• Introduction
• Data
• A Profile of Working Adult Undergraduates
• Enrollment, Degree Program, and Field of Study
• Reasons Employees Who Study Enrolled
• Financial Aid
• Persistence and Degree Completion
• Conclusions
• References

About 43 percent of undergraduates who were enrolled in postsecondary education during the 1999-2000 academic year were age 24 or older. Most of these older undergraduates (82 percent) worked while enrolled in postsecondary education (Horn, Peter, and Rooney 2002). In total, these working adults made up roughly one-third of the undergraduate population. This study examines the characteristics and educational experiences of working adult undergraduates, focusing on those who considered employment their primary activity. The analysis compares two groups of working adults according to the emphasis or importance they placed on work and postsecondary enrollment when they were asked: "While you were enrolled and working would you say you were primarily: 1) a student working to meet expenses or 2) an employee who decided to enroll in school?" Throughout this report, students who identified themselves as employees who decided to enroll in school are referred to as "employees who study," while those who identified themselves as students working to meet expenses are referred to as "students who work."

The profile of working adults is based on the 1999-2000 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:2000), a representative sample of all students enrolled in post-secondary education in the 1999-2000 academic year. The analysis of postsecondary completion is based on the 1996/01 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:96/01), a longitudinal cohort of all students who began postsecondary education in 1995-96 and who were last surveyed in 2001, about 6 years after their initial en-rollment. The NPSAS sample is limited to undergraduates age 24 or older. The age of 24 was used to identify adult undergraduates because this is the age that students are recognized as financially independent of their parents for financial aid purposes. The NPSAS analysis focuses entirely on working undergraduates, but the totals presented in the tables include the 18 percent of nonworking adult undergraduates. The BPS sample is limited to students age 24 or older who worked while enrolled in 1995-96 (i.e., they were working while enrolled in their first term), regardless of their working status in subsequent years. The BPS survey sample has proportionally fewer older students than the NPSAS survey sample because to be eligible for BPS, students must be enrolling in postsecondary education for the first time. Therefore, returning students are not included.

In 1999-2000, about two-thirds of working adult undergraduates (those age 24 or older) considered employment their main activity-employees who study-while the remaining one-third characterized themselves primarily as students who worked to pay their education expenses-students who work. Employees who study were older on average than students who work (36 vs. 30 years old). As shown in figure A, roughly two-thirds of employees who study were age 30 or older, compared with just over one-third of students who work. Employees who study were also more likely to be married (52 percent vs. 31 percent), and to have children and other dependents (57 percent vs. 43 percent) (figure B).

A fundamental difference between employees who study and students who work is how they combined work and attendance. As might be expected, employees who study devoted more time to work and less to attending classes, while students who work did the opposite (figure C). At least three-quarters of employees who study worked full time (87 percent) or attended part time (76 percent), and roughly two-thirds (68 percent) did both. In contrast, at least 6 in 10 students who work attended school full time (68 percent) or worked part time (60 percent), while roughly half (46 percent) did both. Thus, employees who study most often worked full time and attended part time, while students who work most often attended full time and worked part time.

In summary, among undergraduates age 24 or older, those who characterized their primary activity as employment were older, worked more, attended school less, and were more likely to have family responsibilities than their peers whose primary activity was being a student.

Figure A. Percentage distribution by age and the average age for undergraduates age 24 or older, by student/employee role: 1999–2000

Figure B. Percentage distribution of undergraduates age 24 or older according to marital status and number of dependents other than spouse, by student/employee role: 1999–2000

Even though work and attendance patterns clearly distinguished employees who study from students who work, there were some exceptions. For example, roughly one-fifth of each group combined full-time work and full-time attendance (19 percent of employees who study and 22 percent of students who work). In previous studies, attendance status was strongly linked with postsecondary completion: part-time students were much less likely to complete a postsecondary credential than full-time students (see, for example, Berkner, Cuccaro-Alamin, and McCormick 1996). Therefore, when examining the educational characteristics of each group of students in the current analysis, full-time and part-time students were examined separately in order to compare the two groups while controlling for attendance status.

Consistent with differences in the time they spent in the classroom, employees who study and students who work differed in where they enrolled and what they studied. Employees who study attended community colleges more often than students who work (61 percent vs. 39 percent) and public 4-year colleges and universities less often (17 percent vs. 34 percent) (table A). Even among students who attended exclusively part time, these differences prevailed. Among full-time students, employees who study were more likely than students who work to be enrolled in private for-profit institutions (14 percent vs. 10 percent).

Corresponding to their predominance in community colleges, employees who study were more likely than students who work to be in programs leading to an associate’s degree (45 percent vs. 37 percent) and were less likely to be in bachelor’s degree programs (23 percent vs. 45 percent). In addition, among full-time students, employees who study were more likely than students who work to be enrolled in certificate programs. The same was not observed for part-time students. Employees who study were also more likely than students who work to be taking courses not leading to any degree (10 percent vs. 2 percent).

Along with differences in their rates of participation in degree programs, the two groups of working adults also differed in their fields of study. Employees who study majored in computer science, business, vocational, and technical fields more often, and majored in social/behavioral sciences, life sciences, and health fields less often than students who work.

In summary, among working adult undergraduates, employees who study were more likely than students who work to attend community colleges and to be working toward associate’s degrees (among both full-time and part-time stu-dents) and vocational certificates (among full-time students only). They were also more likely than students who work to major in occupational fields of study such as computer science and were less likely to major in behavioral sciences.

