Introduction

Diminishing funding for public higher education coupled with ever-rising tuition costs have made access to higher education unobtainable for prospective students around the United States (Oh & Kim, 2023). This financial burden not only discourages postsecondary enrollment, but leaves students with detrimental amounts of student loan debt. Hence, it comes as no surprise that undergraduate enrollment at four-year institutions is projected to decline starting in 2025 (Dorn et al., 2020). Community colleges serve as an accessible option for adults looking to return to school. These institutions play a crucial role in providing access to higher education for students who may not have pursued further studies otherwise (Marcotte et al., 2005). Almost half of community college enrollments consist of adult learners aged 22 and above (American Association of Colleges and Universities, 2024), underscoring the vital support these colleges offer to mature students and recognizing their significant contributions to campus dynamics. Therefore, prioritizing support for adult learners in community colleges has become increasingly imperative in the current educational landscape. Statewide reconnect programs, like North Carolina Reconnect (NC Reconnect), are becoming increasingly popular in the United States to address this focus on adult learner access and attainment (Collom & Cooper, 2022).

In 2023, in the state of North Carolina alone, there were 1.55 million (57.0%) adults ages 25–44 who had obtained a degree or credential, with roughly 1.17 million (43.0%) who had no degree. Across the state, enrollment in K-12 and postsecondary institutions has declined since 2020 (Dukes, 2022), and postsecondary enrollment declined 6.2% between 2020 and 2021 (myFutureNC, 2023). Educational attainment is particularly important in North Carolina – which was named America’s Top State for Business for the second year in a row in 2023 (North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, 2023) – given the state-wide educational attainment goal of two million adults over the age of 25 with a high-quality degree or credential by the year 2030 (myFutureNC, 2021). In order for North Carolina to reach this goal and provide economic and social mobility for its citizens, colleges must engage and enroll more adult learners. There is increased national attention to recruit and retain adult learners to diversify student bodies and close the skills gap by creating a more educated workforce (Laboissiere & Mourshed, 2017). To bridge this gap in North Carolina and help the state reach its goal, the John M. Belk Endowment established NC Reconnect, a partnership between public, private, and nonprofit organizations with the goal of increasing adult learner enrollment and completion rates at community colleges in North Carolina (Breeden et al., 2022; VanZoest et al., 2023).

Reconnect programs, specifically those focusing on adult learners at community colleges, have grown substantially over the last decade as free-college and/or scholarship programs that help community colleges enroll adult learners and increase adult learner degree and credential attainment rates (Collom et al., 2021). To date, there are more than 17 reconnect programs across the country supporting community colleges and alleviating barriers that prevent adult learners from obtaining a certificate or postsecondary degree (Schwartz, 2021). Many of the reconnect programs, including those in Tennessee and Michigan, provide financial aid in the form of last-dollar grants or free-tuition scholarships to adult learners (Collom et al., 2021; Lee et al., 2019; Quealy, 2021).

What makes NC Reconnect unique from other programs is how it builds upon funding assistance for community colleges and also provides institutions with professional development, marketing, and research support. To aid this process, partnerships with not-for-profit student coaching organization InsideTrack and external communication support from local and regional marketing firms have served as key resources for participating colleges to utilize as they reenroll adult learners who had previously taken classes but not earned a degree or credential (Breeden et al., 2022).

Over the past three years, the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research at North Carolina State University (the Belk Center) has led research and evaluation efforts about the adult learner student journey as a part of NC Reconnect. As a result of NC Reconnect’s engagement, Breeden and colleagues (2022) mapped out the adult learner student journey, identifying four primary journey stages: the decision to return, moving into the college, moving through the college, and moving on to the next stage of their academic or professional lives. Succeeding this journey mapping, the research team identified five critical components to recruit, retain, and support adult learners in community colleges – named the “Five P Framework” (VanZoest et al., 2023). These five components include public messaging, partnerships, processes, pathways, and proximity. This framework supports community colleges by identifying critical questions around each of the Five Ps that map back to the adult learner student journey, helping community college leaders think critically about access, retention, and adult learner student success. This case study and the Five P framework are grounded in scholarship that prioritizes adult learners and their success in community college.

