Adults Pursuing Career Growth and Personal Interests Become 'New Majority' Student

Millions of U.S. adults enroll in college courses to earn certificates, learn new skills, or pursue academic degrees, often while juggling work and family responsibilities.

Published on Feb. 22, 2026

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Millions of U.S. adults are enrolling in credit and non-credit college courses to earn professional certificates, learn new skills, or pursue academic degrees. Some older students are seeking career advancement, higher pay, and job security, while others want to explore personal interests. These "new majority" students often have to balance coursework with full-time jobs, caregiving, and other family responsibilities, making it a challenging but rewarding endeavor.

Why it matters

As economic concerns, technological advances, and other workforce changes create a sense of job insecurity, more adults are turning to continuing education to upskill, change careers, or explore new interests. This trend is reshaping the traditional student population and highlighting the need for flexible, accessible, and affordable educational options for non-traditional learners.

The details

Colleges and universities are working to make continuing education courses more accessible by keeping costs low, offering financial assistance, and providing a variety of learning environments like in-person, online, accelerated, and self-paced instruction. While balancing coursework with work and personal commitments can be challenging, the potential benefits include career advancement, higher pay, job security, and a sense of fulfillment from pursuing personal interests.

  • The last academic year saw about 33,500 students enrolled in UCLA Extension's continuing education programs, nearly half of whom were older than 35.
  • During the same period, UCLA reported a full-time enrollment of about 32,600 degree-seeking undergraduate students.

The players

Eric Deschamps

The director of continuing education at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Traci Fordham

The interim associate dean for academic programs and learning innovation at UCLA.

Katie Swavely

The assistant director for academic advising and student success at UCLA, who completed a master's degree in counseling with a focus on academic advising in 2020.

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What they’re saying

“These new technologies are coming out pretty quickly and for folks that got a degree, even just 5 or 10 years ago, their knowledge might be a little bit outdated.”

— Eric Deschamps, Director of Continuing Education, Northern Arizona University (wysl1040.com)

“I prefer calling our (adult) learners not only continuous, but the new majority student. These are learners who tend to already be employed, often supporting a family, looking for up-skilling or sometimes a career change.”

— Traci Fordham, Interim Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Learning Innovation, UCLA (wysl1040.com)

“There are questions of how are we going to make it work and do we have the money. As a parent, sacrifices are there all the time. You make those judgment calls every day. But making sure that you're investing in yourself. There's always gonna be reasons why it's not today, not this month, not this year, but it's also OK to just jump in and go for it and see how it works out.”

— Katie Swavely, Assistant Director for Academic Advising and Student Success, UCLA (wysl1040.com)

What’s next

Schools like UCLA and Northern Arizona University are working to make continuing education courses more accessible by keeping costs low, offering financial assistance, and providing a variety of learning environments to help adults integrate schoolwork with their home and work lives.

The takeaway

As economic concerns, technological advances, and other workforce changes create a sense of job insecurity, more adults are turning to continuing education to upskill, change careers, or explore new interests. This trend highlights the need for flexible, accessible, and affordable educational options for non-traditional learners who are often juggling work, family, and personal commitments.