1. Outreach to Adult Learners

2. Improving Outreach by Addressing Barriers Dispositional Barriers FEAR 1.“Hand holding” through the process 2.Keeping them informed (e-mail; phone calls) 3.New highly interactive website presenting information in a way adults can understand 4.Answering the “Three Main Questions” o Exactly what do I need to do? o How long with it take? o How much will it cost?

3. Staff Development – Training staff to more effectively interact with adult learners – Importance of “building relationships”

4. Institutional Barriers 1.Review of processes to identify areas that were not “adult friendly” 2.More online programs 3.More accelerated classes 4.More entry points 5.Better, more interactive website to provide information

5. Situational Barriers 1.Money o Working on being more “proactive” regarding adult student financial aid o Working on a “financial aid” person trained and dedicated to adults 2.Family/Work/Life o Working on more online/accelerated programs o Working on more “adult friendly” information, etc. o Working on creating a virtual MTSU experience (create community/identity)

6. Strategies Across Multiple Barriers Pro-Active Advising 1.More Advisor-initiated contact 2.Developing a semester-by-semester, course-by-course degree plan Strong Focus on Prior Learning Assessment 1.More options (different types) 2.More degrees utilizing PLA 3.Standardizing recognition of existing training by local companies 4.Making PLA part of the initial conversation