Framework Development

North Carolina’s efforts to re-engage adult learners have been more successful through a partnership with various stakeholders. The Belk Center’s research required collecting valuable data from those stakeholders, such as college presidents, executive leadership, and key college employees who are a part of NC Reconnect teams at each institution. Additionally, researchers spent time interviewing adult learners, who shared their experiences returning to college. In the research, the key question focused on understanding the successes with NC Reconnect within each college and cohort, which allowed researchers to collect and analyze data relating to processes and procedures involved in launching the reconnect program. Common themes among colleges became evident during data analysis and connected to the success of NC Reconnect at each institution. Recognizing those commonalities highlighted the need to organize the themes from the research into a framework that encapsulates five key aspects of the NC Reconnect work being done at participating institutions. This grounded analytic approach allowed the researchers to develop a framework by creating larger themes from the data and linking them together to create an emergent concept – the Five Ps Framework. Approaching each college as a case allowed the team to utilize strategies related to case study research. Organizing data files is an essential component of analyzing qualitative research (Creswell & Poth, 2018), and the Five P Framework was conceptualized as data, and later, analyzed and compared across each case. Making this a critical step in this project, the team observed how NC Reconnect colleges transformed public messaging, including marketing efforts, websites, and various communication strategies. Data on connecting the internal and external community stakeholders (e.g., faith-based community, K-12) to re-engage adult learners provided context on the importance of partnership. Many colleges reported shifting in processes, such as flexible and extended student services office hours and availability during the holidays and weekends. Data collected included stories on how colleges utilized advising approaches to make re-engaged students aware of the correct academic pathways. Lastly, each college examined the closeness to completion, which pointed to proximity – the distance and space between students and the resources they need to be successful. Through in-depth analysis of interview data, the Five P Framework was conceptualized and will help researchers to understand the needs and supports of adult learners across the state of North Carolina and beyond.

Data Collection and Analysis

A case study is an empirical inquiry that allows the researcher to investigate a phenomenon – the case – within a specific context (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015; Tracy, 2020, Yin, 2018). This qualitative case study is exploratory by nature and employs a multi-case study approach (Yin, 2018). The case is defined as participation in NC Reconnect, and the embedded units of analysis are the individual NC Reconnect colleges. Since 2021, the research team has conducted 15 individual interviews and 55 focus group interviews with stakeholders from institutions participating in NC Reconnect. These stakeholders included 15 community college presidents, 44 faculty, and 125 staff that were working directly with their respective institution’s efforts to re-engage and support adult learners, in addition to 54 current adult learners enrolled at their respective community college. In total, 238 individuals were interviewed to gain more insight into leadership decisions, understand the day-to-day operations of support staff and faculty, and explore the experiences of adult learners. Participating NC Reconnect colleges consisted of 15 North Carolina community colleges across three cohorts (five institutions each) from various regions of the state. This group of community colleges varied in size, geographic region, degree of urbanization (e.g., rural, urban), and racial and ethnic student demographic makeups.

All interviews and focus groups were audio-recorded and uploaded to Otter.ai for transcription and editing. After interview transcripts were edited, they were then organized by cohort and institution for analysis to remain true to case-study research and analyze each set of data within their own embedded case (Yin, 2018). To analyze the data, the research team utilized a process that combined holistic analysis, to examine each community college as an individual entity separate from the other community colleges, and categorical analysis, to identify similarities and differences across community colleges (Josselson, 2011). To begin, the research team engaged in open coding of interview and focus group transcripts (Tracy, 2020) to gain a better understanding of the narratives shared and capture preliminary themes emerging from the study. Researcher field notes were also used as supplemental resources to support this process. Next, the research team met to review emergent themes, discuss similarities and differences among the participating community colleges, and begin the construction of a codebook to aid the next phases of the coding process. Simultaneously, researchers also created community college profiles for each institution to highlight some of the unique offerings, experiences, and narratives shared by employees and adult learners.

Upon the finalization of the codebook, the research team engaged in a round of deductive coding (Saldaña, 2021) using the codes that were developed from their open coding process. Through deductive analysis, five overarching themes, specifically each component of the Five P Framework, emerged as critical aspects of the adult learner re-engagement and support process. To enhance the level of trustworthiness of this study, the team utilized various data collection methods (e.g., interviews, focus groups, research field notes) to collect different types of data. Furthermore, they also engaged heavily with community college stakeholders leading the adult learner efforts on their campus to identify prospective participants and coordinate interview and focus group logistics. As a result of this data collection and analysis, the Five P Framework was developed to encapsulate the holistic experiences of adult learners and how colleges can support them in and through the adult learner journey at a community college. The colleges have been assigned pseudonyms to protect anonymity.

