A Multivariate Analysis (MANOVA) of where Adult Learners Are in Higher Education
Keywords:
Adult Learner; Adult Education; Nontraditional StudentsAbstract
American institutions of higher education were originally
established with the purpose of educating the advantaged youth.
However, over time colleges and universities began to educate more
adult students, those 25 years of age and older. Due to this increase in
adults reentering the academy, it is appropriate and timely to ask where
these students are attending school, what is known about their
distribution in the higher education system, and whether they are
assembled in one type of institution or evenly distributed among
institutions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine
where undergraduate, adult students (25 years of age and older) are
located within the 4-year private, public, and for-profit universities
offering undergraduate degrees in the United States. This study utilized
descriptive and multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) statistical
analyses. Descriptive analysis provided the number, means, and
standard deviations for college and university enrollments obtained
from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) of
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to answer two
research questions. Two MANOVAs and comparative designs were
employed to examine electronic data accessed through IPEDS.
Undergraduate students under the age of 25 are enrolling in 4-year
public and private universities in the United States at about double the
enrollment rate as that of for-profit universities.
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