A post-traditional learner is a student who has at least one of the following characteristics: is financially independent, delayed enrollment, employed full-time, enrolled part-time, has children, obtained a GED or high school certificate, and/or is a single parent. This study addresses how faculty-student interactions influence post-traditional…

Veterans are a growing student population in institutions of higher education in the U.S., and universities adopt a variety of marketing efforts to recruit them. With a focus on university marketing messages as a targeted and public way for universities to attract student veterans, the current study examines how student veterans are framed and…

This quantitative study investigates the impact of four types of discussion activities on adult learners' asynchronous online interactions. Specifically, this study aims to understand how different discussion activities incorporated into online discussion boards motivate adult learners' online participation. The four discussion activities are…

This study was conducted at a small public university located in New Mexico, in the southwest area of the United States. The purpose of the study was to understand persistence to degree attainment of undergraduate nontraditional Hispanic women (NTHW) students at an institution which is Hispanic-serving (HSI). Challenges for NTHW students on the…

Prior learning assessment (PLA) uses testing or competency portfolios to assess and grant credit for college-level learning, thus offering personal and professional empowerment to adult learners. The purpose of this review was to systematically examine global academic literature related to PLA over a decade. An earlier review of U.S. literature…

Perceived social support and stress have been extensively examined in the literature. However, changes in online technology and changing student demographics have brought the question of whether online social support has the same benefits or effects as offline support among college students. The present study examined the role of social support…

The purpose of this qualitative interpretive study was to explore how 43 educators from Ecuador made meaning of a nine-month international continuing professional education (CPE) program at a higher education institution in the United States. Often categorized generally as study abroad, international CPE encompasses unique modalities focusing on…

Acquiring and improving advanced foreign language communication skills are considerable challenges for graduates, especially when they require a specialised approach. Additionally, their specific needs and time limitations condition their possibilities of getting suitable programmes once they finish their higher education. This research tries to…

This conceptual article asserts the importance of building and sustaining trust between higher education students and practitioners within the online environment. Instilling trust can construct sustainable learning environments that are abundant with collaborative inquiry and dialogue. In this article, we highlight and investigate the conceptual…

Nontraditional students represent a large percentage of the population in higher education, yet some institutions may be better suited than others to serve their needs. This research took place at a small, healthcare-focused university that attracts many nontraditional students, so I sought to gather information about the quality of their…

Adult students and are a rapidly growing population in U.S. higher education. Yet limited scholarship has centered on the voices of adult learners and explored the complex roles that family play in their decisions to enroll and their motivations to persist in college. This study begins to fill that gap. In a grounded theory study using individual…

The increasing number of adult learners in higher education is a trend that has been observed in recent years. An impetus for this trend is the need for upskilling and re-skilling in order to stay relevant and employable in today's world of globalised knowledge. However, finding uninterrupted blocks of time to study in adult learners' busy…

The issue of proximity for adult students has become increasingly salient as age demographics shift in higher education and states propose initiatives to increase adult degree completers. One way of alleviating proximity barriers for adults at universities has been to increase online courses and degrees. Nationally, online education experienced…

In navigating the current climate of higher education in the United States, university faculty and staff are increasingly tasked with doing more with less. In this article, we explore the value of micro-credentials as a way to benefit both students and universities. We include an account of the successful creation of several graduate certificate…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on adult education programs throughout the world, abruptly transforming in-person instruction to distance teaching/learning. Can the lessons learned from adult students, especially related to the "digital divide," be leveraged to enhance adult education and create more inclusive policies…