definition of college success used primarily external standards, but internal criteria defined successful learning. Factors supporting/hindering success included life experience, maturity, motivation, self-monitoring, reinforcement, and the nature and quality of classroom…

A compulsory continuing education program for human services providers began with establishment of learning objectives and measurement of their achievement by pretests/posttests. The data were used by providers to improve courses and by learners to plan future training needs. (SK)

Matched pairs of 177 adult students in a cohort degree program and 165 in a noncohort degree program were surveyed. Cohort groups had higher grade point averages and significantly higher affective learning. Males, younger students, and those early in their program gained the most from cohorts. Overall cohort gains were not as high as those in…

A decade of distance education practice has shown the following: academic achievement is enabled, teacher role changes, effective distance teachers become better classroom teachers, cost-effectiveness is only one measure of success, turf issues still remain, technology drives programs, and there is a tendency to fit technology to old teaching…