A new report from Higher Ed Insight finds that, while interest in adult college completion is at an all-time high, colleges and universities must change their policies and practices to better serve students who return to college as adults. Using data from a range of sources, the report explores the challenges adult students face when returning to college and identifies effective practices for supporting these students when they do return to school. The report also examines the role of local, state, and national partnerships that bring together higher education and workforce entities to engage this prospective student population, recognizing the importance of employment and career advancement to many returning adult students.

WICHE's latest publication "POLICY EXCHANGES - Collaboration and Coordination to Improve Adult College Completion Efforts" explores research on the common characteristics of effective multi-stakeholder collaborations, with a particular focus on initiatives working to tackle complex social challenges. The brief includes examples of collaborative efforts that are uniting diverse stakeholders to support adult degree completion at the state and local level.

Earlier this month, Lumina Foundation released their 2015 edition of the A Stronger Nation through Higher Education report. The report is issued annually and examines the nation’s progress towards meeting Lumina’s Goal 2025, which calls for 60 percent of working-age Americans to hold a degree or other high-quality postsecondary credential by 2025. Primarily using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey, the authors present a detailed picture of higher education attainment in the United States at the metropolitan, county, and state levels. While Lumina highlights progress in postsecondary attainment over the past few years, the overarching theme of the report is that we must do more over the next 10 years to achieve Goal 2025. In particular, the report calls for accelerating the postsecondary attainment rate through: improved enrollment, persistence, and completion, particularly by underrepresented students; support for adults’ efforts to return to college; and recognition of all forms of high-quality postsecondary credentials.

As many who work in the world of adult college completion know all too well, tracking down relevant data can be tough. With a significant proportion of publicly available data focused on first-time, full-time students, identifying trends among adult learners with prior credit is challenging. However, over the past few months, some promising new resources have emerged.