New Interactive Tool: Adult Learner Exhibit

By Elizabeth González, Chief Program and Strategy Officer, College Futures Foundation

Nearly half of all California Community College students are 25 or older, yet fewer than one in four complete their credential or transfer within four years. These learners are strong and capable. They’re the heart of California’s communities and workforce. Yet the educational systems they encounter are not built for their realities.

How do we rethink systems to better serve this large and vital learner group? It begins with listening to today’s adult learners to truly understand what they need, what they’re facing and what they want from a postsecondary education.

That’s why this past September, College Futures Foundation hosted a forum engaging institutional leaders, researchers, policymakers, and funders in this challenge. In the leadup to our dialogue, participants immersed in an exhibit of adult learner voices and stories, crafted with data from our research partners at Gallup, the California Education Lab, and California Competes.

The experience and conversation that followed were inspiring and insightful. And we want to bring more Californians into it. Today, we’re pleased to invite you into a new interactive space on our website where you can explore the experience of California’s adult learners. Hear their stories and reflections. Share your ideas as we reimagine and rebuild a system that better serves these learners—and California’s future.