The Five P Adult Learner Framework

For each of the Five Ps, the research team presents an overview, multiple critical questions that frame each component, and research to support that component. The first component addresses public messaging.

Public Messaging (Marketing and Communications)

Public messaging focuses on intentional communications happening at the college to recruit adult learners.

Critical Questions

  • What does the college’s current communication process look like when marketing to adult learners? How can this process be improved?

  • What types of public messaging currently exist at the college that are catered toward recruiting adult learners (i.e., social media, text message, mailers, etc.)?

  • Where is public messaging currently viewed/heard to reach adult learners? Where should it be viewed/heard?

From fall 2020 to fall 2022, higher education institutions across the United States experienced a 4.2% decline in undergraduate enrollment, with community colleges experiencing some of the largest declines throughout the pandemic (NSC, 2022). While gains have been made, enrollment at all community colleges have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, particularly among adult learners (NSC, 2022). With enrollment declines, increased competition among colleges, and funding decreases, institutions will need to implement outreach that is both relevant and informed (Copeland, 2007). Building an informed strategy starts with audience knowledge, which requires that higher education institutions understand who they are recruiting and how those individuals make decisions and receive communication.

Students aged 25 and older, categorized as adult learners, represent nearly 40% of all those currently enrolled in a postsecondary institution (NCES, 2019). A 2019 snapshot from the National Student Clearinghouse reported that 36 million Americans hold some postsecondary education but have not earned a degree or credential. The majority of those former students, often referred to as the Some College, No Degree (SCND) population, are adult learners with an average age of 42 (Shapiro et al., 2019). For those who chose to re-enroll, community colleges were the most common choice among the SCND group (Shapiro et al., 2019). With adult learners making up nearly half of all enrollees, and having the potential for more to enroll, postsecondary institutions – particularly community colleges – will need to employ informed marketing and communication strategies to reach this specific population.

Regardless of the message or delivery method, all forms of communication can be understood as a process. The process is often represented as a model with distinct elements delineating how an idea is transmitted from a sender to a receiver. In a basic communication model, a sender has an idea, produces a message, and then transmits that message through a communication channel (Boshear & Albrecht, 1977). When the message is received, the audience decodes the message and chooses whether to respond. Despite the sender’s intentions, barriers exist that can disrupt or distort the sender’s message (Boshear & Albrecht, 1977).

Radical connectivity, a term coined to describe the ability to send information quickly and constantly, means that people can access information 24/7 (Mele, 2013). This constant connectivity provides space for the delivery of thousands of messages daily. Though not always consciously aware, consumers make decisions to either engage or ignore the sender’s message (Boshear & Albrecht, 1977). The same process is true in higher education marketing (Guilbault, 2016). Thousands of messages each day from various sectors create a competitive landscape for postsecondary institutions seeking to communicate with prospective students. Beyond competing messages, institutions do not always understand which messages resonate most with prospective students. Additionally, the marketing challenges are compounded for community colleges because they often serve a broader, more diverse student population, which makes marketing communication decisions complex.

Crafting messages and choosing communication channels that cut through the noise is multi-layered but starts with knowing the needs and wants of the intended audience (Guilbault, 2016). While the experiences of adult learners vary, there are enough similarities to create marketing messages that resonate.

Adult learners are most often concerned with tuition cost, child care availability, the ability to quickly earn a credential, and job outcomes for their desired program (Quiggins et al., 2016). However, a saturated market and increased competition among postsecondary institutions necessitate succinct communication with the benefits of enrolling highlighted almost immediately (Sutton, 2017). Messages must be compelling, informative, and invoke a response from the receiver. For example, NC Reconnect’s general marketing message, “Better skills. Better jobs.” was simple and succinct (Breeden et al., 2022). Those four words told prospective students they could enroll in college, pursue a credential to gain better skills, and apply for a better job with more earning potential.

Choosing communication channels to deliver messages to adult learners poses unique challenges. Unlike recruiting high school students for college, there is no specific space where adult learners gather, making it difficult to disseminate the benefits of earning a credential (Breeden et al., 2022). Marketers suggest that institutions conduct a thorough analysis of their service area to better understand how information travels among community members (Guilbault, 2016). An institution’s geographic location can also influence desired communication channels. In more rural areas, traditional marketing, like print newspapers and billboards, is still effective, while urban and metro areas can see diminished results from these types of channels (Breeden et al., 2022). If a market analysis cannot be conducted, on-campus focus groups with recently enrolled students can help community colleges assess which messages resonated, the students preferred communication delivery, and where community members receive most of their communication about educational and career opportunities.

