What’s an Adult?

My birthday is in November, so when I first went to college at the University of Vermont, I was 17. Given the law in the state at the time, and the social environment at my university, adult had an attractive legal meaning. Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “fully developed and mature,” something in retrospect I can’t claim I was. Arguably as I am about to turn 61, I wonder if it is something one ever achieves, at least if you believe that one is always learning.

A few weeks ago, Jeffrey Selingo, former editor at large with the Chronicle of Higher Education and top-selling author of a number of books on the higher education value proposition, reached out to me on a piece he is working on about how some universities are transforming themselves to serve new student markets through distance education. He’d noticed our big jump and wanted to know more about it. I’d met Jeff the year before and he signed a copy of his book, College Unbound, inscribing it, “Joshua—Here’s to the future of higher ed and all you do to ensure student success.—Jeff Selingo.” I did the interview and engaged a variety of insightful questions that got me thinking deeply about what it means to be an adult.

Surely all or most of you reading this know we have a robust online operation. We launched WP Online in April 2020, not because of the pandemic, but serendipitously as it was emerging. In four and a half years, we have grown from 0 to 4,399 students (as of October 27), and as of Census I a few weeks back, WP Online represented 40 percent of our total enrollment. You’ve probably also heard that the average age of WP Online students is in the mid-30s. What you may not know is that our “adult” story is about more than just age, and more than just WP Online. While we have a definition of “adult” that has an age marker, there are three additional markers. An “adult student” at WP has one or more of these characteristics:

24 or older, have dependents, have veteran status, and/or are financially independent for FAFSA purposes.

Following that definition, and excluding dual enrollment students still in high school, 61 percent of our total student body is an adult (as of October 27). So, we are a majority adult campus, almost as much as we are a majority-minority campus. And, just on main campus (i.e., excluding WP Online), we have 2,212 adult students, almost evenly split between undergraduate and graduate students. Finally, when you consider just main campus undergraduate students, nearly two in 10 are an “adult.” To put all this in perspective in terms of the state, there are approximately 820,000 persons in New Jersey with some college but no degree (27,000 more than last year) according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse. There were about 117,000 high school graduates in New Jersey last year, roughly 7 times fewer.

Thankfully we have broadened the tent of students we serve. We need adult students and the state needs them educated. As you might guess, our adult student story figured prominently in my interview. What a great thing we have going here at WP. And if you want to know more how we are innovatively serving adults, check out the Degree Completion and Adult Learning website, a unit within our new College of Adult and Professional Studies. Dr. George Kacenga, our vice president for enrollment management, also sat for a recent national podcast on the topic that may be of interest.

Academic News

Office of Sponsored Programs Updates. Faculty and staff continue to bring in beneficial grants and contracts. Some recent examples are Dr. Jason Silva, assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice who was awarded a $523,900 Department of Justice grant titled, A Comprehensive Assessment of Public Mass Shootings and Active Shootings Involving Misogyny, Sexual Frustration, and Violence Against Women, which will investigate mass shooter behaviors. Dr. Jason Wicke, professor in kinesiology, secured an approximately $128,000 grant from the CDC to study longitudinal changes in physical characteristics in the stages of pregnancy, titled Capturing Body Segment Changes during Pregnancy to Develop an Accurate Biomechanical Model. Casey Mathern, director of University Galleries and Collections, secured approximately $10,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities for print and poster collection rehousing.

Draft AI Policy in Teaching and Learning. Since spring 2024, the Technology Across the Curriculum Committee, a body representing every academic department at the University, has been hard at work developing a draft policy for Faculty Senate and Academic Affairs consideration. Informed by resources collected from around the country, and a workshop they led among all faculty on Welcome Day, they have produced a draft that will shortly be engaged with the Faculty Senate for additional insight and reflection, and ultimately adoption.

Academic Affairs and Decolonization. More than 70 persons, primarily faculty, attended a workshop on October 22 led by a national expert Dr. Sonya Douglass from Teachers College at Columbia University. Her SCALE Framework was very informative to department and college goal setting in this arena. Her PowerPoint presentation and the workshop recording can be found on the Center for Teaching Excellence website.

Reminder: The deadine for a proposal submission for the December What Works for Student Success Conference is Monday, November 4. Here is the link to the Call for Proposals and the link to submit.

Facts & Figures

Undergraduate Adult Learners at WP (as of 10/27/24):

• 68 percent women; 32 percent men.
• 30 percent Hispanic, 21 percent Black, 29 percent White, 20 percent Other
• Breakout by college: 45 percent COSH; 32 percent CAHSS; 17 percent CCOB; 6 percent COE.

National Data on the Some College, No Degree Population:

• 36.84 million with SCND under age 65.
• Roughly evenly split between women and men.
• Before the age of 35, men disproportionately represent the SCND population. At 35, it starts to shift in the other direction.

Quotables

“Higher education wasn’t designed for working adults. That keeps many adult learners from gaining new skills, locking them out of better paying jobs, and effectively hold state economies hostage—without the skilled workforce they need to thrive.”

– ReUp, New Jersey’s partner for reducing the number of its citizens with some college but no degree.

“Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.”

– Oprah Winfrey, college stop out in 1975, one credit short, who returned to complete her studies and graduate in 1987.

The Provost’s Office is Brenda, Claudia T., Claudia C., Jonathan, Rhonda, Sandy, Kara, and Josh. You can reach us at 973-720-2122; provost@wpunj.edu.