| Summary: | As professionals in higher education, we understand the importance of strong
enrollment numbers for the health of a university. Historically, there have been enough
young people from 18-21 years old available to attend college and maintain healthy
enrollments at institutions. Higher education is currently faced with changing demographics
that reflect a reduction in the population of the traditional-aged student. In order for
colleges to thrive in this new environment, they need to consider focusing on other
constituent groups. The post-traditional learner is one such student type. Adult learners
have different interests, concerns, and goals than their traditional-aged counterparts. The
central research question asked in this dissertation is: How do post-traditional students
make meaning of their lived experiences as they navigate institutions of higher learning?
Research has shown that institutions of higher education can do many things to facilitate
the success of adult learners. Much of this work centers on customized advising,
mentorships, and a shift in the way institutions of higher education do business. Future
research should be done to determine how the challenges encountered by adult students at
public universities compare to their peers at private colleges and how the study findings
might differ if the participants were unable to persist in their programs of study.--Author's abstract
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