Onboarding programs, summer courses, career-boosting certificate programs, online offerings, flexible schedules and an array of services and resources are just some of the ways Adelphi is helping adult students reach their goals.
Back in 1971, Adelphi earned national acclaim for delivering MBA classes to people riding the Long Island Rail Road—launching the first-ever commuter classroom. The inaugural graduate was 46-year-old Joseph Marian, a marketing analyst and father of five children.
Since then, adult students have become an increasingly important part of the Adelphi community, and the University continues to create new ways to support them—no matter where they are in their academic and career journeys.
From onboarding programs for working adults returning to school for graduate degrees, to certificate programs and summer courses, and to caregiver resources and family-friendly campus spaces, Adelphi offers a range of services for adult and nontraditional students. This growing support reflects the University’s core commitment to student success and is part of the effort to reach goals set in our Momentum 2 strategic plan.
“We aim to meet adult students where they are to make their degree obtainment as easy and seamless as possible, while still providing rigorous programs to help them achieve their learning and career goals,” said Sandra Castro, PhD, associate dean of the College of Professional and Continuing Studies (CPCS). “We’ve had senior citizens and former students in their mid- to late twenties complete their degrees. We have something for everybody.”
Helping adults readjust to academic life
When Professor Edmund J.Y. Pajarillo, PhD, began teaching master’s degree courses in the Adelphi University College of Nursing and Public Health, he noticed that adult students returning to school years after graduating from college frequently struggled with new technologies and the academic demands of graduate school.
“I wondered,” Dr. Pajarillo said, “how do you level the playing field for these students who come to the graduate program at different points in their lives?”
He wondered only for a short time before creating what he calls the Equitable, Targeted and Structured (ETS) Onboarding Program. Introduced in 2019, this first-of-its-kind program offers new students training in using online databases for research, refreshers in scholarly writing, and a guide to academic support services and resources offered by the University.
Now the program, which Dr. Pajarillo is helping expand to other degree programs at Adelphi as well as to four other universities across the nation, has been with recognized with an Innovative Academic Support Initiative award from the Commission for Academic Support in Higher Education (CASHE).
Flexible online and certificate degree programs
Adult students have their pick of online, on-campus and hybrid programs, as well as courses to match their lifestyle and personal needs. They can also receive customized support to build the program that works best for them.
“In CPCS, we have our own academic advisers who work with students from the time that they’ve matriculated up until graduation,” Dr. Castro said. “We help them prepare their plan of study, make sure that they’re taking the appropriate courses for their program, and address any issues that may come up along the way.”
Adelphi offers a growing list of notable online programs, including the online Master’s Degree in Education, which was named one of the nation’s Best Online Grad Programs by U.S. News and World Report. Adelphi’s MS in Healthcare Informatics and Master of Social Work were also both named Best Online Programs of 2024 by Forbes. Outside of two- or four-year degree programs, students can also take advantage of Adelphi’s many online certificate programs in areas such as allied health, technology and paralegal studies.
CPCS is also the only Adelphi unit that offers self-paced online programs—and the first to offer an online program in emergency management—allowing adult students to create their own learning schedules.
“‘Online’ doesn’t have to just mean logging into a virtual classroom at a certain time,” Dr. Castro said. “These programs have been designed to be self-paced and engaging for adult students, which is incredibly valuable when you’re juggling many responsibilities in your life.”
Adelphi even runs summer courses specifically geared towards adult learners who want to earn credits outside of the academic calendar year.
Dedicated support for caregivers
Many adult students earn their degrees while also caring for their children and elderly loved ones. To support these students, Adelphi launched the Caring for Caregivers scholarship program.
“We’re proud of this program because, for many, this type of care work gets no recognition and very little government support,” Dr. Castro said. “That’s why we also offer student counseling and mentorship to make sure each student’s coursework is going smoothly and steadily.”
For those on campus, Adelphi also created a new family-friendly space in the Swirbul Library to provide a welcoming and engaging place for students with children. The space is equipped with books, toys, crayons, comfortable seating and safety gates, so caregivers can visit the library and focus on their studies while keeping their children occupied.
This is just one of the latest mindful resources that Adelphi launched to help adult students earn their degrees and take the next step in their careers—whenever they are ready. As Dr. Castro said of the College for Professional and Continuing Studies, “We think of our academic unit as not just a resource for a moment in your life, but one for lifelong learning.”