Given their focus on work, employees who study were asked several questions about their reasons for enrolling in postsecondary education. It is likely that students who emphasize the importance of their employment over enrollment would be interested in enhancing their position in the labor market. This was found to be the case for 85 percent of adult employees who study, who reported that gaining skills to advance in their current job or future career was an important consideration in their postsec-ondary education. However, 89 percent also reported that personal enrichment was an important factor. While personal enrichment and obtaining additional job skills were important reasons for enrolling for most employees who study, so was completing a degree or credential: 80 per-cent reported enrolling for this latter reason. In addition, roughly one-third (36 percent) of employees who study had enrolled to obtain additional education required by their job.

Because employees who study are more likely than students who work to attend postsecondary education on a part-time basis, their tuition expenses are lower.¹ In addition, employees who study are more likely than students who work to be employed full time. Lower tuition combined with full-time employment means that employees who study have less need for financial aid than students who work. Employees who study, therefore, were less likely than students who work to apply for and receive financial aid in 1999-2000. Nevertheless, roughly half (48 percent) of employees who study received some type of financial aid, averaging about $3,000 per recipient. About 40 percent of employees who study received grants, averaging about $1,500, and 12 per-cent received loans, averaging about $5,600. In addition, about one-quarter (23 percent) of employees who study received aid from their employers, averaging about $1,200. Employer aid was the only type of financial aid that employees who study received more often than students who work (23 percent vs. 5 percent). The difference between the percentages of employees who study and students who work who received different types of aid held among both full-time and part-time students with one exception: among part-time students, no difference in the percentages receiving grant aid could be detected.

Among employees who study, those who were enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs were the most likely to receive employer aid (33 percent received an average of $2,200 in employer aid). In addition, 24 percent of employees who study who were not enrolled in any degree program also received employer aid (averaging about $400). Presumably employers encouraged such students to take certain courses rather than earn a formal credential.

In previous studies examining factors related to students’ risk of not completing their postsecondary education, working full time and attending classes part time were both independently associated with lower rates of persistence and degree attainment (Berkner, Cuccaro-Alamin, and McCormick 1996; Horn 1996). Given these findings, 68 percent of working adults who identified themselves as employees who study in 1999-2000 carried a substantial risk of not completing their postsecondary program: they were both employed full time and attended part time (figure C). In contrast, 18 percent of students who work combined full-time work with part-time attendance. Based on these differences, it might be expected that the two groups of working adult undergraduates would have different outcomes when examining their completion rates. Indeed, among those who first began their postsecondary education in 1995-96, differences in outcomes were evident.

Six years after students had begun their postsecondary education, 62 percent of employees who study had not completed a degree or certificate and were no longer enrolled, compared with 39 percent of students who work. Even among those who intended to obtain a degree or certificate, 55 percent of employees who study had not completed a degree or certificate and were no longer enrolled, compared with 38 percent of students who work (figure D).

Among employees who study with reported degree or certi-ficate intentions, the total percentage who had attained any credential was 37 percent, most often a vocational certificate (28 percent). Among students who work, 44 percent had attained a postsecondary credential, and they, too, were most likely to have obtained a certificate (22 percent). However, 10 percent of students who work had completed a bachelor’s degree, compared with 2 percent of employees who study.²

Employees who study were at particular risk of leaving postsecondary education in their first year. Among students with a degree goal, 32 percent of employees who study left in their first year with no credential, compared with 7 percent of students who work. These students had not returned after 6 years. After the first year, however, no difference could be detected between employees who study and students who work in their rates of attrition.

Figure C. Percentage distribution of working undergraduates age 24 or older according to separate and combined work and attendance intensity, by student/employee role: 1999–2000

Figure D. Percentage distribution of 6-year persistence and of highest degree attained in June 2001 for 1995–96 beginning postsecondary students age 24 or older with a degree goal, by degree goal and student/employee role when they first enrolled

In 1999-2000, roughly two-thirds of working undergraduates age 24 or older reported that work was their primary activity. Among these employees who study, nearly 70 per-cent combined full-time work with part-time attendance. These working adults make up a large percentage of the undergraduate population and most of them pursue post-secondary education to obtain skills necessary to advance in their careers. Nearly one-half of employees who study received some sort of financial aid, including one-quarter who received aid from their employers. However, full-time work and part-time attendance combined with family responsibilities appeared to be barriers to completing a cre-dential. Despite the fact that most employees who study thought it was important to earn a formal credential, 62 per-cent had not done so within 6 years. Moreover, among those who left, most did so in their first year. In contrast, their counterparts whose focus was on postsecondary enrollment-students who work-experienced more positive educational outcomes. These students, who were more likely to attend full time, work part time, and have fewer family responsibilities, were more likely to earn postsecondary credentials, especially bachelor’s degrees.

Berkner, L., Berker, A., Rooney, K., and Peter, K. (2002). Student Financing of Undergraduate Education: 1999-2000 (NCES 2002-167). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Berkner, L., Cuccaro-Alamin, S., and McCormick, A.C. (1996). Descriptive Summary of 1989-90 Beginning Postsecondary Students: Five Years Later (NCES 96-155). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Horn, L. (1996). Nontraditional Undergraduates, Trends in Enrollment From 1986 to 1992 and Persistence and Attainment Among 1989-90 Beginning Postsecondary Students (NCES 97-578). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Horn, L., Peter, K., and Rooney, K. (2002). Profile of Undergraduates in U.S. Postsecondary Institutions: 1999-2000 (NCES 2002-168). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

¹For example, undergraduates attending a community college full time for a full year paid, on average, about $1,600 in tuition, compared with about $700 for those attending part time for a full year (Berkner et al. 2002).

²It also appeared as though students who work were more likely to have earned an associate’s degree, but due to small sample sizes, there was not enough statistical evidence to conclude such a difference.