A basic understanding of the communication process, coupled with audience knowledge and desired message delivery, allows for strategic communication decisions when engaging adult learners.

Example of Public Messaging in Action

Rivertown Technical Institute is using Watermark, a higher education communications and data software, to directly text and communicate with their students. This software allows their adult learner success coach to be more intentional about student communication. Similarly, Mountain Ridge Community College sends personal letters to prospective students with messages about free college and potential salaries for various careers. When asked what messaging connected them to the college, one adult learner said, “It was the envelope. It said ‘hey, you can get free tuition’ and it had my name on it.” Adult learners cited the importance of this personalization on the marketing materials in their decision to return to the college, in addition to the messaging about free tuition for adult students.

Partnerships (Collaboration)

Community colleges foster a number of external partnerships with community entities, employers, and government agencies, as well as internal partnerships with cross-institutional teams and departmental collaborations.

Critical Questions

  • What external partnerships exist that support adult learner success at the college?

  • What external partnerships does the college hope to build in the future?

  • How will the college foster internal teamwork and buy-in from faculty and staff to support adult learners?

An important and well-documented element to achieving community college student success is the partnerships that exist between the colleges and external agencies within their communities (Soares, 2010). These partnerships commonly appear as collaborations between community colleges and local industries, area high schools and universities, and community agencies serving citizens in multiple ways (Bourke et al., 2020; Byrd et al., 2018; McClellan, 2022; Griffin et al., 2021; Thornton, 2013). For example, McClellan (2022) highlights one North Carolina community college’s continued partnership with local Black faith leaders to serve citizens in the community in a multifaceted approach. The result of this partnership birthed a “back to school” event, which not only served as an opportunity for the institution to recruit and engage prospective students, but also an opportunity for citizens to receive important resources, such as COVID-19 vaccines and voter registration. Additionally, Griffin et al. (2021) emphasizes the benefits of community colleges collaborating with local, four-year institutions to establish clear and supportive transfer pathways for community college students to go on to attain a baccalaureate degree. As a result of the pathways and articulation agreements established by institutional partnerships, students are often able to earn their associate’s degree, successfully transfer, complete a bachelor’s degree that aligns with their career goals, and increase their likelihood in obtaining higher paying jobs (Bartek, 2021; DeSantis et al., 2021). In addition to these cross-sector partnerships (e.g., industries, businesses, universities, community organization) being vital in preparing community college students for future careers or to further their education, the partnerships also help to alleviate potential economic barriers for adult learners, as they create more avenues to assess high-wage jobs upon credential attainment (Griffin et al., 2021). Whether it is for immediate job placement or furthering one’s education through credentials or degree programs, external community partnerships are shown to have a significant impact on the trajectories of community college students.

While these partnerships can have a positive impact on students, there has been a lack of attention paid to adult learners and the ways community partnerships could foster experiences that benefit them specifically. That said, researchers are beginning to place more focus on how community colleges are navigating local partnerships for the benefit of their adult learners. In their analysis of NC Reconnect, Breeden et al. (2022) and VanZoest et al. (2023) highlight community colleges’ collaboration with churches, local industries, transportation services, and child care centers to alleviate barriers (i.e., bus tokens, child care services). In addition, college leaders in this study also highlighted regular engagement with local partners and employers as an integral part of the colleges’ awareness of the needs of employers, learning more about how colleges could do a better job of preparing adult learners for future job opportunities, and determining ways colleges could connect their adult learners with these job opportunities (e.g., job fairs, internships, hands-on and work-based learning opportunities). Community colleges that establish these types of services are addressing and overcoming the potential roadblocks that could adversely impact adult learners’ journeys to and through their college experience (Breeden et al., 2022).

