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Adult students make up a large and growing proportion of the current undergraduate population, and this trend is expected to continue in the future (Habley, 2006). A National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) report from 1986 defines adult learners as persons who possess a high school diploma or GED (General Equivalency Diploma) and have “been away from formal education for at least two years” (Eriksen et al., 1986, p.3). However, many institutions use an age-based definition of adult students, usually either age 24 and older or age 25 and older (Eriksen et al., 1986).

The statistics on adult participation in higher education are staggering. The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL, 2005) has cited statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) showing that “more than one third of students in U.S. higher education are twenty-five or older” (p. 1). Additionally, between 1985 and 1996, U.S. institutions of higher education experienced a “65 percent increase in enrollments of students 35 years of age and older” (CAEL, 2000, p. 3). An NCES report shows that “40 percent of adults in the nation participated in some type of formal adult education for work-related reasons during a twelve-month period in 2002–03” (Kleiner, Carver, Hagedorn, & Chapman, 2005, p.iii).

The unique developmental needs of adult students serve to differentiate them from traditional-age undergraduates. Some of these needs are obvious, such as working around family and work obligations, while others are not as obvious. One such need is the need for combined career advising and academic advising on an individual level. A complementary academic and career advising plan is a necessary component for the higher education experience of adult students if they are to successfully realize their full human potential.

Hughey and Hughey (2006) note that “the development of an academic and career plan that effectively prepares students for their future is an important task for advisors” (p. 9). Many university employees assume that adult students have well-thought-out and well-defined career goals. However, this is often not the case. Hughey and Hunt (2006) point out that many people are pre-occupationally illiterate, meaning that they have knowledge of only a small percentage of the existing occupations in the current job market. Furthermore, most do not even really know or understand the work requirements and responsibilities of the occupations that they are able to name (Hughey & Hunt, 2006). As a result, academic advisers may end up serving a valuable role in educating and advising adult students on major and career options and opportunities.

Additionally, a NACADA task force report entitled Advising Adult Learners cited a survey conducted by Astin that showed that “preparing for a job” (Eriksen et al., 1986, p. 5) was one of the top three reasons given by adults for enrolling in a college or university. The same NACADA report cited research by Schlossberg that noted that nonevents, such as promotions that never materialize, job loss, or dissatisfaction with one's work, are often precursors to college enrollment for adult students (Eriksen et al., 1986). An Education Commission of the States (ECS) report goes on to say, “Higher levels of education and training are increasingly becoming the prerequisite for not only high-wage jobs but also those that pay just a living wage” (Bailey & Mingle, 2003, p. 1). The evidence presented by the above research can lead to only one conclusion: adults are increasingly entering and re-entering institutions of higher education mainly for occupational-related reasons, and they will expect career guidance and expertise as well as academic course planning from their advisers.

The importance of integrated career and academic advising for adult students has been emphasized by several theorists and models. O'Banion (1994), who wrote as an adviser from a community college background (which is an institutional model that has traditionally been recognized for serving large numbers of adult students), has named “exploration of vocational goals” (p. 10) as the second step in his five-step model of academic advising. This step includes “knowledge of vocational fields, skill in the interpretation of tests, understanding of changing nature of work in society, and acceptance of all fields of work as worthy and dignified” (O'Banion, 1994, p. 11). The Adult Learning Focused Institution Initiative's second principle of institutional effectiveness for serving adult learners is “life and career planning” (CAEL, 2000, p. 5). This principle states that the institution should adhere to practices that engage “the adult learner in a thorough process of education and career planning to determine their level of educational development upon entry, their educational and career goals, and a plan for reaching these goals as efficiently as possible” (CAEL, 2000, p. 7). Experience and research with adult students, such as that cited above, illustrate the importance of combined career and academic advising for adult learners.

