Adult & Professional Learners Committee
Purpose
The SOCHE Adult and Professional Learners Committee provides a forum for sharing ideas, strategies, and best practices to improve recruitment, onboarding, retention, and support for adult and professional learners. The committee seeks to identify effective approaches, define success metrics, and promote services that increase engagement, persistence, and completion among this diverse student population.
The committee is committed to advancing equitable access, effective support, and sustainable enrollment growth for adult and professional learners, ensuring they have the tools and services needed to thrive in higher education.
Scope & Goals
- Share and evaluate strategies for:
- Recruiting adult students who are likely to complete.
- Retaining and supporting under-prepared, working, military-affiliated, and returning students.
- Strengthening orientation and embedding success coaching.
- Supporting mental health and overall student well-being.
- Delivering academic and navigational skills for success.
- Evaluating and awarding credit for prior learning.
- Learn from peers about innovative practices in marketing, outreach, and institutional adaptability.
- Define and promote appropriate success measures for adult learners beyond traditional retention metrics.
- Collaborate with related committees to align resources.
Constituents Served
The Adult and Professional Learners Committee serves:
- Adults returning to education after stopping out.
- Student parents and caregivers.
- Working professionals seeking career advancement, reskilling, or upskilling.
- Military-affiliated students.
- Incumbent workers and career changers.
- Students engaged in credit-bearing and non-credit technical training or apprenticeships.
- Special populations including incarcerated students and those completing rehabilitation programs.
Scheduled Meetings
The SOCHE Adult and Professional Learners Committee meets in a virtual environment approximately three times per school year. Contact Mindy Claggett at SOCHE for all upcoming meeting dates and to join this committee.