Adult Learner Enrollment Hesitancy Survey
2026

Adult Learner Enrollment Hesitancy Survey

BestColleges' Adult Learner Enrollment Hesitancy Survey aims to identify the reasons behind adult learners' hesitation to enroll, inform institutions' strategies to reduce friction in the college decision-making process, and support adult learners pursuing their educational and career goals.

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Report Overview

BestColleges' Adult Learner Enrollment Hesitancy Survey examined the attitudes of adults ages 25 and older toward pursuing higher education, including those who are interested in enrolling and those who are not. The survey includes responses from 1,000 participants and covers education intent and plans, motivation and goals, barriers to enrollment, perception of educational value, life circumstances, and financial perception.

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Key Findings

Education Intent and Plans

  • Interest in certificates and bootcamps collectively surpassed bachelor's degrees by 15 percentage points.
  • Learners strongly preferred online learning (77%) over in-person (29%) and hybrid (26%) options.
  • Professions with clear job outcomes proved popular, suggesting that students are increasingly pragmatic about their chosen majors.

What Is Driving Students to Enroll

  • Career advancement is the primary driver among adults considering higher education: 34% say their top motivation is to start a new career path, and 23% want to gain a specific skill or license relevant to their current job.
  • A smaller group (12%) cites earning a promotion or a pay raise as their primary motivation, which may be related to interest in skill development.
  • Not all motivations are career-focused. Twenty percent of respondents cite personal enrichment and interest as a primary reason for potentially pursuing higher education.

Barriers to Enrollment

  • Cost is the most common concern among adults considering enrollment. One-third of respondents (33%) say they are unsure whether they can afford to enroll or need more clarity about the total cost.
  • Thirty-two percent report concern about taking on additional debt, while 30% are uncertain about their financial aid eligibility.
  • Nearly half (47%) say that additional financial help — such as grants and scholarships — would play a key role in their decision to enroll.

Life Changes Influenced Enrollment Decisions

  • Twenty-one percent of respondents interested in higher education reported experiencing job loss or layoffs, and 20% said they now had reduced work hours.
  • Many respondents (41%) reported increases in the cost of living.
  • Respondents also frequently cited mental health challenges, such as stress, burnout, or anxiety (37%), followed by personal physical health challenges (30%) as the cause for their delay in enrollment.

Perception of Educational Value

  • About half of the respondents consider a bachelor's program either "worth it" (28%) or "very worth it" (21%) today. Another 45% describe it as "somewhat worth it," while only 6% view it as "not worth it."
  • The majority of respondents recognize value in higher education — even those who are not planning to enroll. However, many in this group consider a degree only "somewhat worth it," rather than expressing greater confidence.

Financial Perception

  • A majority (59%) say higher education is "much too expensive," with an additional 18% describing it as "somewhat too expensive." Together, 77% view the cost as too high.
  • Almost all respondents who were not interested in higher education said they did not view higher education as financially viable. Only 1% say it is affordable as-is, while 5% say financial aid makes it manageable. Another 5% say cost may be reasonable if the return on investment (ROI) is clearer.

Media Mentions

Online Learning Consortium (OLC)United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA)DT&L Conference

Our Research Methodology

We help students and institutions understand emerging trends through proprietary research, data analysis, and expert insights. Our research examines the topics shaping higher education, including online learning, shifting student demographics, and rising college costs.

How We Collect Data

BestColleges partnered with the research company GLG to collect data via an online questionnaire. To ensure data quality and authenticity, responses were manually reviewed, including checks for consistency, duplicate entries, and suspicious response patterns. Participants received standard survey compensation to encourage completion.

How We Find Survey Participants

Our survey partner employed a quantitative, cross-sectional design targeting adults aged 25 and older across all 50 states. Quotas were implemented during data collection to ensure individuals interested in pursuing higher education were sufficiently represented.

Are Survey Participants Compensated?

Participants responding to our survey request received standard compensation to encourage completion.

Our Knowledge and Authority

Our surveys are designed by an in-house team with expertise in academic and market research, data analysis, and editing. This survey was additionally reviewed by GLG's quantitative research experts. Since 2016, BestColleges Research has provided insights to higher education stakeholders through a variety of publications and conference presentations.
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Meet the Contributors

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Amarilis Yera

Editor / Writer

Expertise: Accounting, Business Administration, Business Management, MBAs, Marketing, Human Resources, Consumer Credit

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Cameren Boatner

Editor / Writer

Expertise: DEI, Campus Free Speech, Financial Aid, Title IX, LGBTQ+ students

Scott Harris
Scott Harris

Editor / Writer

Expertise: Healthcare, Nursing, Higher education, Science, Sports

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Taína Cuevas

Editor

Education: BA Visual and Communication Arts and Italian, Franklin University Switzerland, Post Graduate Training in Print Journalism, Boston University

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