| This study attempts to determine the factors that influence adult part-time students when making decisions to attend college credit courses, and specifically the role of environmental cognition in center selection. Three groups are sampled: teachers, mainly pursuing requirements for Pennsylvania permanent teacher certification; registered nurses in an extended baccalaureate degree program; and continuing education administrators responsible for part-time credit programs. Data collected for both groups of adult students and administrators was obtained from branch campuses of The Pennsylvania State University located in Western Pennsylvania.;Continuing education administrators responsible for credit programs are the third group sampled. Since administrative decisions clearly impact upon the success of any continuing education program, awareness by administrators of the adult student's cognitions is crucial. The administrators surveyed are aware intuitively (or experientially) of factors important to adults deciding to attend courses. Administrators, however, tended to overestimate the importance of academic considerations and underestimate the importance of environmental considerations in the decision process of the adult student.;In general, this study demonstrates: the lack of concern for distance in the decision process for enrollment by adult students, and their willingness to travel outside of their weekly activity space to attend courses; the importance of easily accessible center locations; and the discrepancies between administrative service areas and the actual tributary areas of centers.;Contrary to models based primarily on friction of distance assumptions, this study shows that environmental factors other than absolute distance to the center strongly influence the decision process of adult students attending credit courses on a part-time basis. Although occupational considerations dominate teachers' decisions for enrollment, ease/safety considerations, personal schedule considerations, and convenience considerations are important components in the decision process for this group. Nurses, unlike teachers in that they are in a specific degree program, are primarily influenced by personal schedule considerations when enrolling in courses, and to a lesser extent by distance considerations, ease/safety considerations, and academic considerations. Both groups are influenced by environmental factors when selecting continuing education centers for courses, however, teachers express more concern for environmental considerations than do nurses. |
