Higher Education’s Demographic Tipping Point

http://keptup.typepad.com/academic/2011/09/adult-students-are-the-new-majority.html

“The most significant shift is probably the massive growth in the adult student population in higher education. Thirty-eight percent of those enrolled in higher education are over the age of 25 and one-fourth are over the age of 30. The share of all students who are over age 25 is projected to increase another twenty-three percent by 2019. Policies and norms remain oriented towards “traditional” students. Rankings, awards, and honors go to institutions with great sports teams, prize-winning researchers, or elite student bodies–never to those that are helping nontraditional students master new skills and so that they can reenter the workforce, get promoted, or change careers.”

Read more at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/old-school-colleges-most-important-trend-is-the-rise-of-the-adult-student/245823/

 Old School: College’s Most Important Trend is the Rise of the Adult Student

“The media’s “typical” college student lives on a campus at a four-year institution. But that describes no more than a sixth of the total college population. In fact, there are more college attendees over the age of 30 than such “typical” students. The most significant shift in higher education is the massive growth in the adult-student population.”