The state of knowledge about adult part-time learners and the programs designed to serve them are reviewed. The primary sources of information were recent data collection projects sponsored by state and national agencies to determine the characteristics and needs of adult learners and potential learners. Selected program descriptions were also studied to determine current program responses to learner needs. Major findings include: (1) Interest in adult education is related to socioeconomic status. (2) Participation and interest in educational activities show considerable regional variation. (3) Adults have a pragmatic orientation to eudcation. (4) The kind of education desired is related to adult life stages. (5) Education for adults must have high credibility. (6) Women are closing the educational gap between men and women, but there is some evidence that today's voluntary and largely self-supporting adult education is widening the gap between Caucasians and ethnic minorities and between the "haves" and "have nots." (7) There is a high correspondence between the "needs" identified in assessment studies and the component responses offered by nontraditional programs. (8) There is a great variety in the nontraditional programs studied, making it difficult to group programs into typologies. (9) The trend is toward different forms of education and services for nontraditional learners as opposed to an expansion of traditional education to include adult learners. (Author/LBH)