Non-profit colleges and universities do not provide enough opportunities for adults seeking to obtain a college degree, according to research by Education school faculty.
The research was released earlier this week as part of a report on the availability of higher education for adults.
Assistant Education Prof. Brian Pusser, said the report, titled "Returning to Learning: Adults' Success in College is Key to America's Future," showed that "in the nation's labor force there are 34 million adults who have no college experience and 20 million who have some college experience but no degree."
John Levin, University of California, Riverside professor, said he worked with University of Virginia faculty, finding that there are millions of students nationally who are greatly disadvantaged in the quest to earn a college degree.
"Students who are not financially advantaged, students who are older, students who are the first in their family to go to college and students with children have considerable difficulty making it to college or through college," he said.
Education School Dean David Breneman said he and two other University faculty members became interested in this research when they observed that for-profit organizations, such as the University of Phoenix, gave adults more opportunities to earn a college degree than did non-profit institutions.
"The assumption was that traditional colleges and universities were not making enough opportunities for adult students," he said. "Adults need jobs at nights and weekends. ... We were raising the question of ... why can't we do a better job of serving this population as well."
Pusser said non-profit universities and colleges differ from for-profit ones in that non-profit institutions "do not distribute any surplus revenue to shareholders."
Funding for the research came from the Lumina Foundation for Education, an organization that expressed interest in the Education School's project, Pusser said.
"The Lumina Foundation is very interested in adult learners and also very interested in community college students and baccalaureate attainment," he said.
Breneman noted that adult education is important for the future workforce.
"I think part of our purpose is to raise awareness of this issue so people in universities around the country will stop and look at it," he said.
Breneman added that the creation of the University's Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies Program was the University's reaction to the population of adults seeking a college degree.
Donna Plasket, assistant dean and BIS director, said the University established the program in 1999.
"What BIS does is make it possible for working adults to come to the University and complete their baccalaureate degrees on a part-time basis with classes in the evening and the weekends," she said.
She added that 20 to 22 percent of these students also work for the University.
"[They] work throughout the University ... making it possible for everyone else to complete their degree," she said. "The University is very supportive financially for employees going back to school"
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