| Institutions of higher education are faced with a dilemma. While continuing to educate traditional-aged students, they are also faced with the task of attracting and retaining adult students. These students represent a voluntary student population (Aslanian & Brickell, 1980; Cross, 1981; Conrad, 1993; Pryor, 1990; Whisnant, Sullivan, & Slayton, 1993) who make the decision to return to higher education based on their needs as adults along with the strength of role conflicts in their lives (Bee, 1996; Crook, 1996). Historically students in higher education were a consistent age group (Twigg, 1994), with limited adult roles to distract their activities as students. Although part-time student status was found to limit student persistence (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 1996a), these informants as full time workers must persist in the face of traditional deterrents. The purpose of this research was to identify those factors in the adult's complex web of personal biography and environmental influences that effect the decision to enter higher education. It was anticipated that his investigation would confirm or dispute findings of prior studies on adults in higher education.; A qualitative methodology was used to delve beneath the surface motivation of economic benefit cited in studies as the most significant factor in this decision to pursue a degree (National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 1997). Through the recounting of their personal stories and the most significant factors in their lives for making the decision to enter higher education, other associated factors of importance in this process were identified. Informants were solicited through the director of both the Organizational Studies Program and a professor of Human Resources Management in a university, with snowballing used to complete the informant pool. Thematic content analysis was employed to identify both recurring and unique themes. These themes were then analyzed in comparison to factors identified in recent studies as significant to the decision-making process.; The significance of this study resides in the identification of factors that were of importance to this population of informants in middle adulthood with a range of 38 to 57 years of age. While often neglected as a student population at the undergraduate level, the increase in adult students makes this of significance to the ability of the institution to meet the needs of this demographic population. It must be remembered, however, that these factors were acted upon by both predisposition to enter and the personal biographies and social factors experienced by the adult. Thus, changes in either may indeed shift the overall significance of a factor to the decision-making process. Consistency of themes may serve to guide the institution in making decisions around the attraction and retention of adult students. |