In addition to engagement with external entities, internal buy-in and partnerships – such as buy-in from faculty and staff and collaboration across offices and departments – are also integral to the success of adult learners at community colleges. For example, research on the Tennessee Reconnect Grant Program (Spires et al., 2022) and the NC Reconnect program (Breeden et al., 2022; VanZoest et al., 2023) emphasize the importance of community college employees continuing to center the needs of adult learners and taking a forward-thinking approach to addressing those needs. For example, some community colleges participating in NC Reconnect allocated funding and support to establish Adult Learner Centers on their campuses that served as “one-stop shops” for adult learners to receive intrusive advising and get connected to services on- and off-campus to support them with transportation, childcare, and other wraparound needs. Similarly, one Tennessee community college addressed these needs head-on by creating an Office of Student Care and Advocacy to centralize student support services like housing, social services, and food security. In line with resource allocation, some community colleges in the NC Reconnect study also provided additional pay to enrollment specialists who opted-in to working through winter break (late December to early January) – an opportunity to serve and enroll prospective students who had more schedule flexibility during this time period (Breeden et al., 2022). These examples, among many, offer specific ways that community college employees continue to keep the in-class and out-of-class needs of adult learners at the forefront and allocate time, money, and resources to alleviate potential barriers to their success.

Example of Partnerships in Action

Metro Community College collaborated with faith-based partners to host a community-wide event to celebrate the coming school year. Those in attendance could receive COVID-19 vaccines and tests, dental care kits, and book bags filled with school supplies. Community members could also register to vote and learn more about short-term training programs at the college. Additionally, one church lent their buses to assist with transportation access issues for students. Similar mutually beneficial partnerships like those with the faith-based community discovered through empirical research supports its inclusion within this framework.

Processes (Shifting the Approach)

Community colleges can no longer take a one-size-fits-all approach to serve students. It’s essential to shift existing processes to meet the needs of adult learners and reduce barriers to their success.

Critical Questions

  • What shifts in processes and practices are necessary to re-engage adult learners?

  • What opportunities are there to engage adult learners early/pre-enrollment?

Community colleges open doors to learners who want to enhance their lives through education (Lewis et al., 2014; Malcom-Piqueux, 2018). Adult learners may choose to enroll in a community college because they are pursuing a program that leads to a vocational certificate or degree (Compton et al., 2006), but unfortunately, institutional processes and practices can pose challenges to their enrollment and academic credential completion (Osam et al., 2017). Decreasing barriers – like cost of attendance, admissions requirements, and course scheduling – is an opportunity for community colleges to relieve emotional burdens from adult learners who may also have additional hurdles to face as they return to school (Karmelita, 2018). In examining financial aid award processes, Osam and colleagues (2017) suggest colleges consider exploring ways to lessen the financial obligations of adult learners to support their return to college. For example, community colleges are soliciting corporate grants and donations from alumni and board members to support student needs (Kisker et al., 2013). Community colleges can also consider engaging their foundation to provide direct support, like the Foundation of Rivertown Technical Institute, who matched foundation funds to support adult learners at the college. Colleges can also lessen the burden by strategizing ways to eliminate past tuition bills of returning students and using resources (apart from federal financial aid) that provide colleges the opportunity to create equitable and innovative practices in awarding funding, as the qualifying requirements may be less prohibitive. This is essential, as finances are often identified as the most important situational barrier for adult learners (Osam et al., 2017).

Adult learners desire an expedient way to learn about educational choices as they make decisions to return (EAB, 2019). Engaging in processes that examine communication strategies provides colleges with information on how to best reach adult learners. For example, using secret shoppers as a way to observe if messaging is timely and personalized.

According to Karmelita (2018), Scholssberg’s transition theory examines the context of development and helps create an understanding of how adults decide to return to college. Pre-college transition programs can be implemented to prepare adult learners as they make their decision to return to college (Kallison, 2017). These types of programs can also be beneficial to returning students as they re-engage with the institution and learn how to navigate it successfully. Transition programs are designed to provide adult learners with knowledge on information about the college, such as career development, academic advising, campus orientation, and financial aid counseling (Karmelita, 2018). These programs can also be paired with external partners to support students on how to navigate community resources that support non-academic needs like child care, transportation, housing, and employment.

Example of Processes in Action

The president of Pine Valley Technical Community College hosted a series of student focus groups, which included adult learners, to understand how to better serve this unique population. They discovered that having students who had previously stepped away from a program reapply was a barrier towards re-enrollment. They developed an abbreviated application for these students to share what changed since they were last enrolled, rather than having to go through the entire application process again. This was a process that was easily amended at the college and was discovered through focus group research.

Pathways (Academic and Career Advising)

Colleges are building academic and career pathways for students to decrease their time-to-degree and guide them on career options that lead to family sustaining living wages.

