Adult learners on campus: An examination of higher education environments.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study was conducted based on the concept that learning and satisfaction will be enhanced by a responsive environment that meets learners' needs. By employing a holistic approach, five environmental variables were included for investigation: admission and registration procedures, institutional physical facilities, administrative arrangements, campus experiences, and interpersonal relationships. The purposes of this study were: (a) to understand how adult students perceived their higher education environments, and (b) to identify the categories of adult students who have less positive experiences in their higher educational environments. Satisfaction with college environments in relation to the five environmental variables were also explored.
A questionnaire was developed to survey adult college students, age 30 and over, in the nine randomly selected institutions in the midwest area of the United States. Three mailings were conducted and the sample size analyzed in this study was 900.
The results showed that many adults considered high school GPA and the GRE and the SAT scores as inappropriate requirements for admission. Limited parking spaces was the top institutional facility concern. Administrative office hours, ways of keeping in touch with other students, and daytime courses were major negative perceptions in the dimension of administrative arrangements. Many adult students had difficulties in developing affiliation with other students and the university. Obstacles to classroom learning included doing group projects, finding study groups for exams, and the lack of alternative formats for evaluation. Provision of adult student services and financial aids were least satisfactory for adult students. Most adults received a high degree of support in their interpersonal relationships. High percentages of adults reported situational factors as affecting their study. In contrast, fewer health problems were indicated by adult students as affecting their study. Most adults had high levels of self-perceptions as students. The results also showed that adult students had very similar experiences in various dimensions of higher education environments. However, adult students' age, gender, and degree pursued did affect their environmental perceptions in some respects.
Recommendations were made to administrators, faculty, and staff members of higher education institutions that may enable them to provide more responsive educational environments for adults.