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An important objective of European education policy is to explore possibilities of increasing the participation of adult learners in higher education by means of distance education. Against this background, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), together with the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) and StudyPortals (SP), set out to examine the potential of the distance education programmes provided by higher education institutions on adult learning in Europe. Their research project entitled Impact of Distance Education on Adult Learning (IDEAL) was funded by the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme. The specific aims of the IDEAL project are to: (1) offer insights on the needs of adult learners to both policy-makers and distance education providers; (2) strengthen the social dimension of higher education by better meeting the needs of adult learners; and (3) increase the participation of adult learners in higher education through distance education.

This report focuses on the analysis of study three, 'Distance education in European higher education - the potential', which examines the profile of potential students within the target group of adult learners. The aim is to find out their profiles, their reasons for entering distance education, and the barriers they face in doing so. The report presents the research methodology and data set and an overview of the empirical results of the analysis of the three different methodological approaches. The last chapter provides a synthesis of the findings and general conclusions. The report is accompanied by five detailed country case studies: Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, and the UK.

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Within higher education exists a sector of institutions called Community Colleges and Global Counterparts. These institutions are Global Counterparts to one another because they share mission, structural, and philosophical characteristics as they 'educate non-traditional post-secondary students and demonstrate in a practical way the means by which new generations can receive skills and training that will ensure employment, prosperity and facilitation of social mobility' (Raby and Valeau. Community college models: Globalization and higher education reform. Dordrecht: Springer, 2009). Although researchers world-wide have examined this sector since 1971, it remains largely understudied and under-recognized by world educators and policy makers. This chapter examines how the mission of these institutions' intends to provide an opportunity to build social mobility and yet simultaneously serves as a limitation that maintains societal inequalities. The chapter also applies the theory of educational borrowing to explore what institutional characteristics emerged as a result of internal institutional change and what characteristics emerged as a result of globalization patterns. In an era of expanded educational reform for higher education, the role of the Community College or Global Counterpart is pivotal for serving a varied workforce that is ever demanding and changing.

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For most high school non-completers, the [General Educational Development] GED credential provides a bridge to postsecondary education, but little is known about how successfully GED Test candidates make that transition and whether enrolment rates change with time. The American Council on Education (ACE) has begun a three-year longitudinal study to understand the effect of the GED credential on postsecondary enrolment, persistence, and completion. This study reports the latest data available from a 2003 cohort of GED candidates who were tested shortly after the introduction of the current 2002 Series GED Tests. This study is in support of a new effort to transition adults without a high school diploma to the GED credential and career and college readiness via accelerated learning. The initiative is a comprehensive, multi-year program designed to dramatically increase the numbers of individuals who earn the GED credential. It consists of three key components: education and preparation; enhanced career- and college-ready assessment aligned with the Common Core State Standards and enhanced credentialing process; and connections and transition services to postsecondary education and career opportunities. The 148,649 GED Test passers in the 2003 cohort study attended 2,787 postsecondary institutions throughout the United States. The vast majority of students who had passed the GED Test initially enrolled in colleges offering programs of two years or fewer; 77.8 per cent enrolled in public two-year or fewer-than-two-year institutions. The majority of passers in the 2003 cohort who enrolled in postsecondary institutions enrolled within the first three years after passing the test (i.e. 2003, 2004, or 2005) and tended to take their time to progress in postsecondary programs, perhaps at a less consistent pace than other adult learners. A majority (66.6 per cent) who enrolled maintained enrolment for two or more semesters, yet only 11.8 per cent of 2003 passers who enrolled graduated from a postsecondary program by September 2009. Major findings of interest in this first year of a three-year study reflect a positive relationship between the GED credential and entering postsecondary education. Findings of predictive survival analyses for event occurrence of postsecondary enrolment and graduation are presented in this report. Other results include comparisons between postsecondary institutions that GED credential recipients attend and postsecondary institutions in general, and between GED credential recipients and traditional high school graduates. A discussion of findings and their implications for future longitudinal research follow.

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In August 2020, the Australian Government announced major legislative reforms to the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) that came into effect on 19 April 2021. This means that more migrants can now access free English language classes through the AMEP for longer and until they reach a higher level of proficiency. This is the first part of the Government's three-part plan to make English language tuition more accessible, ensure better quality outcomes and encourage greater participation. Reforms to the current AMEP business model have now been designed to complete this plan. The Department of Home Affairs is inviting public feedback on the proposed reforms to the AMEP business model through a discussion paper and forums. Stakeholder feedback will be crucial to ensure that the implementation of these reforms achieves the best possible outcomes for students. Submissions close on 9 July 2021.

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The ages of student-parents' children are a defining factor for clarifying enrollment and persistence in the attainment of college degrees. A secondary factor for women's academic persistence (women with older children) is the dominance and control of males. The participants in this study were diverse, including student-parents most prominent in research who are single mothers living in poverty - both traditional and non-traditional aged - and those not found in existing literature: married students, those not living in poverty, and one grandparent raising her grandchildren. The findings suggest a need for further definition to understand who student-parents are and their motivations to persist toward degree attainment on two-year campuses.

