Why do adult learners return to college?
Michael B. Horn
March 10, 2021
The answer around adult learners and their the decision to return to college is more complex than higher-ed leaders’ data suggest
Higher education leaders love to segment their student population by different categories.
A popular one is to categorize adult learners by their motivation for returning to school. Marketers characterize students as returning to school to do things such as switch careers, change jobs, advance in their career, earn more money, or reskill or upskill.
Although these are perfectly fine categories—and reasons to return to school—they are one-dimensional.
They miss the circumstances—or context—surrounding individuals’ decisions. What made them say “Today is the day I’m going back to school” as opposed to months earlier when they also may have needed a boost in skills or desired a career switch?
