In the past 15 years, American community colleges have experienced significant declines in enrollment among adult students. This was not a Covid phenomenon but started soon after the recovery from the Great Recession began.
As a partial strategy to counter this enrollment decline, many community college leaders advocated a federal policy change that would allow the use of federal Pell grants for short-term workforce programs. With the new legislation allowing Workforce Pell grants starting on July 1, it remains to be seen whether these rules will actually attract more adults. Given the enormous attention to this subject, there is surprisingly little empirical evidence to support many of the claims made by the advocates for Workforce Pell programs within the colleges or among workforce policy experts.
However, there is now some empirical evidence that offers insights into adult attendance at community colleges. In 2021, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer introduced a new program, Michigan Reconnect, which was designed to encourage adults to enroll in community college workforce programs. Michigan Reconnect provides free tuition for adults to attend their local community colleges and covers the majority of tuition for Michigan residents not in a community college district. Almost 83,000 individuals have enrolled to utilize the program at 30 Michigan public and tribal community colleges.
The Michigan Center for Adult College Success, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, recently released a report that highlights the findings from a survey of more than 9,400 Reconnect applicants. The report provides insights into their expected work-life-college concerns and expectations. While this evidence is only from one state, and the data are limited (it is for program applicants, who may or may not enroll), the survey responses contain some interesting and relevant information on what adults think about enrolling in postsecondary workforce programs.
Four observations
First, many of the adults registering for the program already had some postsecondary experience. Of the almost 9,400 respondents, 54% had attended a postsecondary institution but did not receive a credential. Only 33.7% had no college experience, suggesting that the adults most likely to be attracted to community college attendance are those who have had some college experience.
In addition, a significant minority (26%) held some credential, suggesting interest in prior learning assessment. The survey results do not tell us whether this experience was at a community college or four-year institution, nor how long ago it occurred, but they do suggest the majority of students who may be attracted to short-term Pell programs already have experience with higher education.
Second, the overwhelming majority of those attracted to Michigan Reconnect were already in the labor force: 85% of respondents suggest that they will need to balance working full-time and/or part-time jobs, and over 60% were employed for more than six years. Although they may be employed workers seeking a career change, this finding suggests that the respondents fit the pattern of “skill builders”: adults seeking a college credential to improve their work situation. It is not clear whether this includes a four-year credential.
In addition, only 25% indicated they were interested in transferring to a four-year degree program, another 25% indicated they are not seeking a four-year degree, and 50% were undecided. This suggests a need for targeted counseling efforts to determine if a four-year degree is vital to their career plans.
Third, responses regarding preferred learning modality were notably varied, with no single format emerging as dominant. While online (61%) and hybrid (51%) options garnered substantial interest, meaningful support for in-person learning suggests that adult students are not gravitating toward any one modality. Rather, this diversity of preferences underscores the range of needs and circumstances among prospective students, many of whom may already be working and balancing competing demands, and points to the importance of offering flexible program formats rather than assuming a single preferred mode of delivery.
Finally, respondents were asked about what challenges they would face in attending a community college program. Nearly 75% selected at least one major challenge outside of school. There were a variety of needs expressed: the caregiving for children or other dependents, food and housing insecurity, and physical and/or mental health barriers. Thirty percent of respondents selected more than one challenge, suggesting that support services for adults should be bolstered and tailored to their needs.
The case for support services
Looking at the implications of this data for Workforce Pell, it suggests that for short-term Pell programs to succeed, they need to be implemented with a full range of support services that are expressly targeted to working adults.
In general, the survey results paint a diverse picture of adult needs. They suggest that Workforce Pell and Reconnect programs may be attractive to some, but there are many adults who wish to attend community colleges that already have postsecondary experience and want to build upon their past efforts. To do this, they need support services targeted to their own specific family and work situations, as well as prior higher education experience.
