However, for institutions that are experiencing declining enrollment or attract adult learners by default or as a side product through continuing education programs, it may be worth considering adult learners as a more central part of your overall recruiting strategy.
You may be missing the boat…if your school is not actively looking at the adult learner market as a growing opportunity and a segment you can either attract in greater numbers or serve better to increase retention and loyalty.
As more and more adults continue to return to school for whatever reason, it is incumbent upon universities to consider how they serve this population today and how they might serve this population better tomorrow.
If you are interested in exploring this further, a good place to begin is by taking a look at your existing organizational structure.
Pose these questions to your college community to begin a dialogue to determine if serving adult learners might be a good fit for your institution:
- If your institution serves the adult market, where are they being served now?
- Is it part of your core strategy to attract adult learners or do they find you and attempt to fit their schedule to the school’s schedule?
- Does this make sense?
- Is there a better structure that would better serve this audience?
- If your “adult learning” programs is in your “outreach” or continuing education department, how integrated is that function in the rest of the operation?
- How is enrollment handled?
- How are teaching assignments and schedules made?
- What programs does the school offer that help adult learners as they transition to life plus school?
- How does it compare with some of the career colleges that cater to this market?
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