Evaluating Adult Promise: How States Support Adult Learners in Postsecondary Education

Recognizing that this goal cannot be achieved through a focus on traditional-age college students alone, Lumina launched the Adult Promise initiative in 2017 and invested nearly $8 million in multiyear grants to a total of 15 states to address adult postsecondary attainment through recruitment, supports, and financial commitments. Beyond the general focus on adults, Adult Promise explicitly prioritized investments that support enrollment and attainment for adult learners of color. Mathematica has followed 12 states from the 2017 and 2018 grant waves throughout their grant periods to understand how the initiatives in each state improve outreach and support to adult learners in postsecondary education.