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In recent years, the Australian federal government has sought to increase the diversity of students attending higher education through supporting students that have traditionally been under represented. This is due to a perception that the attainment of a higher education can enhance a graduate's life as they have greater access to professional positions, which may also lead to higher wages and better career stability. Most of the existing research is focussed on the student's process of deciding to enrol, and how to support students to succeed once they are enrolled, but fails to explore in-depth narratives of students' stated reasons of why they enrol, and if they consider these preconceptions to have been met or challenged.

The current research contributes knowledge by investigating factors that lead students to enrol in higher education. The study aimed to examine how the Australian federal government's 'Widening Participation' agenda has affected Australians' perception of higher education. It is important to examine how enrolment of non-traditional students has changed throughout the last fifty years, whether and how the Widening Participation agenda influenced enrolment of students and students' perceptions of the factors that led to their enrolment post completion of an enabling program. The research argues that the concept of a 'traditional' student enrolled in higher education is outdated and that 'non-traditional' students are now the majority.

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Attracting and training people to meet the needs of Victoria's agriculture sector is vital to ensuring that it continues to grow, boosting the Victorian economy and creating jobs across the state. This review of agricultural training examined the key factors required to attract students to agriculture training and ensure courses delivered through government subsidised training meet the needs of employers and students now and into the future. Feedback was collected between 20 September and 31 October 2021. Contributions from stakeholders were analysed and key themes and areas of focus developed. Input from stakeholders was analysed to identify key themes and areas for action.

The core finding of the review is that the education and training sector cannot tackle the suggested activities and recommendations alone. Progress and success across all three themes depend on strong input and collaboration from all parts of the agriculture industry: Theme 1: Develop and deliver comprehensive skilling solutions and job outcomes through existing partnerships and new collaborations; Theme 2: Raise the status and improve the recognition of training and skills delivered by TAFE and other vocational education and training providers; Theme 3: Raise awareness of career pathways and skilling opportunities in agriculture, especially for non-traditional cohorts. Corresponding recommendations against these key themes are detailed. It is important to note that in order to realise the recommendations proposed through the review, further funding needs should be considered and assessed.

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This article shines a light on a little-known cohort of higher education participants, mature-aged students in, and from, regional and remote Australia - the focus of a National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education mixed-methods study. Notable patterns were found in the quantitative data; for instance, compared to their metropolitan counterparts, higher proportions of regional and remote students were older, female, from low socio-economic status areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and studied online and/or part-time. The presentation of four vignettes from the interviews uncovers the stories behind the numbers, revealing students' diverse and complex circumstances; two of the students shared experiences of facing systemic obstacles, while the other two described receiving invaluable institutional support. The obstacles can be attributed to systems designed for 'ideal', 'implied' and 'traditional' students, and entrenched attitudes that privilege some 'types' of students over others and limit the aim of full participation for all students.

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This country note presents the results of an analysis of Slovenia undertaken within the Labour Market Relevance and Outcomes of Higher Education Partnership Initiative project between March 2020 and December 2021. The project was implemented by the OECD with the support of the European Commission with the aim of helping policy makers and higher education institutions (HEIs) enhance the employment outcomes of graduates by better aligning higher education provision with labour markets skill demands.

Employment outcomes for higher education graduates in Slovenia are good, on average, but the system faces challenges aligning labour market relevant supply and demand: (a) while access to higher education has improved, participation and completion could be increased, particularly for men, first-generation students and learners with a migrant background; (b) completing a degree can be lengthy due to field of study changes, attrition and student work; (c) current graduate numbers in information and communications technology (ICT) and other sought-after fields are insufficient to meet labour market demand; and (d) higher education institutions currently play a limited role in upskilling and reskilling, and graduates rarely return to higher education after entering the labour market.

The analysis identified four priority areas for development: (1) strengthening the capacity of HEIs to collect, analyse and use labour market information; (2) guiding student choice; (3) supporting students to succeed in their studies and future work; and (4) upskilling and reskilling in higher education. For each priority area, this country note reviews the system context, highlights challenges faced by institutions, lessons learned from current practice, and presents policy options for improvement. Annex B presents a self-reflection questionnaire for use by higher education institutions to identify strengths and weaknesses of current practice.

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Workforce pipelines are essential to sustain a productive workforce in an increasingly competitive, high-tech environment. Advanced automation, sensors, materials and data analytics will increase the need for highly skilled workers in the manufacturing (and manufactured construction) sector. Attracting and developing the next-generation workforce is not without its challenges; however, students are often deficient in technical skills and generally have negative perceptions about manufacturing and construction. As a result, new education and training models have been developed to provide instruction at all levels of the educational system, with a focus on both traditional students and non-traditional students, including ethnic minorities, women, veterans, disabled persons and older adult learners. This study focused specifically on certain underrepresented students in STEM programs offered at community colleges in the Great Plains region of the U.S. An available online training program by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers was used as a contextualized online training tool. The Learning Management System embedded in this online training tool was used to gather student data. Conducting multiple regression analyses on the test outcomes, completion rates, and improvement between post-test and pre-test scores showed that female participants achieved greater improvement between pre- and post-test scores than males, and achieved higher rates of credentialing compared to all other demographic groups. African American participants achieved greatest improvement between pre- and post-test scores than all other ethnic groups while Hispanics achieved higher rates of module completion. Additionally, this study also examines the background related to contextualized teaching and learning, as well as the effectiveness of this delivery method for these underrepresented populations.

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