How to Support the Adult Learners on Your Team: A Guide for Managers and Student Success Professionals
By Dr. Talisha Brown, Founder of AcceleratEd
If you manage, mentor, or support adult learners - as a student success professional, academic coach, manager, or program director - you already know they're not the same as traditional 18-to-22-year-old students. What often gets missed is that supporting them well takes a different approach, not just more patience.
Why Adult Learners Need a Different Kind of Support
Adult learners are usually juggling work, family, and coursework at the same time. They're self-directed, results-focused, and quick to disengage from support that feels generic or one-size-fits-all. The strategies that work well for a traditional freshman - regular office hours, general reminders, broad encouragement - often miss what an adult learner actually needs: practical, specific, and respectful of their time.
Common Mistakes Well-Meaning Supporters Make
- Treating a missed deadline as a motivation problem, when it's usually a capacity or pacing problem.
- Offering generic encouragement ("you've got this!") instead of a concrete next step.
- Assuming adult learners will ask for help when they need it - many won't, out of pride or simply not knowing what to ask for.
- Using the same check-in structure for every learner, regardless of what's actually getting in their way.
5 Ways to Better Support the Adult Learners You Work With
- Ask about their whole life, not just their coursework. Work schedule, family responsibilities, and energy levels all affect what's realistic for them.
- Replace vague check-ins with specific ones. "How's it going?" gets a vague answer. "What's your plan for finishing Unit 3 this week?" gets a real one.
- Normalize asking for help early, before a small delay becomes a program-ending one.
- Build in accountability structures - regular, low-pressure check-ins work better than occasional high-stakes ones.
- Celebrate progress, not just completion. Adult learners often need to see proof they're moving forward long before they reach the finish line.
When It Makes Sense to Bring in Outside Training
Even experienced student-success teams, academic coaches, and managers benefit from training built specifically around supporting adult learners, especially in self-paced or competency-based programs, where the usual playbook doesn't fully apply. If your team is spending more time managing frustration than making progress with the adult learners you serve, that's usually a sign it's worth bringing in outside support.
Bring This Training to Your Team
AcceleratEd's Professional Development Workshop is built for exactly this audience: academic coaches, student-success professionals, educators, and organizations that support adult learners. It's a 90-minute session, virtual or in person, built around practical strategies your team can use immediately. Learn more and bring it to your team.
Based in Detroit, serving organizations everywhere.