Bridging the Distance? How Proximity and Online Learning Shape Communities' Adult Participation in Public Universities

Autor/inn/en	Roessger, Kevin M.; Weese, James; Parker, Daniel A.; Hevel, Michael S.
Titel	Bridging the Distance? How Proximity and Online Learning Shape Communities' Adult Participation in Public Universities
Quelle	In: Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 71 (2023) 2, S.199-214 (16 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Roessger, Kevin M.) ORCID (Parker, Daniel A.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0737-7363
DOI	10.1080/07377363.2021.2024001
Schlagwörter	Electronic Learning; Proximity; Adult Students; Public Colleges; Distance Education; Geographic Location; School Location; Enrollment Trends; College Enrollment; Arkansas; Current Population Survey + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Lebensnähe; Adult; Adults; Student; Students; Erwachsenenalter; Studentin; Schüler; Schülerin; Distance study; Distance learning; Fernunterricht; Schulgelände
Abstract	The issue of proximity for adult students has become increasingly salient as age demographics shift in higher education and states propose initiatives to increase adult degree completers. One way of alleviating proximity barriers for adults at universities has been to increase online courses and degrees. Nationally, online education experienced double-digit expansion between 1999 and 2010, followed by moderate but consistent growth in the years that followed. Using county-level data from 1999 to 2018 in Arkansas, we examined how a community's proximity to public universities is associated with its adult participation in public universities. To understand how this relationship may have changed with the proliferation of online education, we created growth models that control for time-varying community factors during this time (e.g., unemployment, population density, community college participation, and poverty). Our findings illustrate that participation grew sharply from 1999 to 2010 before stabilizing between 2011 and 2018, mirroring national online education trends. As proximity decreased, so did a county's adult participation, but this effect was not mitigated by the growth of online education. Interestingly, unemployment and poverty did not account for variation in a county's adult student participation. Implications for higher education policy and future research on adult participation are discussed. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01