July 21, 2026
JFF works with colleges, states, and partners to design flexible, learner-centered pathways that help adults complete educational goals and achieve economic mobility.
Adult learners (students 25 or older) represent approximately one-third of all enrolled college students.
For many of these learners, community colleges are the logical choice for accessing education and training—yet too often, they encounter institutions that aren’t designed to meet their needs. Cost, rigid scheduling, and conflicts with work or family obligations can all make persistence and completion especially challenging. Without intentional support and redesign, adult learners are too often unable to recoup a full return on investment from their postsecondary education.
Jobs for the Future (JFF) works with state and college partners to design and implement policies and practices that make it easier for adult learners to achieve their educational and career goals. Through research, technical assistance, coaching, and communities of practice, we advance policy and program designs that improve access, completion, and economic mobility for adults. Areas of focus include models (including skills-first approaches) that accelerate credential attainment; flexible program delivery to help learners balance learning, work, and family responsibilities; targeted advising and career supports; better labor market alignment; and strategies to ensure adult learners feel welcomed and valued as members of the college community.
JFF is partnering with College Futures Foundation on Unlocking Economic Mobility for Adult Learners, an initiative focused on improving economic mobility for working adults in California. The work responds to the lack of institutional design around a set of structural barriers to economic advancement many adult learners are navigating: cost, rigid schedules, and work and family obligations.
Through this initiative, JFF works with grantee partners in a learning community to test and strengthen approaches related to affordability, flexibility, and the connection between credential completion and economic mobility. The initiative combines funding with peer learning, partnership-building, and shared insight-building to help surface practices that can inform broader improvements across California’s postsecondary and workforce systems.
JFF conducted an extensive literature review of the data and evidence around adult learners (age 25-plus) in the U.S. postsecondary education system, with particular attention to online settings and Black learners. This research highlighted several promising postsecondary practices that could improve outcomes for these learners, including:
The Improving Economic Mobility for Adult Learners Initiative was designed to leverage the financial incentives and supports offered in many adult-focused programs to implement more transformative policies and practices to support the paths of adult students to economic advancement. Achieving the Dream (ATD) and JFF supported stakeholders at the state levels in Michigan, New Jersey, and Virginia, and at three colleges in each state to address factors that hinder adult learners from enrolling in or completing a postsecondary credential. These stakeholders changed policy and practice at both the state and institutional levels to improve career mobility outcomes for adult learners in community and technical colleges. Through this initiative, ATD and JFF provided a suite of technical assistance and evaluation supports to teams in three states comprised of state higher education leaders and institutional leaders from three community and technical colleges within each state. This intentional combination of stakeholders ensured supportive alignment through policy and practice changes made at the state level and within each institution on the state team.
JFF offers personalized support that goes beyond guidance. We work alongside you to understand your unique state context, develop realistic goals, and execute strategies for innovation and scaling of adult learner initiatives.
Shift narratives about adult learners
Bring partners to the table
Set a vision for the work ahead
Scale effective tools
Drive policy that enables innovation
By testing bold ideas and scaling proven practices, we’re reimagining pathways that lead to quality jobs and lasting economic advancement, especially for adult learners. Sign up to stay connected with JFF’s postsecondary work and stay updated on future projects and initiatives.
The Direct Assessment Competency-Based Education: Implementation Blueprint is a hands-on road map for institutional and system leaders designing direct assessment CBE programs that meet the needs of today’s learners. This resource expands upon the 2020…
Lessons from the Field Many states are adopting free community college programs to support their growing population of adult learners. The Improving Economic Mobility for Adult Learners Initiative (IEMAL) provides an illustration of how colleges…
A literature review of the data and evidence around adult learners (age 25+) in the U.S. postsecondary education system, with particular attention to online settings and Black learners. Black Adult Learners and Online Settings:…
The experiences of adults at nine colleges in Virginia, Michigan, and New Jersey offer valuable insights for colleges working to improve the economic mobility of adult learners. As the adult learners we spoke with…
Lessons From California’s Pilot of Direct Assessment CBE Rigid college structures don’t meet the needs of all learners and workers in today’s economy. Direct assessment CBE could bring needed flexibility. Eight colleges are giving it…