Special Reports: Trends & Statistics on Returning to School

Please note: many of these reports are in PDF format (.pdf) and require Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing, which is free to download. Most Internet browsers have Acrobat already installed.

Framing New Terrain: Older Adults and Higher Education.
2007 report from the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Metlife Foundation shows increasing numbers of older adults going back to college, seeking new careers or starting new businesses, and fulfilling lifelong dreams.

Returning to Learning.
Adult students are becoming the new majority on college campuses, but many struggle with language barriers or may not be academically prepared for college curriculum. This 2007 report from the Lumina Foundation shows how adult student success in college is key to America's future.

Degrees of Opportunity.
2006 report details the reasons millions of adults ages 25-60 are going back to college as well as the obstacles faced.

College Access for the Working Poor: Overcoming Burdens to Succeed in Higher Edcuation.
Special report from from the Institute for Higher Education Policy regarding the challenges of the working poor in financing a college education.

Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006.
Report by the Sloan Foundation on the state of online education. Examines responses from more than 2,200 colleges and universities on important issues.

Life After Forty: A New Portrait of Today's - and Tomorrow's - Postsecondary Students.
This report paints a new portrait of this changing student population.

Trends in College Pricing (2005).
The College Board's Annual Survey of Colleges provides information on tuition and other expenses associated with attending public and private insitutions in the United States.

Bureau of Labor Statistic 2000-2010 Employment Projections.
Bureau of Labor Statistics projections on expected future job growth by industry and occupation.

Textbooks 101.
Report on the rising costs of college textbooks by CALPIRG.

Low Income Adult College Students.
This special report from the American Council on Education and the Lumina Foundation presents key information on low-income adult college students in the United States. Included are background characteristics, academic profiles, and special challenges faced by low-income adult students, contrasting their situations with those of traditional students and other adults.

The Big Payoff.
This special study illustrates the value of a college degree. See also The Value of a College Degree as well as Education Pays 2004, and the 2005 Update.

The Burden of Student Loan Borrowing.
As college costs continue rising, students are increasingly carrying high levels of debt to finance their education. See Debts and Decisions: Student Loans and Their Relationship to Graduate School and Career Choice for an analysis on how student loan debt impacts post-baccalaureate educational and career choices.

Lifelong lessons (Winter 2005).
Special report from the Lumina Foundation. Nontraditional students are becoming the norm as adults seek postsecondary education in growing numbers.

Learning in the Fast Lane: Adult Learners' Persistence and Success in Accelerated College Programs.
Presented by the Lumina Foundation. A comparison of the success rates of adult students in accelerated and traditional college programs.

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