Critical Questions

  • What does academic advising look like at the college for adult learners? How is this similar or different compared to students right out of high school?

  • What does career advising look like at the college for adult learners? How is this similar or different compared to students right out of high school?

  • How does the college connect continuing education/workforce development and curricular pathways?

Community colleges have been engaged with structural reform, including guided pathways, to help students with persistence and degree completion efforts (Baker, 2018), although some have questioned their ability to close equity gaps for students of color (Rose et al., 2019) and students with family responsibilities (Huerta et al., 2022; Rose, 2016). Guided pathways is a national model to simplify academic choices and career pathways for students (Bailey et al., 2015). This model focuses on four key pillars: (a) Mapping pathways to student end goals; (b) Helping students choose and enter a pathway; (c) Keeping students on path; and (d) Ensuring students are learning (Jenkins et al., 2018, p. 3). Guided pathways involve mapping programs to specific courses, milestones, and outcomes so students have a plan for future career and educational endeavors (Jenkins et al., 2018; Klempin & Lahr, 2021). More than 400 colleges have adopted this reform effort (Jobs for the Future, n.d.), and although guided pathways can be a helpful starting point during career conversations, the model may not recognize the lived experiences of adult learners (Klempin & Lahr, 2021; Rose 2016; Rose et al., 2019; Williams & Freeman, 2022) because their educational and occupational choices often differ from students entering community college directly from high school.

There are various on- and off-ramps to support career pathways for adult learners. Institutional responses that go beyond guided pathways, such as ensuring students can navigate the enrollment process and award them credit for prior learning, is one example of an on-ramp (Klempin & Lahr, 2021; Williams & Freeman, 2022). Creating career communities or “co-curricular opportunities such as career panels, engagement activities, mentoring, and networking that allow students to gain career knowledge in informal social settings,” (Rose et al., 2019, p. 67) allow students to build upon prior experiences and knowledge to keep them on their path. Removing institutional barriers and extending career advising services also help to keep adult learners on their path (Klempin & Lahr, 2021). Offering work-based learning (WBL) – internships, apprenticeships, job shadowing, clinical placements, etc. – (Bragg et al., 2012) in innovative scheduling formats can provide re-skilling opportunities for adult learners to succeed in the workforce. Understanding who does or does not engage in WBL and developing offerings to support and encourage diverse learners in WBL participation is also important (Rose et al., 2019). Sharing data about jobs and salaries in the labor market allows students to have a better understanding of livable wages and skills needed by industries in the regional economy as they move off the ramps into the workforce (Rose et al., 2019).

Jobs for the Future, a national nonprofit, is providing a response for engaging students in career pathways. The organization developed a new framework called Guided Career Pathways (Pathways) to better reflect how to help learners succeed in the changing economy (McDonough, n.d.). The framework is designed around regional economic needs, expanded on-ramps to reach underrepresented populations (e.g., adult learners, opportunity youth), and integrated WBL throughout educational journeys. Guided Career Pathways helps students complete employment and transfer plans – which help with postsecondary attainment goals and local talent retention – and better serves diverse learners, addresses gaps in access and equity, and contributes to lifelong learning (McDonough, n.d.). Adapting or re-imagining guided pathways or offering services that go beyond guided pathways are a few ways community colleges and partners can evolve to meet the career needs of adult learners and address equity gaps.

Example of Pathways in Action

Greenfield Community College is introducing career advising into the student onboarding process at the college. One of the first things an adult learner will do before beginning classes is meet with a career counselor to discuss career options. Adult learners attend community college for many different reasons. Some choose to move up the career ladder in their current field while others pursue a completely different career path. Including career counselors in the advising process can help bridge the career path for adult learners.

Proximity (to Access and Completion)

Adult learners face a myriad of barriers when deciding to return to college. When thinking about proximity to the community college space, distance, time, and relationships to others can expand or close an adult learner’s proximity to their degree. Improving access to college and improving support during college can afford adult learners a clearer pathway to a credential or degree.

Critical Questions

  • How can the college increase access and reduce barriers to education for adult learners?

  • What one-on-one supports are available to students that give them a sense of connection to the college?

  • What innovative ways can the college reduce time-to-degree for adult learners?

