Faculty, administration, and student veterans at a small midwestern community college collaborated to develop a Veterans Resource Center, a physical space in which veterans can congregate to build camaraderie and find resources specific to their needs as veterans. A needs analysis was first conducted to prioritize the needs of the student veteran…

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) has been available at the undergraduate level for decades. This article provides information to encourage institutions to consider implementing graduate-level PLA. It provides an analysis of the increasing demand for graduate education in the U.S. and shows the growing number of non-traditional graduate students who…

Undergraduates need to develop critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and deep understanding of concepts. Concept maps are considered an educational tool that promotes meaningful learning and that has demonstrated potential effects in the learning process. Based on studies carried out in adult/higher education, the aim of this review is to…

Andragogy provides a framework for how adults learn, and contemporary researchers have explored its validity and usefulness in varied contexts. This article joins the discussion by examining andragogy in an as-yet-unstudied setting--an outdoor science education event (HJA Day). In this mixed-methods study, we examine how andragogy applies to HJA…

The role of the academic department chair is arguably one of the most challenging in institutions of higher education, yet for the most part these academic leaders receive little training for the variety of management and leadership functions they are expected to perform. The lack of training for chairs is due to a number of factors, including…

What makes one adult student persistent? What makes another student bound for failure? In this article, we will explore the literature available since 2000 on the subject of adult student persistence. This study is in several sections. One deals with the factors that students bring with them into college, i.e., the background or internal factors.…

Keep it simple. Focus on the students. Those may be the most important takeaways from the experience of the partnering of two educational institutions for the past eight years to ensure that students consistently and happily graduate with bachelor's degrees. Adult students over the age of 25 juggle many priorities and have responsibilities that…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perception of employability and success among workforce education and development (WED) graduates. A quantitative study was conducted through the administration of an online survey to graduates (N = 85) of a WED program located within a midwestern, state university. The survey included demographic…

Little is known about the experiences of lesbian and gay faculty and students in continuing education. In order to address this gap, this article introduces and discusses a research project conducted to understand the struggles and accomplishments of both lesbian and gay male faculty and students in continuing education (CE) in university…

Universities across the United States are grappling with both funding and enrollment pressures and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Decreasing state funding coupled with lower birth rates of the recent past (Grawe, 2018) are forcing colleges and universities to rethink enrollment and retention strategies. Amid the push to…

This study investigated students' Internet attitudes and feelings of connectedness in their graduate programs using a quantitative survey design approach. Two modified instruments were administered to students in graduate programs at a small, land-grant university. One hundred forty-three graduate students completed the online survey. Findings…

Failure to thrive among nontraditional graduate students--whether by attrition, degree noncompletion, or failure-may represent an inability to manage competing demands rather than an inability to perform academically. University personnel have considered themselves limited in the ability to support non-traditional students to overcome nonacademic…

Improved educational technology provides new opportunities and tools for enhanced teaching and learning. However, low efficacy with technology adversely affects nontraditional students' course and college outcomes. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine nontraditional student perceptions of educational technology tools. We…

Faculty members often collaborate on research and service projects, but teaching remains a relatively solitary activity (Gizir & Simsek, 2005 ; Ramsden, 1998 ). While students attend classes taught by various faculty members, faculty members remain largely unaware of the innovative and pedagogical improvements in teaching made by their…

Adult learners are a growing population in U.S. postsecondary education who experience distinct barriers to academic success. However, higher education institutions continue to create and adhere to policies that favor traditional college students. Thus, adult learner experiences must be better understood to ensure this population is supported.…