The Adult Learning Focused Institution: Principles and Practices February 28, 2008

1. The Adult Learning Focused Institution: Principles and PracticesFebruary 28, 2008 Judith Wertheim, Ed.D. Vice President for Higher Education Services CAEL

2. CAEL’s Mission The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) Mission Statement • To advance lifelong learning in partnership with educational institutions, employers, labor organizations, government, and communities • To remove barriers and expand lifelong learning opportunities for adults

3. CAEL’s Current Partners Among its projects, CAEL is working with • Kentucky • Louisiana • Oklahoma • Pennsylvania • Wisconsin to identify creative strategies that will encourage adults to return to school and complete degrees.

4. Emphasizing College Enrollment In his State of the State address (February 5, 2007), Governor Brad Henry stressed the importance of higher education in Oklahoma: • Though college enrollment is at record levels, Oklahoma “must…work toward producing more college graduates.”

5. Oklahoma’s Challenge Yet, as Chancellor Glen Johnson said: • “Currently, we are below the national average in the percentage of our population with college degrees, so there is much to do.” • “We must enhance our efforts to retain and graduate our college students at a higher rate.” January, 2007

6. The Adult Learner

7. What Are Barriers for Adults? • Institutional • Policies and practices that impede and discourage adult learners • Situational • Adult learner’s life situation or circumstances • Dispositional • Adult learner’s personal concerns, beliefs, or attitudes

8. Deciding to Enroll Main Factors Influencing an Adult’s Decision to Enroll in Higher Education • Convenient time and place for classes • Flexible pacing for completing program • Ability to transfer credits • Reputation of institution • Requirement for current or future job

9. Deciding to Enroll Factors Influencing an Adult’s Decision to Enroll (cont’d.) • Credit for learning gained from life/work experiences • Availability of online courses • Availability of financial assistance • Tuition assistance from employer • Availability of child care

10. The Adult Learning Focused Institution The Adult Learning Focused Institution (ALFI) Project Origins • CAEL’s 1999 Benchmarking Study of six high-performing, adult-serving colleges and universities • Best Practices in Adult Learning, a CAEL book • Study findings distilled into eight Principles of Effectiveness • Assessment Tools released in 2004 • Adult Learner Inventory • Institutional Self-Assessment Survey

11. CAEL’s ALFI Project CAEL’s Principles of Effectiveness for Serving Adult Learners • Outreach • Life & Career Planning • Financing • Assessment of Learning Outcomes • Teaching-Learning Process • Student Support Systems • Technology • Strategic Partnerships

12. ALFI Principle #1 ALFI Principle #1 • Outreach • The institution conducts its outreach to adult learners by overcoming barriers in time, place, and tradition in order to create lifelong access to educational opportunities.

13. ALFI Principle #2 ALFI Principle #2 • Life and Career Planning • The institution addresses adult learners’ life and career goals before or at the onset of enrollment in order to assess and align its capacities to help learners reach their goals.

14. ALFI Principle #3 ALFI Principle #3 • Financing • The institution promotes choice using an array of payment options for adult learners in order to expand equity and financial flexibility.

15. ALFI Principle #4 ALFI Principle #4 • Assessment of Learning Outcomes • The institution defines and assesses the knowledge, skills, and competencies acquired by adult learners both from the curriculum and from life/work experience in order to assign credit and confer degrees with rigor.

16. ALFI Principle #5 ALFI Principle #5 • Teaching/Learning Process • The institution’s faculty use multiple methods of instruction (including experiential and problem-based methods) for adult learners in order to connect curricular concepts to useful knowledge and skills.

17. ALFI Principle #6 ALFI Principle #6 • Student Support Systems • The institution assists adult learners using comprehensive academic and student support systems in order to enhance students’ capacities to become self-directed, lifelong learners.

18. ALFI Principle #7 ALFI Principle #7 • Technology • The institution uses information technology to provide relevant and timely information and to enhance the learning experience.

19. ALFI Principle #8 ALFI Principle #8 • Strategic Partnerships • The institution engages in strategic relationships, partnerships, and collaborations with employers and other organizations in order to develop and improve educational opportunities for adult learners.

20. ALFI Principle #9 ALFI Principle #9 (Identified after a pilot project with 25 community colleges) • Transitions • The institution supports guided pathways leading into and from its programs and services in order to assure that students’ learning will apply to successful achievement of their educational and career goals.

