Part-time students are not a niche population in higher education; they represent about one-quarter of all undergraduate students at four-year institutions and nearly two-thirds at two-year institutions. Yet, their persistence and completion rates remain substantially lower than those of their full-time peers. These gaps do not reflect motivation or ability. Many learners have to enroll part time because they are working long hours, caring for children or family members, navigating limited aid, or trying to fit required courses around schedules and support services built for students who can study full time and access campus services during traditional business hours. For too long, the prevailing approach to addressing these outcomes gaps was to encourage part-time students to increase their credit loads or to enroll full time, rather than designing solutions that meet them where they are. As a result, a large and growing population of part-time students face structural barriers that limit their success.

Our new report, Part Time, Full Potential: Strategies for Improving Outcomes for Part-time Learners, supported by Arnold Ventures, examines who part-time learners are, the barriers they face, and where targeted research and reform could have the greatest impact on improving their outcomes. Drawing on national data analysis, a review of the research and policy landscape, and conversations with experts across higher education, the report identifies opportunities to better align research, policy, and practice with the realities of today’s students.

The report identifies five overlapping characteristics that help clarify where needs are concentrated. Compared with full-time students, part-time learners are more likely to work full time, be age 25 or older, attend public two-year institutions, enroll exclusively online, and have children. This matters for policy and practice because many students shift between full-time and part-time enrollment over the course of their studies, and few institutions serve part-time learners exclusively. Therefore targeted interventions that support working learners, adult learners, online students, student parents, and community college students are likely to reach a substantial share of the part-time population, even if they do not cater exclusively to part-time students.

The report highlights six focus areas for research and action:

  • Comprehensive wraparound support: Programs that combine financial assistance, advising, tutoring, and other supports have the strongest evidence for improving student success, but they have largely been designed for full-time students. More research is needed to determine how these models can be adapted effectively for part-time learners.
  • Flexible course scheduling and delivery: More predictable, flexible, and accelerated course schedules may help part-time students balance college with work and caregiving responsibilities. Future research should identify which scheduling approaches improve completion without compromising learning.
  • Expanded degree pathways to account for prior learning: Many part-time students bring valuable knowledge from work, military service, or other experiences, but inconsistent credit for prior learning policies limit their ability to apply it toward a credential. Stronger evidence is needed on which approaches improve completion and can be implemented effectively at scale.
  • Career-focused supports and employer-connected pathways: Advising, employer partnerships, and work-based learning that connect education more directly to career advancement may help part-time students stay engaged and complete their credentials. Research should examine which models produce the greatest benefits for academic and labor market outcomes.
  • Access to public benefits: Programs such as SNAP and Medicaid can reduce financial pressures that interfere with enrollment and persistence, yet many eligible students never receive them. More evidence is needed on how institutions and states can increase benefit uptake and how access affects student success.
  • Expanded access to state financial aid: Part-time students often receive less financial aid despite facing significant financial barriers. As states expand aid eligibility, research can help identify which policies most effectively improve persistence, completion, and longer-term outcomes.

This work is particularly urgent given ongoing policy changes, including the implementation of Workforce Pell, evolving federal student loan policies that could alter how part-time students finance their education, and changes to SNAP and Medicaid that may affect students’ access to basic-needs supports. As policymakers, researchers, and institutions respond to these ongoing changes, part-time students should not be an afterthought, but instead should be given close attention as a population whose success is essential to the future of postsecondary education and workforce development.