ERIC Number: ED241733
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1983
Pages: 24
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Adult Student. Research Findings from the Wisconsin Assessment Center. Volume I.
Wisconsin Univ., Green Bay. Assessment Center.
Since 1980, 10 separate studies were conducted to investigate issues related to adult students at the University of Wisconsin (UW). The first of these research efforts was a cohort study that revealed more similarities than differences among the adult students enrolled at UW and their nonenrolled cohorts. Based on a study entitled the Trigger Study, researchers concluded that job and family circumstances are the factors that are most likely to trigger adults to return to school. The remaining eight studies focused on student transcripts, graduate follow-up, homemaker participation in college programs, academic skills, admissions, study habits, retention, and UW center system study. According to these studies, adults who graduated from UW proceeded through college at a fast pace, averaging almost a full course load per semester. Those adults who graduated found their college experience overwhelmingly positive, with 98 percent of those surveyed saying that they would work for a degree again if they had it to do over. About half of the employed graduates reported increases in job responsibilities, pay, status, or job security as a result of getting their college degree. In addition, those homemakers who returned to college reported impressive personal gains. The academic skills of adult students generally compared favorably with those of the younger students, and their study habits showed more similarities than differences when compared with those of younger students. (MN)
Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Adult Education, Adult Students, Demography, Educational Benefits, Enrollment, Enrollment Trends, Followup Studies, Graduate Surveys, Outcomes of Education, School Holding Power, School Surveys, Student Characteristics, Student Educational Objectives, Study Habits, Vocational Followup
Wisconsin Assessment Center, LL805, 2420 Nicolet Drive, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, WI 54301-7001.
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Wisconsin Univ., Green Bay. Assessment Center.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A