Reaching California’s College Attainment Goals: A Closer Look at Adult Learners in California Community Colleges

Too often, the conversation around postsecondary attainment leaves out the very learners who are most essential to California’s future: adults balancing work, family, and education. Today, just 56% of adults ages 25 to 64 in our state hold a degree or high-value credential. Among those age 25 or older who begin their postsecondary journeys at a community college, fewer than one in four complete a degree, earn a credential, or transfer within four years.

This first data brief in a new series helps us understand why. Nearly half of all California’s community college students are 25 or older. These learners bring experience, motivation, and complex lives to the classroom and yet, our systems still center a “traditional” student profile that no longer reflects reality.

When we talk about serving adult learners, we are talking about recognizing the real lives, responsibilities, and aspirations they carry with them as they pursue education and opportunity. We hope this research sparks curiosity, raises new questions, and encourages all of us to ask what we can reimagine right now to better meet adult learners where they are.