Research conducted with adult learners has shown positive correlations between solid career planning and adult student retention. In a study conducted by Shields (1994), career certainty was one of two variables that exhibited a “significant positive effect” (p. 18) on the grade-point average of returning adult students. Staman (quoted in Shields, 1994) has noted that “having defined career goals seems related to persistence” (p. 15). Additionally, a NACADA Clearinghouse article by Nutt (2003) states, “since student indecision as to major or career options is a primary factor in student persistence, advising programs should have strong links to the career services on campus as a part of any retention plan” (¶ 5). This research is further evidence that academic advisers need to add at least a basic understanding of career advising to their professional repertoire. Nontraditional students, of which adult learners are a subcategory, have historically had lower rates of persistence than traditional-age students (Bean & Metzner, 1985). Because attrition is a concern for adult learners, factors that have been shown to improve retention and matriculation for this population, such as having well-planned career goals, need to be kept in mind by advisers as they work with this group of students.

Many adult learners enter or re-enter institutions of higher education to change or further their careers or as a result of job loss or dissatisfaction (Schlossberg cited in Eriksen et al., 1986). Simply because adult students have chosen to return to school to prepare for better paying jobs does not necessarily mean that they have well-defined or well-thought-out career goals. Many adult students have never had the opportunity to explore their skills, values, and career interests. Additionally, they may be uninformed about and unfamiliar with the wide array of occupational choices in today's workplace and how academic programs and majors relate to these occupations. This may be especially true for adult students who are entering college as a result of receiving education and tuition benefits as part of severance packages from companies that are either closing or downsizing their workforce.

Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that advisers working with adult students add basic career advising knowledge to their professional toolbox. Gordon (2006) notes, “career advising does not require advisor competencies that are not already known and practiced by academic advisors” such as “communication, teaching, and referral” (¶ 4). Because a large investment of time and training is not necessary to cross-train advisers in the most basic components of career advising competencies, and given the positive impact of an integrated advising approach on the persistence and success of adult learners, there should be no hesitation on the part of academic advising units to add career advising to the repertoire of their employees. A comprehensive approach to advising is the most effective way to ensure that adult students achieve both their full academic potential and future occupational success.

References

Adult Learning Focused Institution of Higher Education. (2005). Principles in practice: Assessing adult learning focused institutions. Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. Chicago: Author.

Bailey, A. A., & Mingle, J. R. (2003). The adult learning gap: Why states need to change their policies toward adult learners (No. PS-03-04). Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States.

Bean, J., & Metzner, B. (1985). A conceptual model of nontraditional student attrition. Review of Educational Research, 55, 485–450. Retrieved October 19, 2006, from the JSTOR database.

Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. (2000). Serving adult learners in higher education: Principles of effectiveness [Executive summary]. Chicago: Author.

Eriksen, J., LeClaire, J., Murray, M., Mann, C., Webb, M., Polson, C., et al. (1986, Fall). Advising adult learners. (NACADA Task Force Report, No. 2). Manhattan, KS: National Academic Advising Association.

Gordon, V. N. (2006). What is your career advising I.Q.? Academic Advising News, 28(4). Retrieved October 10, 2006, from http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/AAT/NW28_4.htm#9

Habley, W. (2006, October). Look who's coming to college. Session presented at the Annual Conference of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), Indianapolis, IN.

Hughey, J. K., & Hughey, K. F. (2006). The changing workplace: Implications for academic and career advising. Academic Advising Today, 29(3), 1–9.

Hughey, K., & Hunt, J. (2006, October). Facilitating students' career development and planning: Using career theory to inform and enhance advising. Session presented at the Annual Conference of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), Indianapolis, IN.

Kleiner, B., Carver, P., Hagedorn, M., & Chapman, C. (2005). Participation in adult education for work-related reasons: 2002–03 (NCES 2006-040). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Nutt, C. L. (2003). Academic advising and student retention and persistence. Retrieved October 10, 2006, from http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/retention.htm

O'Banion, T. (1994). An academic advising model. NACADA Journal, 14(2), 10–16.

Shields, N. (1994). Retention, academic success, and progress among adult, returning students: A comparison of the effects of institutional and external factors. NACADA Journal, 14(1), 13–24.

About the Author

Gina Marie Harpring is a graduate assistant academic advisor, IU School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis. She can be reached at gmharpri@iupui.edu or 317-274-3976.