Member Matters May 2026

A Monthly Lookback at Some of the Good Work in the CAEL Membership Community

Championing Adult Learners

Athens State University has launched the Career Advantage initiative, a framework centered on working adult learners. It features flexible scheduling, transfer-friendly pathways, credit for prior learning, workforce alignment, and a coordinated support team to ensure each student has access to success coaches, faculty mentors, career coaches, and financial aid advisors (Athens State University).

University of Phoenix is celebrating its 50th anniversary; in a reflection on its legacy of career-focused education for working adults, the university shared that the average age of its students is 38 and that 75% are employed (University of Phoenix).

Adult learners are a priority at Red Rocks Community College, where they comprise nearly one quarter of the college’s enrollment and are outperforming their younger peers (The Denver Post).

SUNY Reconnect, which covers tuition, books, and fees for New Yorkers between the ages of 25 and 55 who haven’t completed a degree, is boosting enrollment in several Herkimer College programs (The General).

Brighter Futures in Prior Learning

The Technical College System of Georgia is applying a Lumina Foundation Great Admissions Redesign grant toward the piloting of an AI-driven CPL platform at three colleges that enables adult learners to earn credit for work history, earlier credentials, and military transcripts (TCSG).

Describing the advancement of credit for prior learning as “both an educational priority and an economic imperative,” the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Veterans' Affairs, has launched a statewide initiative to expand military CPL (South Carolina Commission on Higher Education).

In Service of Veterans

Service members and their spouses and dependents make up 62% of the University of Maryland Global Campus’ graduates, who benefit from a longstanding focus on serving military-connected learners (Military.com).

Old Dominion University shared an adult learner success story highlighting a Navy veteran’s journey from his nuclear reactor training in the military to helping a rural electric cooperative manage data center-demand as he works toward the completion of a degree he began 10 years ago (ODU Online).

Tackling Talent Gaps

Duke Energy has invested $600,000 to bolster energy workforce development. $500,000 of the funding is going to 20 community colleges, including Central Piedmont Community College and Haywood Community College (Duke Energy).

A $1 million grant from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission will help Portland State University build career pathways within the semiconductor sector (Portland State University).

Central Hudson is supporting clean energy and advanced manufacturing workforce training through a $200,000 investment in Dutchess Community College (SUNY Dutchess).

Hands-On Learning

SOWELA Technical Community College had added a process simulator to offer tightly tailored experiential learning for students embarked on career pathways in the growing liquefied natural gas and petrochemical industries (SOWELA).

Mesa Community College has broken ground on facilities dedicated to “expanding hands-on training capacity, modernizing instructional spaces, and strengthening workforce pipelines in high-demand fields.” (Mesa Community College).

The power of partnerships

A partnership among Louisiana Delta Community College, Karl Malone Toyota of Ruston, and Gulf States Toyota is enriching workforce development opportunities connected to the college’s automotive technician program, offering students opportunities to gain industry experience (Louisiana Delta Community College).

The inaugural cohort has graduated from a reentry program created by Southern University at Shreveport and the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office. Program participants complete a five-week course that supports careers in the safety industry (Southern University at Shreveport).

Creative Credentials

CUNY School of Professional Studies has received a College Completion Innovation Fund grant supporting its work to develop digital badges that recognize student competency development in real time (CUNY SPS).

Digital badges are debuting at Eastern Washington University, where they are attached to the university’s new teaching English as a foreign language program (Eastern Washington University).

Awards and Other Recognition

Forsyth Technical Community College has been named one of 25 semifinalists for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence (Forsyth Technical Community College).

The Coalition on Adult Basic Education has named Rio Salado College student Vanessa Tulley the national Adult Learner of the Year (Rio Salado College).

Penn State has announced the 2026 recipients of its own adult learner award, the Outstanding Adult Student Award, which is presented by adult learner programs and services, a unit within Penn State student affairs (Penn State).