ERIC Number: ED673010
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Jun
Pages: 48
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
How Flexible Courses Promote Access and Success for Returning Adult Students at Community Colleges. Pathways to Success for Students with Some College, No Degree
Tennessee Board of Regents - The College System of Tennessee
While statewide initiatives like Tennessee Reconnect have lowered the barriers to higher education access for many some college experience but no degree (SCND) adults, these efforts alone may be insufficient to ensure adults' success. The Pathways to Success for Students with Some College, No Degree project seeks to build a body of evidence about the challenges that returning adults at Tennessee community colleges face, the strategies that promote their success after they return, and the data that can be leveraged to support their success. Adult students who are working, job searching, or managing family responsibilities need access to flexible and accelerated programs of study. Early research on Tennessee Reconnect showed that flexible online course options appealed to returning adults, but success rates in these courses were lower than in conventional courses. These findings raise several questions about how flexible course schedules or course modalities meet the needs of adults, which are addressed throughout this paper: (1) When are courses scheduled? How do accelerated course schedules help reconnectors? (2) Where are courses located? How do widely available teaching locations help reconnectors? and (3) How are courses offered? How do high-quality online and remote courses help reconnectors? This analysis shows that these flexible coursetaking options serve as popular access points for many reconnecting students. Additionally, high success rates in these courses suggest that flexible courses are promising options for colleges that want to support reconnecting adult students.
Descriptors: Adult Students, Reentry Students, Community College Students, Success, Flexible Scheduling, Access to Education, Acceleration (Education), Online Courses, Geographic Location, Rural Areas
Tennessee Board of Regents - The College System of Tennessee. 1 Bridgestone Park, Third Floor, Nashville, TN 37214. Tel: 615-366-4400; Fax: 615-366-3903; Web site: https://www.tbr.edu
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges; Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Ascendium Education Group, Inc.
Authoring Institution: Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), Office of Policy and Strategy
Identifiers - Location: Tennessee
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A