"It's a Little Stressful When I Think of It…": Results of a National Survey and Interviews with Never-Enrolled Adults on the Factors That Drive Them to Consider Postsecondary Education and the Barriers to Enrollment. A CAEL Research Brief

Autor/in	Darnell, Barry
Institution	Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL)
Titel	"It's a Little Stressful When I Think of It…": Results of a National Survey and Interviews with Never-Enrolled Adults on the Factors That Drive Them to Consider Postsecondary Education and the Barriers to Enrollment. A CAEL Research Brief
Quelle	(2022), (18 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	National Surveys; Postsecondary Education; Adults; Educational Attitudes; Decision Making; Enrollment; Barriers; Educational Finance; Costs; Salaries; Time Management; Flexible Scheduling; Distance Education; Self Esteem; Academic Ability; Higher Education; Employment Opportunities + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Post-secondary education; Tertiäre Bildung; Educational attitude; Bildungsverhalten; Erziehungseinstellung; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Einschulung; Bildungsfonds; Cost; Kosten; Entlohnung; Gehalt; Zeitmanagement; Flexible working hours; Flexible Arbeitszeit; Distance study; Distance learning; Fernunterricht; Self-esteem; Selbstaufmerksamkeit; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Berufschance; Beschäftigungschance
Abstract	There are currently more than 62 million American adults whose highest educational attainment is a high school diploma or its equivalent (U.S. Census Current Population Survey, 2021). Many of these adults have considered postsecondary education, and some even applied for a program. Yet, for various reasons, these adults never began a program of study. CAEL conducted a national survey and individual interviews to understand these adults' perspectives of postsecondary education. These research endeavors explored the process by which these adults explored postsecondary options and revealed what most factored into their decisions not to apply or enroll. This report details the research findings and offers recommendations to address enrollment barriers for adults without prior postsecondary education. Among the the key findings are: (1) Financial considerations are the most significant factor when adults decide whether to apply, enroll, or begin a program of study. In addition to price and cost, the opportunity to earn more money is the one of the most common reasons adults consider postsecondary education; and (2) Time is a barrier for never-enrolled adults: both having the time to fit education into their busy schedules and how long a program takes to complete. Adults often search for flexibly-scheduled programs and online options. [For the companion report, "Building Adult Learner Leaders for Institutional Effectiveness (ALLIES): Research Findings and a New Framework for Supporting Institutional Change," see ED624373.] (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. 55 East Monroe Street Suite 1930, Chicago, IL 60603. Tel: 312-499-2600; Fax: 312-499-2601; e-mail: cael@cael.org; Web site: http://www.cael.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01