The population of adult learners with Some College, No Credential (SCNC) has risen over the years to over 40 million individuals. A smaller subset of this population has debt that they owe their institutions directly in addition to state, federal, or private loans. As of 2020, approximately 6.6 million students owed more than $15 billion in…

Few studies have examined the contribution of individual psychological factors to long-term indicators of academic success. This study examines the influence of personality and individual difference factors in relation to retention. In this study, 290 Canadian undergraduate students completed measures of personality, resiliency, perfectionism, and…

This study examined longitudinal education and career outcomes of the Meharry-Vanderbilt-Tennessee State University Cancer Partnership, the longest-running National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Partnerships in Advancing Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) program site in the United States. Degree completion rates were calculated and progression…

Some college, no degree (SCND) students are adults aged 25-64 who have earned college credit but no degree (Shapiro et al., 2019). There are currently 36 million adults in the United States with some college but no degree (Lumina Foundation, n.d.; U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). Reengaging this population to complete a degree or credential will assist…

Retention, or readmission as it is commonly known in the case of the University of Dhaka--the largest public university in Bangladesh--has gradually been becoming more of an important educational issue as Bangladesh moves toward her development goals and the education system struggles to keep up. This study is an institutional departmental case…

Background: Community colleges have the potential to be powerful vehicles for social mobility in the United States. As institutions with tuition rates that are a fraction of the cost of four-year public and private colleges, they are a critical resource for students looking for a relatively less expensive and more flexible option to attain a…

In Latin America, higher education inequality disproportionately affects individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and Peru is no exception. Since 2012, the National Scholarship and Student Loan Programme (PRONABEC) has disbursed grants, aiming to enhance access to higher education for impoverished Peruvian young people. However, the…

Many students who experience extended school absences or dropout episodes reengage with school and complete a diploma or alternative credential within 4 years of beginning ninth grade. However, these students have not been extensively studied, and the factors that affect reengagement decisions are not well understood. Using an educational…

This study addresses the need to better understand community college students' varied enrollment behaviors and experiences in the context of the national college completion agenda, current research, and retention theory. The purpose of this study was to explore the stop-out experiences of part-time and fluidly enrolled, low-income,…

More college students are reporting adverse mental health concerns that negatively influence their student success than in previous years (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2020; Xiao et al., 2017). Postsecondary literature lacks evidence to support the influence of adolescents' adverse mental health characteristics on future college enrollment…

The problem targeted by the study was that while nontraditional students are increasingly attending college in record numbers, they are more than twice as likely as other students to drop out in their first year of study, indicating the delayed promise of degree completion may never be realized. The study focused on the opportunities and fiscal…

This study sought to respond to the increased number of mature students in social work education and the understudied topic of their experiences. The research deployed semi- structured interviews and thematic analysis to explore the benefits, challenges, and needs of mature students (N = 19) over the age of 30 in a Canadian Bachelor of Social Work…

Situated in the northwestern corner of Ohio, Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is reengaging adult students with "some college, but no degree" (SCND), promoting equitable attainment, and improving students' workforce outcomes. BGSU is a residential four-year university with a vibrant campus culture, NCAA Athletics, and over 200…

Each year in the United States, hundreds of thousands of people enroll in adult basic education (ABE) classes but leave before completing a level or accomplishing their goals. The persistence of this phenomenon may indicate that it is a feature of the system, rather than an unforeseen outcome. Research on other types of social service provision…

As student loans, the cost of college tuition, and even value of higher education remain at the forefront of public discussion, one thing remains true: Affordability is central to adult learners' academic success, and money is one of the primary reasons why adult learners stop out before they graduate. This report takes a deep dive into the…