21. All of the Principles The Principles of Effectiveness are: • Integrated – they work together • Indivisible – they form a whole • Imperative – not just “a good idea”

22. The ALFI Assessment Toolkit The ALFI Assessment Tools • Adult Learner Inventory (CAEL & Noel-Levitz) is an adult student survey based on ALFI • Institutional Self-Assessment Survey (CAEL & NCHEMS) is for adult degree program administrators • Both tools piloted in 2002-2003 and released in 2004

23. ALFI Tools - ALI Adult Learner Inventory (ALI) • Survey to capture the experience of adult students in undergraduate programs • Developed in partnership with Noel-Levitz. Available from Noel-Levitz via CAEL Web site: http://www.cael.org/alfi/ali.html • ALI focuses on seven of the eight CAEL ALFI Principles –(Strategic partnerships principle is not covered because students are unlikely to know about this area), plus the new area of Transitions • Items rated on a 1-7 scale (1 is low; 7 is high) • Structure of the instrument follows the Noel-Levitz model with students indicating both the level of importance and the level of satisfaction for each item

24. ALFI Tools - ALI Adult Learner Inventory Survey • 47 items rated for importance and satisfaction • 10 optional items defined by the institution, rated for importance and satisfaction • Version for four-year institutions and a version for two-year community colleges; same items; text adjustments • 2 summary items – overall satisfaction and likelihood student will recommend to other adult students • 18 standard demographic items (gender, age, employment, etc.) • 2 optional demographic items (one major/program and one other) (With thanks to Julie Bryant, Senior Director, Retention Solutions, Noel-Levitz for much of the ALI information)

25. The ALI Sample Questions from the Adult Learner Inventory • My program allows me to pace my studies to fit my life and work schedules. • I am able to obtain information I need by phone, fax, e-mail, or online. • Sufficient course offerings within my program of study are available each term. • I can receive credit for learning derived from my previous life and work experiences.

26. ALI Scores • Importance scores • How important is it for your program to meet this expectation? • Satisfaction scores • How satisfied are you that your program is meeting this expectation? • Performance gap scores • The discrepancy between the expectation (importance score) and the reality (satisfaction score).

27. Top Scales in Order of Importance to Adult Learners (4-year) • Outreach • Teaching-learning process • Life and career planning • Financing • Student support services • Technology • Assessment of learning outcomes

28. Top Scales in Order of Importance to Adult Learners (2-year) • Outreach • Life and career planning • Teaching-learning process • Financing • Transitions • Technology • Student support services • Assessment of learning outcomes

29. ALFI Tools - Institutional Survey Institutional Self-Assessment Survey (ISAS) The ISAS is a paper-based survey that iscompleted by administrators and faculty and offers a unique opportunity for dialogue across departments about adult learners. It provides the framework you need to examine how your resources, structures and practices impact the success of your adult learners.

30. Institutional Self-Assessment Institutional Self-Assessment Categories • Institutional background • Mission, leadership, and organizational structure • Tuition and financial aid • Teaching and learning • Faculty recruitment and development • Student services • Key constituencies

31. ALFI Tools - ISAS • A version for four-year institutions and a version for community colleges • Approximately 50 items • Completed by an institutional team

32. ALFI Tools - ISAS • ISAS Team • 8-10 individuals representing various offices and divisions • Meet as a group to discuss and come to consensus • One survey is submitted to CAEL

33. The ISAS Institutional Self-Assessment Survey • Sample Item: • To what extent does your institution partner with other organizations (community-based organizations, employers, other postsecondary providers) to deliver student support services: • Not at all • Not very much • Somewhat • A great deal • Almost always (provide examples on supplementary page)

34. The ALFI Tools Provide -- • Comparative data: • Internal: The institution’s perspective vs. adult learner perspective for each scale • External: Your team’s and your students’ ratings vs. students and teams at other institutions that have used the ALFI Assessment Tools

35. How Institutions Respond • Attempt to respond to no more than 3-5 for any given academic year • Consider conducting focus groups to better understand the issue from the student perspective and to begin the problem-solving process • Establish next steps and timelines for initiatives • Inform the campus of the plan and actively work the plan • Inform the campus when changes have been made

36. Using the Tools How Institutions Have Used the Tools • Preparation for accreditation review • Internal program review • Development of strategic plans • Aligning resources to best meet the needs of adult learners • Creating recruitment messages

37. Using the Tools How Institutions Have Used the Tools (cont’d.) • Facilitating discussion & debate • Helping with market niche reporting

38. Recent Uses of ALFI Data Following a recent CAEL study, funded by Lumina Foundation for Education, institutions are: • Developing new and expanded course delivery options (Saturday, Sunday, Friday night, accelerated, hybrid) • Redesigning Web site for adult learners, which is also used as a resource for faculty & staff • Redesigning orientation sessions • Developing non-credit program to help adults transition to college

39. Recent Uses of ALFI Data (cont’d.) • Creating student mentor program to help new students • Hiring advising and retention personnel • Initiating mandatory advising training for faculty; online tools to update information • Forming an Adult Learner committee • Using data to secure a Title III grant to aid student success during first 30 credit hours

40. Recent Uses of ALFI Data (cont’d.) • Exploring articulation agreements with four-year colleges • Using data to inform strategic planning & program review • Using data to inform strategic planning &program review • Using data as baseline for future assessments • Including data in annual report

41. The Major Benefits of ALFI • Use of the ALFI Tools serves to focus attention on adult learner needs and issues. • Indeed, the ALFI project demonstrates that colleges can take specific steps in instruction, assessment of prior learning and student services to improve access, retention, and success for adult learners.

42. Additional Information For more information, please contact me at any time: Judy Wertheim jwertheim@cael.org 312-499-2659

43. Additional Information You can also visit CAEL’s Website: www.cael.org for additional information about • Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) • CAEL Membership • CAEL conferences and Webinars • Publications • White Papers