What Higher Education Gets Wrong About Adult Learners — And What They Actually Need From Us
By Andrew M. Vasquez, M.P.A.
Founder & Principal Consultant, AMV Consulting
Leadership. Enrollment. Student Success.
Higher education loves to talk about “access” and “lifelong learning,” but in practice, many institutions still design their recruitment, support systems, and messaging around an 18-year-old who moves into a residence hall, joins student clubs, and navigates campus with youthful momentum. For millions of students across the country, that version of college has nothing to do with their reality.
The fastest-growing segment of higher education is adult learners — working professionals, career-changers, parents, veterans, mid-career employees, and individuals returning after ten, twenty, or even thirty years away from a classroom. I’ve spent years recruiting nontraditional students into professional and continuing education programs, and one truth has shaped everything I do:
Adult learners don’t fear the academic work.
They fear whether they still belong in school at all.
And that’s where higher education often gets it wrong.
Adult Learners Aren’t “Nontraditional” — Higher Education Is
When I began recruiting for continuing and professional programs at UT Austin, I quickly realized that adult learners were not just another demographic. They were navigating entirely different questions:
“Am I too old to go back to school?”
“Will I be the only one in my 40s in this cohort?”
“I haven’t written an academic paper in 20+ years — is that going to hold me back?”
“Do I still have what it takes to learn at a graduate level?”
“What if I start and can’t keep up?”
These weren’t questions about ability.
They were questions about identity.
Adult learners often carry decades of professional experience — managing teams, leading departments, solving real problems in the field — yet they arrive at our doors unsure whether they “deserve” a seat.
The irony is that higher education needs adult learners now more than ever. They bring curiosity, discipline, lived experience, diverse perspectives, and an ability to connect theory to practice in ways that enrich entire cohorts. But institutions rarely speak directly to that value.
Instead, marketing materials often default to:
“Finish your degree fast!”
“Flexible schedule!”
“Affordable tuition!”
Useful? Sure.
But not transformational.
Adult learners don’t want to be sold to.
They want to be seen.
Behind Every Adult Learner Is a Private Battle With Imposter Syndrome
One of the most meaningful parts of my career has been coaching adult learners through imposter syndrome. I’ve sat across from students who have:
managed multi-million-dollar projects
led military teams
raised families
completed decades of service in their organizations
launched successful small businesses
returned after raising children or caring for parents
And yet they whisper:
“I’m afraid I won’t belong.”
I’ve watched brilliant, accomplished adults shrink themselves because a classroom feels foreign after 20 years.
I remember one prospective student in particular — a mid-career professional who had worked in management longer than some of our applicants had been alive. She looked at me and said:
“I don’t think I’m smart enough anymore. It’s been too long.”
We spent 45 minutes talking through her fears.
Not her resume.
Not the curriculum.
Not the cost.
Her identity.
She ended up enrolling.
She thrived.
She graduated with distinction.
But imagine how many adults never even make the call.
This is the quiet barrier that institutions underestimate.
Higher Ed Must Stop Marketing “Programs” and Start Communicating “Belonging”
Adult learners don’t need to be convinced of the value of education. They already know it. What they need is to be reassured of their place within it.
Higher ed can support them more effectively by shifting three things:
1. Stop assuming adult learners have low confidence — assume they have high responsibility
Adult learners juggle:
full-time careers
parenthood
caregiving
home ownership
long commutes
health challenges
financial responsibilities
emotional labor
They’re not insecure — they’re exhausted.
And they need a system built to respect their time and complexity.
2. Speak directly to imposter syndrome
Imagine if universities told prospective students:
“You haven’t been in school for 20 years? Good.
Your real-world experience makes you an asset to this program.”
That simple message could change a life.
3. Build student support around empowerment, not remediation
Adult learners don’t need to be “caught up.”
They need:
clear expectations
predictable workflows
responsive communication
instructors who honor their experience
advisors who treat them as partners
cohorts that value their insights
Belonging is not created through slogans.
It’s created through structure.
The Truth: Adult Learners Don’t Need Permission. They Need Partnership.
In my years of recruiting and supporting adult learners, I learned that people are not afraid of academic rigor. They are afraid of academic isolation.
They are afraid of being the oldest in the room.
They are afraid of exposing a gap after decades away.
They are afraid of starting something life-changing without the support to finish it.
When higher ed fails to recognize this, it loses extraordinary talent.
When institutions do recognize it, they transform careers, families, and communities.
A Call to Action for Universities
If higher education wants to truly serve adult learners — not just enroll them — institutions must:
Build messaging that acknowledges fear without amplifying it
Train staff to coach imposter syndrome, not ignore it
Design workflows that reduce friction
Center adult learners’ lived experience in curriculum design
Shift the narrative from “access” to “alignment”
Treat adult learners as the leaders they already are
Because the truth is simple:
Adult learners don’t need higher education to save them.
They need higher education to see them.
And when we do?
They don’t just succeed — they excel.
Let’s build momentum together.
