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    ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​PA MASLOW

    ​​Adult Student Needs

    Almost one third of all students enrolled in postsecondary institutions are 25 or older1. That means students are often working, parenting, or even taking care of parents or other loved ones. It's important to recognize and remember that a college system designed for an 18-year-old living with their parents may not be the college system that will ensure success for every learner. The most recent data show that about half of all college students earn a degree or certificate within six years of enrolling, while only a third of student-parents complete school, with the rate even lower for single parents, according to Higher Education Today1.

    Resources

    High School Equivalency

    Earning High School Equivalency – Adults wishing to earn their high school equivalency can learn more and register for exams at The GED Test or The ​HiSET.​​

    Adult College Guides

    How To Go Back To College – Graduate Philadelphia! advisors provide guidance on filling out and filing financial assistance forms, getting academic support, navigating work and family schedules, completing paperwork, improving study skills, and staying in school. 

    The Accelerating Recovery through Credentials Adult-Ready Playbook – A comprehensive framework of the most promising strategies for serving post-traditional learners. The resources include a self-assessment and several action guides that provide detailed strategies and key action steps.

    Parenting Student

    The Parent Pathways Learning Network (PPLN) was established as a cross-agency collaboration utilizing grant funding from Ascend at the Aspen Institute. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice established a Parent Pathways Learning Network where six institutions could learn about the issues of parenting students and establish a recommendation report to better serve these learners. The recommendation report is available on the PPLN website. Efforts to scale this work are being considered by other institutions.

    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 nationally representative data available.

    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?

     

    1 Building Family-Friendly Campuses: Strategies to Promote College Success Among Student Parents