To celebrate the publication of our new playbook and the success of the Pennsylvania Adult Learner Re-Engagement Community of Practice, Ithaka S+R is hosting a virtual convening on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, from 9:30am-12:00pm ET. Individuals interested in supporting adult learner enrollment and success from institutions, community organizations, and policy spaces are invited to attend.

The convening will feature presentations and discussions with institutions about strategies implemented during the community of practice, conversations about future work related to adult learner engagement and enrollment, and promising practices from a new playbook on enrolling adult learners with some college but no credential in Pennsylvania. Please register here if you’d like to join us!

Today, Ithaka S+R published a new playbook on engaging and enrolling adult learners, drawing on contributions from colleges and universities in the PA Adult Learner Community of Practice as well as national research. This playbook, written for institutional leaders and policy makers, highlights key strategies for supporting adult learners across the enrollment path, from identification and outreach to financial support and student success. Throughout each section we highlight promising practices implemented by community of practice participants to improve adult learner re-enrollment and success at their institutions, describe the key stakeholders involved in these strategies, and provide a curated list of national tools and resources.

The key strategies featured in the playbook are organized into four sections that reflect stages in the adult learner re-enrollment path: assessing and identifying barriers to enrollment, connecting and engaging with learners, financing and sustaining enrollment, and supporting students to graduation. While the work of better supporting adult learners across these stages often happens concurrently, focusing on each section individually reveals practical next steps for incremental changes. The key strategies outlined in each section are:

  1. Assess and identify: Identify and remove barriers to enrollment, particularly administrative holds.
    1. Gather information on stopped out students
    2. Simplify administrative holds
    3. Provide returning students with access to their information
  2. Connect and engage: Develop effective messaging and use the appropriate tools to reach adult learners.
    1. Focus messaging on adult learners’ needs and motivations
    2. Provide students with a main point of contact
    3. Conduct targeted outreach
  3. Finance and sustain: Reduce the financial burden of college through basic needs resources, debt relief options, and more.
    1. Create paths to re-enrollment for students with past due balances
    2. Provide clear instructions for state and federal aid processes
    3. Establish financial support and basic needs resources
  4. Support and graduate: Decrease re-enrolled students’ time to credential and meet their flexibility and career needs.
    1. Revise course policies to increase flexibility
    2. Create alignment with students’ career goals
    3. Ensure students are aware of support services

Our team is grateful to the over 50 institutions that joined our community of practice and shared their successes and lessons learned with each other throughout the year, as well the many field experts who presented at our meetings or contributed to our community resources. We are also appreciative of the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s collaboration in this project, as well as the generous financial support from Lumina Foundation and The Kresge Foundation.

If you would like to learn more about Ithaka S+R’s work to support adult learners or let us know how you are using this playbook, please reach out to Liz Looker, senior program manager, at elizabeth.looker@ithaka.org.