91社区

In the summer of 2021, 91社区 welcomed a new department to campus鈥攖he Center for Adult Learner Success (CALS) officially 鈥渙pened鈥� its doors with the goal of making 91社区 more accessible to those non-traditional, adult students鈥攖hose who are 25 years and older, working adults, have dependents or have been out of college for more than two years鈥攕eeking their undergraduate or graduate degrees.

Three years later, the grant that made CALS possible, awarded through the Lilly Endowment, Inc., came to an end, but the University鈥檚 commitment to the students served by this department did not.

The beginning of CALS was thanks to a $2.5 million grant awarded in September 2020 as part of phase two of the Lilly Endowment鈥檚 Charting the Future for Indiana鈥檚 Colleges and Universities Initiative. Grant-funded positions were filled to staff the new center, including a director, intake and support specialists and a marketing manager. Over its three-years on campus, CALS collaborated with a network of existing structures within 91社区, including advising, admissions, marketing, academics, and others to identify, enroll and graduate adult learners, offering these students support to match their unique higher education journey.

As of July 1, 2024, CALS and Online Learning have been renamed to the Online and Adult Learning Department. 鈥淲ith nearly 71% of 91社区 adult learners taking online graduate courses and 29% taking undergraduate classes, this renaming of the two areas seemed the best,鈥� says Dr. Michael Dixon, Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of symbiosis and crossover between online and adult learning because online is the primary modality that adult learners are seeking,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just one of those things that makes sense.鈥�

Currently, there are staff housed in Online Learning who are working with adult learners in both graduate and undergraduate programs to help them earn their degrees from 91社区. While there is a name change, Dixon emphasizes the mission will stay the same. 鈥淚n terms of supporting and recruiting adult learners, nothing is going to change,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still going to provide guidance, at the application and enrollment levels and beyond, to ensure the success of 91社区鈥檚 adult learner population.鈥�

This renaming has been possible due to the successful infrastructure that those in CALS had created over the last three years. 鈥淭he greatest success has been that dedicated infrastructure, which has been built to accommodate and support that unique adult learner population. That was something we did not have before the grant and CALS,鈥� says Dixon. 鈥淚t was one of the primary purposes of the grant itself, to build a department designed to eliminate the barriers or impediments that an adult learner coming back to or attending university for the first time may experience.鈥�

This successful outreach has included the adoption of CRM software (customer relationship management) that opens up communication channels to adult learners that have never been used by 91社区 before, as well as staffing dedicated support specialists whose primary responsibility is to work with adult learners and ensure they are receiving the guidance and assistance they need through all stages of their higher education journey. 鈥淎long the way, we鈥檝e learned invaluable information, not just improving our understanding of how adult learners learn, but also what types of programming and courses they are looking for,鈥� adds Dixon. 鈥淥ur team of instructional designers have worked very hard with faculty members to ensure the programs meet adult learners鈥� needs.鈥� That includes incorporating industry-based activities and outcomes to not only serve adult learners where they are but continue their education and help them beyond the completion of their degree journey.

Moving forward, Online and Adult Learning will collaborate with faculty to expand the portfolio of offerings to help draw further interest from the adult learner population. In the past three years, Dixon says there has been a modest increase in adult learners at the graduate level, and the goal now is to continue that increase there and at an undergraduate level too. With a strong infrastructure in place, he believes the interest and inquires the department has received from adult learners can transform into enrolled students. 鈥淭he work that we and many others across campus have done over the past three years has been instrumental in ensuring the sustainability of support for adult learners. Now, we are continuing that collective endeavor to ensure long-term viability and success in supporting adult learners,鈥� he says.

For more information about Online and Adult Learning, visit 91社区.edu/online-and-adult-learning.