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The San Diego & Imperial Community Colleges Regional Consortium (SDI RC) and San Diego & Imperial Center of Excellence (COE) are launching the Adult Learner Success Initiative this fall — a regional effort to help colleges better serve “adult learners,” defined as students age 25 and older who balance education with work, family, and other responsibilities. The initiative builds directly on findings from the COE's Adult Learner Study, which found that adult learners represent nearly half of the region’s college population. Cross-functional teams from the San Diego & Imperial Community Colleges will come together to examine institutional practices, identify gaps, and develop strategies that support adult learner success.

As part of the initiative, the COE and SDI RC have partnered with Calbright College, California's statewide, fully online, flexibly-paced community college serving the unique needs of California's adult learners, to bring additional expertise in adult learner success to the region. Calbright’s research and partnerships complement the COE’s regional findings, including work with the University of California, Irvine, and ideas42 to apply data and behavioral science strategies to inform new and responsive approaches to increase completion and workforce outcomes for our focus population of working-age adults, and with Riipen to bridge the gap between education and employment by expanding work-based learning opportunities through paid micro-internships.

Participating colleges include Cuyamaca College, Grossmont College, Imperial Valley College, Palomar College, San Diego College of Continuing Education, San Diego Mesa College, and Southwestern College. College teams will convene for an initiative kick-off on Oct. 2, where members of Calbright's Workforce, Economic Development, and Research team will help connect colleges with experts on adult learner strategies — including keynote speaker Dr. Annebelle Nery, President of Santa Ana College.

Dr. Annebelle Nery will deliver the keynote address at the Adult Learner Success Initiative kick-off, sharing strategies for better understanding and supporting adult learners.

Under Dr. Nery’s leadership, Santa Ana College has experienced multiple terms of double-digit enrollment growth and expanded access to flexible educational pathways. The college now ranks first among California Community Colleges in online education and serves the largest unduplicated headcount in noncredit/continuing education. Dr. Nery brings 27 years of experience in higher education, with leadership experience spanning instruction, student services, institutional effectiveness, and planning.

Adult Learner Success Initiative Objectives

These teams will meet monthly to review data, reflect on institutional practices, and explore opportunities for improvement. Through this process, each college will work to:

• Strengthen its capacity to design and implement adult learner-centered strategies 
• Use data, inquiry, and evidence-based decision-making to inform adult learner initiatives 
• Identify and reduce structural barriers faced by adult learners, including scheduling, support services, and outreach 
• Promote cross-college collaboration to uplift the region as a whole 
• Elevate lessons learned to inform leadership, policy, and long-term systems change 

Through the Adult Learner Success Initiative, the COE and SDI RC are helping colleges translate this regional research into action and strengthen the policies, practices, and systems that support adult learners across San Diego and Imperial Counties.

Key Insights from the COE's Adult Learner Study

1️⃣ Adult learners juggle work, parenting, and caregiving which often makes it difficult to find classes that fit their schedules. 


2️⃣ Flexible class schedules and short-term courses are most helpful supports for adult learner completion.


3️⃣ Adult learners who completed courses were more satisfied overall that their community college education was a worthwhile investment.

4️⃣ Adult learners who completed their educational goals saw greater career gains—they were more likely to receive promotions, find full-time employment, and report greater alignment between their training and employment—than non-completers.

The San Diego & Imperial COE supports program development and strategic planning at the San Diego & Imperial Community Colleges through research and training. The COE is funded in part by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office through the Economic and Workforce Development Program and Strong Workforce Program.

Tina Ngo Bartel

Executive Director

Robert Chu

Regional Programs Manager

Annie Li

CTE Research Expert

Tasi Matthews

Regional Professional Development Manager

John Edwards

Research Analyst

Golnoosh Behrouzian

Research Analyst