In What Institutional Contexts Do Adult Community College Students Prosper?

Objective: Policymakers in many states are endeavoring to increase graduation rates among older community college students. However, we know little about how the factors that influence college completion among older students differ from their younger peers. We aim to identify features of institutional contexts in which adult community college students are more likely to prosper, as evidenced by an elevated likelihood of graduating. Methods: Using a multilevel statistical approach to analyze administrative data for Ohio's community colleges, we examine how associations between students' age and their likelihood of graduating differ as a function of dosage-weighted exposure to six contextual characteristics that align with the organizational, human aggregate, and socially constructed dimensions of Strange and Banning's (2015) socioecological framework for campus environments. Results: Contrary to expectations, we find more similarities than differences between older and younger students in how exposure to particular institutional characteristics is related to the likelihood of graduating. Only one of the six characteristics has a relationship of meaningful magnitude with the likelihood of graduating among students of any age. Specifically, exposure to classmates taking heavier course credit loads is positively related to the likelihood of graduating for students 40 years of age and older. Conclusion: Our findings point to two potential levers for strengthening outcomes of older students as community colleges seek to become adult-serving not just adult-enrolling. First, incentivize a full-time course load across the student population. Second, create opportunities for adult students, many of whom attend part-time, to take classes with a range of classmates, including younger classmates and classmates who are attending full-time.