News & Updates
Community colleges are navigating a complicated moment: enrollment pressures, changing demographics, growing workforce demands, and an urgent need to help more adults move toward credentials, careers, and economic mobility. Adult education students — those in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and GED/High School Equivalency (HSE) programs — are central to that work. And at many community colleges, these learners are not “prospective students” in the abstract. They are already college students on the non-credit side taking steps toward their education and career goals.
For adult education students, ESOL and GED/HSE programs can be a powerful first step toward college and career advancement, but they should not be the last step. Clear bridges into credit-bearing, workforce-aligned pathways can help students turn their progress into credentials of value, stronger employment opportunities, higher wages, and greater economic mobility. When more adult learners achieve those outcomes, the benefits extend beyond individual students to employers, local economies, and communities. That broader connection between student success and thriving communities is at the heart of ATD’s Community Vibrancy Framework.
This work also has practical implications for colleges. Because many adult education programs often operate within community colleges, colleges are already connected to many of the adult learners they are trying to reach. In that sense, adult education represents both a student success imperative and a strategic enrollment opportunity. Sharon Bonney, CEO of COABE: Lead. Equip. Empower, the largest membership organization for adult educators, sees these goals as deeply connected: “Adult education students are already taking important steps toward their futures. When colleges look intentionally at their own pathway structures and create clear bridges from adult education into credit-bearing programs, they can strengthen enrollment while helping more students move toward credentials, careers, and economic mobility.”
“…adult education represents both a student success imperative and a strategic enrollment opportunity.”
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How intentional design increased matriculation at Clover Park Technical College
Nationally, federally funded adult education programs served more than 1.2 million students in 2023. Yet at many colleges, only a small share of adult education students continue into credit-bearing programs. Closing that gap requires colleges to intentionally design pathways that help adult education students see college as the next step and to ensure data on matriculation exists. Clover Park Technical College (CPTC) in Lakewood, Washington, shows what can happen when a college makes intentional changes to better connect adult education students to college-level programs. As a result of their efforts, CPTC increased the percentage of students matriculating from ESOL and GED/HSE programs into credit-bearing programs from roughly 1% to nearly 20%.
“…adult education-to-credit pathways are built through institutional design, not individual effort alone.”
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CPTC’s experience shows that increases in matriculation from adult education to credit-bearing programs requires redesigning the student experience so adult education students can see themselves as college students, understand which pathways connect to their goals, and receive support before, during, and after the transition. CPTC’s work offers three guiding principles for making the next step into credit-bearing programs more visible, valuable, and navigable:
Foster belonging from the beginning.
CPTC treats belonging as something that begins right at intake. Rather than leading with paperwork, testing, or college jargon, CPTC uses intake to help adult education students feel seen as learners who already bring strengths, experiences, and goals to the college. For HS/GED students, non-credit staff set group norms, create a welcoming environment, and hold individualized conversations with each student about their goals, circumstances, lived experience, and prior learning. Adult education programs have streamlined and reduced forms and testing to prevent overwhelming students before they have even begun. CPTC also reinforces belonging through college-wide recognition by including GED/HSE graduates in a joint graduation ceremony as part of the college graduation. This sends a message to students, families, faculty, staff, and the broader community that adult education students are part of the college and that their accomplishments are central to the institution’s mission.
Make pathways clear, connected, and intentional.
CPTC makes the pathway from adult education to credit-bearing programs clear early, so students are not left to discover their next step on their own. CPTC embeds adult education intake and instruction both in community-based locations and on campus, helping students begin in accessible, familiar settings while also gaining exposure to the college environment. The same staff work across community and campus locations, helping students experience these spaces as connected rather than separate. Rather than waiting until students complete ESOL or GED/HSE programming to discuss what comes next, CPTC also builds college and career exploration into the adult education experience. Students receive individual college pathway advising, learn about program options, and are connected to resources that can help them address barriers. This helps students understand not only how to enroll in college but which programs connect to their career goals and local workforce opportunities.
Share responsibility for student success between non-credit and credit.
CPTC treats the transition into credit-bearing programs as a shared responsibility, not a handoff from one part of the college to another. Adult education staff remain connected to students as they move into credit-bearing programs, and the college uses a peer mentoring program to support belonging and help students navigate the college experience. CPTC also brings college deans and faculty into the transition process so students can build connections with the people and programs they are moving toward. Together, these practices make credit-bearing pathways more concrete and create shared responsibility across the institution for ensuring that matriculating adult education students succeed.
Together, these strategies show that adult education-to-credit pathways are built through institutional design, not individual effort alone. When belonging, pathway clarity, and shared responsibility are embedded across the student experience, colleges can help adult education students move from access to momentum to mobility.
CPTC’s story points to a broader field-level opportunity: adult education should be treated as a critical part of the higher education and workforce ecosystem, not as a program on the fringes.
“For many adult learners, the journey to a credential doesn’t begin when they enroll in a credit-bearing program. It begins the moment they walk through the door of an ESOL or GED/HSE classroom.”
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Consider how to create clearer pathways from adult education to credit-bearing programs
For colleges looking to strengthen adult education as part of their strategic enrollment management and community vibrancy work, several questions can help guide the next steps:
- How many adult education students transition into credit-bearing programs each year?
- How are adult education students included in the college’s enrollment strategy, data conversations, and student success priorities?
- Are college and career pathways introduced early and often so adult education students understand which programs connect to their goals, career interests, and local employment opportunities?
- How are adult education students being introduced to programs that connect to regional labor market demand, family-sustaining wages, and opportunities for career advancement?
- Have intake, placement, and enrollment processes been designed with adult learners in mind?
- Do adult education students have access to advising and holistic student supports before, during, and after matriculation?
- How are adult education pathways connected to local workforce needs, employer partnerships, and broader community vibrancy goals?
For many adult learners, the journey to a credential doesn’t begin when they enroll in a credit-bearing program. It begins the moment they walk through the door of an ESOL or GED/HSE classroom. Colleges that intentionally design pathways from that first step to credentials of value aren’t simply strengthening enrollment — they are expanding opportunity for students while helping build the skilled workforce and vibrant communities our future depends on.
Contact ATD to discuss your workforce alignment needs. We can help your college consider how to create more seamless pathways to ensure more students have access to credentials and strong career pathways.