Recent trends in higher education indicate a steady increase in the number of adult and non-traditional learners returning to complete college degrees. Though higher education can provide numerous economic and career enhancement opportunities, adult learners experience several challenges when they return to college. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to gather and analyze data from employees from companies in the Midwest to determine the challenges and motivations of adult learners who plan to return to higher education. The results highlight that it is important for institutions of higher education to collaborate with employers to identify ways to modify their student recruitment methods to attract more adult student learners and identify supportive resources to help them complete their degrees successfully.

高等教育的最新趋势表明，返回完成大学学位的成人和非传统学习者人数稳步增加。虽然高等教育可以提供许多经济和职业提升机会，但成年学习者在重返大学时会遇到一些挑战。这项定性研究的目的是收集和分析来自中西部公司员工的数据，以确定计划重返高等教育的成人学习者的挑战和动机。结果表明，高等教育机构必须与雇主合作，找出修改学生招聘方法的方法，以吸引更多的成年学生学习者，并确定支持资源以帮助他们成功完成学位。