CAEL Enhances Adult Learner 360™ Diagnostic Tool for Transforming Direct Adult Learner Feedback Into Systemic Improvements

ALLIES Framework updates parallel survey process with latest research on adult learner success 
  

INDIANAPOLIS – CAEL has made significant upgrades to its Adult Learner 360™ tool, which improves enrollment, retention, and completion among adult learners and workers. Using parallel surveys of faculty, staff, and adult learners, Adult Learner 360 assesses the performance of key adult learner-centric areas such as enrollment, marketing and student support services offered by colleges and universities and provides data that helps chart a clear path to continual improvement. Aligned with CAEL’s new research-based Adult Learner Leaders for Institutional Effectiveness (ALLIES) framework, Adult Learner 360 considers a change management approach that empowers institutions to address challenges and capture opportunities uncovered via the diagnostic survey process. 

“By employing parallel surveys grounded in our latest research, Adult Learner 360 identifies gaps that exist between adult learners’ lived experiences and institutional perceptions about capacity and effectiveness in meeting students’ needs,” said Earl Buford, CAEL president. “This diagnostic approach not only identifies immediate actions institutions can take to improve the enrollment and success of adult learners, but it also provides a baseline to ensure continual improvements over subsequent iterations of the survey process.”

Institutions that complete an Adult Learner 360 survey cycle receive a report highlighting strengths, areas for improvement, and measures for better supporting adult learners. These findings form a structured roadmap for maximizing best practices as evidenced by the ALLIES Framework for meeting adult learner needs within today's learning and labor market environments. Also contributing to the breadth in perspective afforded by Adult Learner 360 reporting are comparisons to national median student satisfaction scores.

The comprehensive support available from CAEL’s team of experts for program implementation and change management includes a webinar providing a thorough review of survey results and recommended next steps.  In addition, CAEL offers options for campus summits, workshops, and other customized engagement to capture opportunities revealed in survey findings. Since piloting the Adult Learner 360 concept, which was initially known as the Adult Learning Focused Institution (ALFI) survey toolkit, CAEL has implemented hundreds of parallel surveys at institutions throughout the country.

For more information about Adult Learner 360, visit https://www.cael.org/adult-learner-360 or contact cael@cael.org.  

About CAEL
Recognizing that adult learners are the backbone of the U.S. economy, CAEL helps forge a clear, viable connection between education and career success, providing solutions that promote sustainable and equitable economic growth. CAEL opens doors to opportunity in collaboration with workforce and economic developers; postsecondary educators; employers and industry groups; and foundations and other mission-aligned organizations. By engaging with these stakeholders, CAEL fosters a culture of innovative, lifelong learning that helps individuals and their communities thrive. A national membership organization established in 1974, CAEL is part of Strada Collaborative, a mission-driven nonprofit.

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