6.8 million California adults hold a high school diploma but no college degree—representing an opportunity for colleges to boost enrollment while creating pathways to economic advancement and strengthening the state’s workforce and economy.
This research brief explores how community colleges can implement adult-focused strategic enrollment management (SEM) to better serve this population—focusing not just on getting them in the door, but ensuring they persist and reach their educational and career goals. Based on a developmental evaluation of the Foundation for California Community Colleges’ adult-focused SEM initiative involving 10 community colleges, this brief identifies key strategies to support adult learners and how to implement them.
Key Takeaways
- Nearly 7 million California adults age 25+ have high school diplomas but no college degrees, representing an opportunity for community colleges to expand their focus beyond recent high school graduates, whose enrollment numbers are declining. This shift would help bridge workforce gaps while supporting both institutional stability and economic mobility.
- Adult-focused strategic enrollment management (SEM) helps colleges innovate for adult learners by reimagining enrollment, retention, and graduation strategies to better address their needs.
- Community colleges that used adult-focused SEM saw positive results in enrollment and student persistence, driven by impactful practices like data-driven outreach, early intervention, and flexible scheduling.
- Still, persistent challenges like limited staffing and financial constraints hinder colleges’ ability to focus on adult enrollment.
- To implement SEM successfully, we propose that the community colleges:
- Collect and analyze adult learner data to inform decision-making;
- Leverage local partnerships with governments, employers, and community organizations to expand student access and support;
- Break down organizational siloes through intra-campus collaboration and dedicated adult enrollment champions;
- Create shared knowledge and resources on adult enrollment across colleges;
- Build course schedules to meet adult learners’ needs; and
- Identify sustainable funding and resources that can be used to advance adult SEM efforts.
Related Research & Resources
Research
This report, which draws on over 50 interviews with comebacker students (those who exited college and reenrolled) and a community of practice through CaliforaniaAttain!, identifies four key areas, each with its own set of recommendations for promoting reenrollment and degree attainment while also shifting higher education structures to address the needs of today's diverse college-going population.
Webinar
CaliforniaAttain! partners conducted research and organized a community of practice to better understand the needs and experiences of returning students. This panel discussion delves into the findings of the resulting publication and explores what was learned and the next steps for both institutions and the state to better support comebackers and increase re-enrollment and degree attainment.
