Adult learners are key to staying competitive
By MATTHEW DEMBICKI, Published May 11, 2008

For the U.S. to reassert itself as an economic global leader, it must focus on educating and training adult learners because the traditional K-16 pipeline won’t keep pace with workforce demands, according to a new study.

To stay competitive with other countries, at least 55 percent of the U.S. workforce must earn at least an associate degree, according to a comprehensive study by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL). It is currently at 34 percent, it said.

CAEL focused on state and national efforts to help adult learners attain more education and training. States vary widely in the number of adults enrolled in postsecondary education, with Arizona having the most success at 40 percent. Thirty-seven states have adult postsecondary participation rates in the 10 percent to 19 percent range, with nine states below 10 percent.

CAEL noted that states can tweak policies to boost those numbers. For example, 17 states do not provide any need-based aid to part-time students, and another 18 devote less than 10 percent of need-based aid funds to part-time students. This disproportionately affects adults, many of whom have other responsibilities that force them to go to college only part-time, it said.

CAEL presented the report during the National Association of State Legislatures spring meeting in Washington, D.C., using the opportunity to talk directly to state lawmakers.

“This is an issue that should matter on your busy agenda,” CAEL Executive Vice President Karen Steinberg said during a session at the conference.

In terms of making college affordable, CAEL pointed to community colleges as a “relatively affordable” option. Average tuition and fees at a community college constitute 7 percent of median income for the poorest 25- to 44-year-olds and 5.4 percent of median income for the poorest 45- to 64-year-olds, the study said.

CAEL also recommended promoting policies that leverage new sources of funding for adult learners. It noted lifelong learning accounts (LiLAs)—which the council tested at several sites across the U.S.—could help finance lifelong learning so workers can upgrade their skills and credentials. 

The accounts allow employers to match employees’ contributions toward training. The initiative could be expanded to include another match by a government entity, or at least give the employee a tax deduction and the employer a tax credit for investing in a LiLA, the study said.

Changing the formula to reimburse public colleges and universities would help, too. Currently, many states fund community colleges and universities using enrollment-based formulas that give full funding only to enrollments for credit-bearing courses. Enrollments in programs offering workforce training or other noncredit programs, such as remedial courses and English as a second language, may receive only partial funding or none at all.

“States can support adult learning by revisiting these funding formulas to make sure there are no disincentives to serving and meeting the needs of their adult and other nontraditional learners,” the study said.

“Adult Learning in Focus: National and State-by-State Data” is available at www.cael.org/state_indicators.htm.