Thinking strategically about Adult Student Needs
- Are childcare options provided on campus?
- Does your campus have online course offerings to allow students to remain home with their children while completing their degree?
- Do you have emergency funding for unexpected situations?
- Have you conducted a campus climate survey to address adult student needs and offer wrap-around services?
Resources
High School Equivalency and Adult Education
Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education – The Pennsylvania Division of Adult Education administers programs that provide services to help adults fully participate in their child’s schooling, provide basic skill for employment, or to obtain a high school equivalency credential.
Adult College Guides
The Accelerating Recovery through Credentials Adult-Ready Playbook – A comprehensive framework of the most promising strategies for serving post-traditional learners. The resources include self-assessment and several action guides that provide detailed strategies and key action steps.
Parenting Students
Pennsylvania Parent Pathways Initiative is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Department of Human Services. The Initiative provides grants awarding to wrap-around services for parenting students, through institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth.
Pittsburgh Scholar House is an example of a two-generation model for parenting students. An affiliate of the Family Scholar House in Louisville, KY, this program – which will eventually have an on-site housing component – offers parenting students academic supports and financial resources to engage with postsecondary education, continue in their program of study, reengage with postsecondary education, or upskill to find different or better employment.
The Financial Well-Being of Parents Pursuing Postsecondary Education, a new brief examining the financial well-being of parenting students using the latest national representative data available.