Frederic Jacobs and Stephen Hundley write in the preface of their book, Understanding and Supporting Adult Learners: A Guide for Colleges and Universities, that their focus is to help colleges and universities understand adult learners. I suggest, however, that this text could also be used as an excellent primer for policymakers, reporters, and others who need a broader understanding of the complex issues involving adult students pursuing a higher education degree.
The authors acknowledge that there are many books about adult learners and higher education but inform the reader that their purpose in writing this one was to identify common issues and build profiles of those issues from student, faculty, institutional, and public policy perspectives. In order to accomplish their goal, the authors organized the book into six chapters, the first of which provides the reader with background issues organized around much of the pertinent research published about adult learners in higher education. While none of the research is discussed in depth, the 30-page chapter provides an excellent overview and resource for further reading about adult education topics.
Chapters Two through Five provide profiles of student issues, faculty issues, institutional issues, and policy issues related to adult learners. While too numerous and detailed to discuss in this review, there was one profile that I would like to mention as an example. In Chapter Two, “Profiles of Student Issues Related to Higher Education,” Profile #3: The Financial Aid Trap caught my attention. In this profile, Allegra Straphos (pseudonym) is a working mother attending a prestigious private university in St. Louis and attempting to earn a master’s degree in public administration. Her employer does not have a tuition reimbursement program and she does not want to take money out of her children’s tuition savings to pay for her education. After paying for three courses at $1700 each and doing well by taking them one course at a time, the financial aid office informs Allegra that she can qualify for federal student aid loans by taking two courses at a time. Her grades plummet and she finds herself wedged between the increased academic obligations, her family obligations, her employer’s obligations, and life situations such as her mother having a stroke. She can’t afford to take one course a semester, but she can’t do the work if she takes two courses. If she drops out, her loans must be repaid and she will not have earned a degree. In this scenario, like the others, the authors have provided questions for consideration and discussion that the readers can use to stimulate thoughts, discussion, and comparisons to situations at their institution. I found the profiles to be well-written and pertinent.
The last chapter is titled “Analyzing and Improving College and University Environments for Adult Learners.” The authors prepare a framework in which the reader(s) can examine adult learning issues in their institution(s). The framework is excellent and particularly relevant for someone attempting to make changes at an institution that is not particularly well known for educating adult learners or an institution at which adult learners do not comprise a major component of its students.
Non-traditional college students comprise approximately 75 percent of all college students and adult students (defined as over 25 years of age) are approximately 38-45 percent of all college students. With these changes in demographics combined with the continuing return to college of working adults choosing to enhance their careers by earning a degree or additional degree, I recommend this book as a valuable primer to educators, policymakers, and others.
