Adult Student Retention
Because of the current economic situation in this country, there are more adult learners entering career colleges because they need to acquire a new skill. Am I right in assuming that the retention of this particular type of student would be higher because of their need to provide for themselves and their families?
Stacy,
Good point, though for my students this hasn't happened. They see the value of completing their college sequence because it leads them to greater opportunities for advancement.
Gary
Adults in this group may also still be actively seeking a job, and once that job is found, then their interest and ability to focus on school may very well diminish.
I would like to think that it would, but there are many instances where adult students may not be able to sacrifice the time it needs to aquire the new skills they need. Sometimes they have put school "on hold" and get whatever job they can to just make ends meet. Financial struggles affect adult students and eventhough they may not want to, they leave school. I try to suggest all possibilities such as changing the time of thier job, program, applying for scholarships etc. Most students do not even know to apply or that there is money, free money out there for them. It may not be an instant solutution but i tell all my students to look into it.
