Since spring 2020, community colleges have lost nearly 830,000 students. Re-engaging and re-enrolling those students – particularly adult learners – presents challenges.
But community colleges “have an immense opportunity and an urgent responsibility” to bring back adult learners, say the authors of a new InsideTrack report. The report includes insight and case studies from community colleges working to reach and re-enroll adult learners, as well as a re-enrollment toolkit.
Five imperatives
Adult learners are not only juggling many competing responsibilities, but they also bring with them a wide range of work and learning experiences. There is no “one-size-fits-all solution to re-enrolling students and ensuring they persist,” according to the report.
The report offers five imperatives to guide colleges in the work of re-engaging and re-enrolling adult learners:
- Assess institutional readiness for re-enrollment.
- Tailor marketing and community outreach efforts to adult learners.
- Focus re-engagement outreach on the most viable students.
- Develop and implement a “first-point-of-contact” strategy.
- Guide students to – and through – the last mile.
Meeting students where they are
Starting the process of re-engaging adult learners requires some self-reflection. Colleges should take a holistic look at their marketing, admissions and registration processes and determine if they’re set up to meet the needs of adult learners.
City Colleges of Chicago encouraged current and prospective students to share feedback about its strategies for adult students. That revealed some uncomfortable – and important – truths.
“Some of that reflection has been a little painful,” Deputy Provost Stacia Edwards said. “Because in having those conversations we have come to realize that a number of the problems shutting adult learners out can be traced back to our own front door.”
As colleges prepare to welcome back adult learners, their marketing and outreach efforts need to speak to the needs of this demographic effectively. The report suggests building marketing around career outcomes, as well as highlighting flexible learning options, financial assistance options and wraparound supports and using images of adults in marketing campaigns.
Pitt Community College (PCC) in North Carolina understood that connecting education to career advancement is a compelling reason for stopped-out students to return to college. PCC partnered with local economic development agencies and the John M. Belk Endowment to host a career fair in 2021. The career fair made a direct connection between employment opportunities and skills needed. It drew more than 400 adult learners. PCC hosted a similar fair in 2022, which attracted nearly 450 learners.
Personalized outreach
But it’s not just important how colleges market – it’s also important where they market programs.
Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC) in rural North Carolina worked with faith-based organizations and libraries to reach prospective students.
“Visiting faith-based communities allowed us to engage adult learners who otherwise would be hard to reach,” said BRCC Vice President of Student Services Kirsten Bunch. “The conversations are really fruitful as we interact with people in their comfort zone, among their community, including some who might push back on the idea that education is for them.”
The report also suggests one-on-one outreach so colleges can better understand a prospective student’s life circumstances and reconnect them to their purpose for pursuing a credential.
“It’s about trying to understand who that learner is and how we best support them from the start,” said Kate Smith, president of Rio Salado College (Arizona).
The last mile
Many adult learners struggle to complete all the steps required to enroll. The report’s authors suggest institutions should provide a dedicated resource for these learners to help them navigate all the systems and structures.
Another tip: don’t rush the process.
“Campus administrators need to say, ‘We’re going to praise you for spending an hour with that person and getting them enrolled,’ as opposed to saying, ‘I’ve got 50 people waiting. Why are you taking so long?’” said Edwards from City Colleges of Chicago.
The real key is to have processes and people in place before even launching an adult learner re-enrollment initiative. Have a team dedicated to adult learner enrollment and have them map out the steps for the enrollment process from a student’s perspective. Institute a student progress and escalation process will highlight students who have stalled so staff can follow up. And, the report suggests, extend campus office hours to better accommodate adult learner lifestyles.
“It is incumbent on the institutions to ensure that campus staff and processes are responsive to the particular needs of adult learners,” the report’s authors say.