Community colleges have employed a number of strategies to increase student access and completion, particularly for the adult learner population. However, understanding the proximity to credential completion for adult learners is crucial to addressing issues of access and completion. Several scholars have highlighted barriers that could prevent adult learners from reaching their educational goals, including personal and family commitments and work schedules (Jameson & Fusco, 2014; Ritt, 2008). Reconnect programs can help alleviate financial barriers that cause participants to leave college or not enroll at all by providing free or heavily discounted tuition (Collom & Cooper, 2022; Collom et al., 2021). Additionally, adult learners may run into conflict with competing obligations, such as work and family commitments, that impede the time they dedicate to their studies (VanZoest et al., 2023). Helping remove these barriers is essential for adult learner success.

Investing in initiatives that prioritize adult learner access and completion can have a positive effect on student outcomes. For example, one NC Reconnect college embedded tutoring in high-risk classrooms where students most often fail. Developing robust tutoring programs or supplemental online resources to help students in these high-risk classes are a few strategies to improve student success rates (Brown, 2020). Earning a strong GPA, completing more credits in the first year compared to subsequent years, and having more than one simultaneous completion initiative on campus are strong predictors of postsecondary credential completion (Sutton, 2018; Turk, 2017). Several NC Reconnect colleges also introduced adult learner success coaches or champions to serve as advisors and mentors specifically for adult learners on campuses. Proximity to people and relationships who can support the adult learner journey and understand adult learner experiences can address retention issues for these learners.

Further, delaying enrollment into college – which is often the case for adult learners who are entering postsecondary education for the first time – and enrolling part-time were indicators of a lower likelihood of degree or credential attainment (Turk, 2017). Several colleges in NC Reconnect’s first and second cohorts, like Lakeside Community College, Cedar Grove Technical Community College, and Mountain Ridge Community College, have adopted shorter, eight-week courses so students can progress through their programs more quickly, increasing completion rates. Reducing time to degree and giving adult learners time back in their already busy lives can help them move through the college faster and toward their next career goal.

There are a number of strategies colleges can take to improve access and completion for adult learners, including proactively connecting students early with faculty and advisors as mentors, working to affirm academic competence, and providing them with additional guidance and resources (Deil-Amen, 2011). Proactive advising and the implementation of cohort-model programs can further improve adult learner completion (Sutton, 2015), and receiving credit for prior learning also has a significant positive effect on graduation rates (Hayward & Williams, 2015). Additional tactics include aligning noncredit and credit programming in the same field so that credits are transferable amongst these programs, expanding systems that provide credit for prior learning, and expanding financial aid for adult learners (Brock & Slater, 2021). Engaging in programs like NC Reconnect can help colleges think strategically about the access and completion initiatives in place specifically for their adult learners.

Example of Proximity in Action

By building relationships with students, community college employees can learn about why students are interested in returning and how they can be successful. Rivertown Technical Institute hosted a “speed dating” event in the first four weeks of the term where faculty met with students one-on-one to learn about their interests and needs. Adult learners cite faculty relationships as some of the most important that they cultivate at the college. This event took place in the first four weeks of the semester, as data shows if a student can persist to the four-week mark, they are more likely to persist to the end of the semester (Breeden et al., 2022).

Qualitative Quality

The research team adopted Tracy’s (2020) values of qualitative quality through which to frame their work. These “Big Tents” of quality constitute criteria for excellent qualitative research, serving as a pedagogical tool that promotes dialogue amongst research from a variety of paradigms, and encouraging viability and credibility (Tracy, 2020). They established a worthy topic, as adult learners are a relevant and timely social topic of discussion in higher education scholarship. In North Carolina, 50% of students enrolled in community colleges were adults over the age of 25 (Crane, 2023), affirming that understanding the experiences of adult learners is timely and relevant.

Further, the establishment of a conceptual framework grounded in empirical evidence makes a significant contribution to the literature on adult learners and community college students. This framework builds disciplinary knowledge, allowing community college practitioners to apply the theory in a new context (Tracy, 2020). It is the goal of the research team to inspire heuristic significance through the use of this framework, prompting curiosity and moving community college practitioners to act in the best interest of adult students (Tracy, 2020). In summary, establishing qualitative quality ensures the rigor, credibility, and trustworthiness of the framework, allowing scholars and practitioners to use this framework in their respective higher education environments.

Significance to Higher Education and Community Colleges

Creating a holistic conceptual framework to support adult learners in community colleges is paramount to today’s higher education landscape. With higher education enrollment declining nationwide, those who eventually did enroll were more likely to attend a community college (58.5%) compared to a four-year institution (33.3%) (Blake, 2023). Given this choice to attend a community college, it is essential that colleges critically evaluate their public messaging, partnerships, processes, pathways, and proximity to completing a high-quality degree or credential.

