College and universities underwent tremendous shifts in the latter part of the 20th century caused in part by the shrinking pool of college ready 18 year-olds. Concerned about diminishing enrollments and lost revenue from traditionally-aged students, administrators at faith-based, tuition-driven universities instituted adult degree completion programs (ADCPs) often without the input of the faculty. These were programs designed to deliver a traditional curriculum to a nontraditional audience using an accelerated delivery model. While adult degree completion programs were successful at increasing revenue, they had difficulty gaining acceptance and were marginalized in the broader institutional community. Under these conditions, program directors struggled to find ways to effectively plan, manage, and promote the adult learning programs albeit from positions of relative powerlessness. This research used grounded theory to explore and understand the strategies program directors in postsecondary faith-based institutions engaged to negotiate the environments in which they planned and supported effective adult programs in their institutions. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with program administrators from which a core phenomenon was identified: responses to challenges related to resistance. From this category, three major findings emerged that relate to this core phenomenon. First the hard, or coercive, tactics used to institute ADCPs contributed to a culture of resistance that continues to marginalize these programs today, as evidenced by reports of ongoing structural fluctuation and lack of resources. The second finding revealed a strong relationship between the administrative structure of the program and the types of influence strategies used by directors. For example, centralized programs that reported more productive relationships with institutional stakeholders tended to use softer tactics such as collaboration and consultation. Finally, conflicts relating to the adult degree completion programs were frequently related to institutional stakeholders' perceptions of the ADCP, and beliefs about its impact on their university's culture and mission. Cervero and Wilson's theory of planning informed the analysis of these findings to develop a framework to guide adult learning program directors' negotiations among the competing power and interests of their colleagues within their parent institutions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]