Across the nation, there are 36.8 million individuals under the age of 65 with some college and no credential. Approximately 557,000 of these learners have stopped out from Kentucky colleges and universities. Re-enrolling adult learners with some college, no credential is a growing priority across the US and in Kentucky. Credential completion helps individuals get high paying jobs, brings in new tuition revenue for institutions, and helps regions develop a workforce needed for a healthy economy. Individuals and institutions alike face barriers to re-enrollment, however, and this is particularly true when learners who stopped out with unpaid balances and administrative holds want to return. Addressing these challenges is even more important now, as the current federal transcript withholding regulation allows students to access credits that were previously stranded due to institutional debt.

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) recognizes both the value of supporting returning students within the state and the fact that these students can face unique challenges when resuming their educational journey. Alongside institutional efforts, Kentucky CPE has spearheaded a number initiatives meant to re-enroll and support stopped out students. As a part of these efforts, Kentucky CPE and Ithaka S+R collaborated on a research project to better understand the experiences of both institutions and students in the re-enrollment process. Throughout this effort, we explored the challenges and successes associated with re-enrolling adult learners through interviews with stakeholders at Kentucky colleges and universities and within CPE, as well as administrative data on holds, past due balances, and related policies and practices.

Our new issue brief Supporting Adult Learner Engagement in Kentucky outlines key insights this work and offers potential solutions for other states looking to support adult learners. The brief is split into three sections based on the most salient challenges both students and institutions face when adult learners seek to continue their education: 1) administrative holds, 2) past due balances, and 3) the changing landscape of some college, no credential enrollment. In each section, we review what makes these challenges so difficult and provide relevant examples of successful solutions Kentucky institutions are implementing.

Administrative holds

Administrative holds create a barrier for students hoping to return to college and often require large amounts of staff time, coordination, and expertise to manage.

Key opportunities:

  • Work with the appropriate departments to audit all existing holds that can be applied to a student’s account, and streamline the process for resolving them.
  • Establish clear processes and lines of communication between departments responsible for holds—including student facing staff, registrars, and bursars—through one-stops or working groups.
  • Ensure that admissions staff and advisors dedicated to supporting adult learners can see what holds exist on a student’s account and are equipped to help students navigate to resolution efficiently.
  • Ensure that students who have stopped out can see what holds are on their account, as well as contact information and next steps to resolve their holds.

Past due balances

Past due balances often stop students hoping to re-enroll in their tracks, and institutions are only able to recoup fractions of outstanding balances while missing out on tuition from returning students.

Key opportunities:

  • Proactively engage students at multiple points in the semester and through multiple channels to keep payments on track.
  • Develop payment plans and hold agreement forms to help keep students with past due balances on a path to re-enrollment.
  • Design programs that offer debt relief when students re-enroll or finish semesters in good standing.

The changing landscape

The changing landscape of enrollment for adults with some credit, no credential means that institutions that are not actively engaging former students and providing flexibility for enrollment will miss out on new tuition and, potentially, state funding incentives.

Key opportunities:

  • Review policies around administrative holds and past-due balances to create new opportunities for re-enrollment and ensure institutional health.
  • Prioritize belonging for adult learners through a dedicated office or singular point of contact and an informative and welcoming website.
  • Offer flexible course offerings through online and evening classes that accommodate students’ multiple responsibilities, and develop Credit for Prior Learning processes to help students complete their programs efficiently.
  • Allocate scholarship funding to make re-enrollment and completion more accessible.

As institutions and states continue to navigate the enrollment cliff and how to meet the evolving needs of local employers and economies, the focus on stopped out students will likely continue to expand. Those looking to effectively engage returning students can leverage insights from states like Kentucky and tailor them to their unique contexts. Our report offers a starting point for these institutions and states looking to successfully re-enroll and support adult learners in the face of challenges that can be persistent and administratively complex.

This work is made possible by generous funding from Lumina Foundation and The Kresge Foundation. If your institution or state is interested in partnering with Ithaka S+R to address barriers to adult learner re-engagement, through program implementation, technical assistance, or other solutions, please reach out to Liz Looker, senior program manager, at elizabeth.looker@ithaka.org.