Adult learners often face a myriad of unique life circumstances, ranging from childcare, full-time and part-time work, serving as care-takers for family members, and bridging gaps in their prior education (VanZoest et al., 2023). The Five P Framework provides a roadmap for community colleges to tailor their programs, support services, and teaching methodologies to meet the diverse needs of this demographic. It promotes inclusivity and equity, enabling adult learners to access higher education and upskill for career and educational advancement. Furthermore, a strong conceptual framework fosters a culture of continuous improvement in community colleges to help them meet the workforce demands of tomorrow. Ultimately, it empowers community college presidents, faculty, and staff with knowledge and tactics to support the adult learners at their colleges.

Implications for Practice, Research and Evaluation, and Policy

This versatile framework serves as a valuable tool for a broad spectrum of stakeholders seeking to engage and support adult learners, spanning community college practitioners, administrators, faculty, and researchers alike. Tailored to address the unique needs of each group, the framework offers practical applications personalized to their respective roles and objectives. As such, the research implications encompass application for practice, research and evaluation, and policy, ensuring relevance and utility across diverse audiences.

Practice

As community college leaders continue to prioritize the needs and academic success of their adult learners, the research team urges them to utilize the critical questions for each “P” to aid them as they design, implement, and revise their campus offerings and sources of support. For example, as community colleges design adult learner-specific marketing content to aid their recruitment strategies, they should assess what their institution is already doing, determine the most effective ways to communicate with adult learners, and think through areas of growth for how their marketing strategies could be improved to better engage adult learners. In another example, community college leaders could also use the critical questions from Pathways to revamp their academic and career advising strategies in ways that specifically target needs of adult learners through the duration of their educational trajectories and moving away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to advising students.

Research and Evaluation

In addition to influencing practice, elements of the Five P Framework could serve as a guide for researchers, evaluators, and institutional leaders looking to assess community colleges and their efforts to support adult learners. For instance, the critical questions provided for each “P” could be used or adapted as research or interview questions to guide research processes. For example, researchers wanting to learn more about the impact of specific communication strategies could adapt critical questions from public messaging to craft a study that engages communication and marketing practitioners that work with the adult learner efforts at their institution. In addition, researchers could adapt critical questions presented in the proximity section to assess and compare factors influencing student access and completion at different types of community colleges (e.g., rural and urban settings, institution size, etc.). Altogether, researchers studying community colleges can assess the productivity in each of these areas through these interviews and provide recommendations for improvement. Moreover, evaluators could also use the model as a guide when evaluating programs and campus offerings for adult learners. In addition, the research team believes applying this model and its critical questions to future research could serve as an opportunity to empirically test and evaluate the framework and its contribution to research about adult learners at community colleges.

Policy

There are several implications for policy when instituting the Five P Framework at community colleges. First, at the institutional level, community colleges can evaluate their business processes and policies to be more inclusive of adult learners. For example, one college in NC Reconnect’s third cohort developed a policy allowing students to bring their children to class if other childcare accommodations could not be made. This flexibility allows adult learners the ability to attend class while not having to worry about last-minute childcare. Other institutions are implementing similar efforts, reviewing and revising policies to reduce barriers to adult learner success. Additional policies that warrant evaluation are admissions policies, attendance policies, remote learning policies, and financial aid policies. Second, higher education leaders, researchers, and politicians can leverage qualitative and quantitative data from research projects that focus on adult learners, like NC Reconnect, to lobby for additional funds for community colleges. This research can inform future policy-making decisions of community colleges.

Dissemination

In addition to this framework contributing to scholarship and expanding the knowledge on the adult learner experience at community college, the research team has also begun, and plan to continue, disseminating this knowledge in two versions of an adult learner guidebook (Breeden et al., 2022; VanZoest et al., 2023) and to community college leaders throughout North Carolina. Moreover, the team also plans to publish this knowledge in scholarly journals in the coming years and use aspects of the framework to guide future research on adult learners at community colleges.

The Five Ps provide community colleges with a framework for their continued work with adult learners. By asking critical questions about public messaging, partnerships, processes, pathways, and proximity, community college leaders can assess how their institutions are recruiting, retaining, and graduating adult learners.