Objective: States increasingly create promise programs to increase college enrollment and degree attainment. The objective of this study was to understand the experiences of adult learners using the Tennessee Reconnect Grant (TN Reconnect) as they transitioned to becoming college students. Methods: Drawing upon interviews with 23 adult learners, this longitudinal qualitative study applied Schlossberg’s Transition Theory to explore the experience of transitioning to college. Results: Findings revealed students who used the TN Reconnect, many of whom were first-generation and low-income students, faced insurmountable barriers that contributed to their decision to initially not enroll in college or drop out of college. Access to TN Reconnect provided an unexpected opportunity for them to return to college. However, participants still faced barriers often associated with adult, first-generation, and low-income students. Contributions: Findings suggest state and institutional policy, and practice must adapt to fit the unique needs of adult learners to maximize degree completion outcomes. As currently structured, promise programs may not provide substantial benefits to student groups who face significant barriers to success, such as adult learners. State policymakers must explore the benefits of adopting a more equitable policy structure and/or implement additional services and resources for adult learners.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic brought changes and efforts for adaption to the new environment in every industry, including higher education. The present study, drawing on crisis management theory as a framework, aimed to understand information and communication sharing behaviors of the higher education community during the pandemic by exploring patterns and discourse on social media. Such analysis provides insight into how information is gained, shared, and used. Tweets including the hashtag #highered were retrieved at five time points in March and August 2020—M1 (retrieved on March 3), M2 (March 17), A1 (August 4), A2 (August 11), and A3 (August 18). Using a social network analysis tool, NodeXL, the collected tweets were analyzed by social network structure, topic, and influencer. Results showed that #highered was used widely in the early stages of the pandemic. The relevant conversation rapidly evolved, as did the prominent influencers. Over time, the conversation centered on the pandemic, the implications of the sudden shift to online learning, and then the subsequent effect on universities, students, faculty, and staff. A crisis preparation phase continued through August 2020, but drivers of information transitioned from well-known news outlets prior to the pandemic to individuals directly experiencing the pandemic. Future research should analyze the validity of information shared by individuals during key decision points of the pandemic and whether higher education is susceptible to the growing spread of disinformation through social media when formulating policy.

In this study I deployed quasi-experimental methods to explore enrollment responses to a unique statewide college promise program for adult students attending college within the two-year public postsecondary education sector in Tennessee. State policymakers implemented Tennessee Reconnect in 2018 to encourage adult students without a college degree to enroll in college and pursue a postsecondary credential or degree. There is little research quantitatively exploring how promise programs affect adult student enrollment in contrast with nationwide trends. For this study, I used differences-in-differences to determine the effect of Tennessee Reconnect on total, part-time, full-time, male, and female adult student enrollment at public two-year postsecondary institutions in the first two years of the program. Findings revealed a significant increase in enrollment in response to the policy across all adult student categories in the first year. While overall adult student enrollment increased in the second year of the program, only part-time students and male students saw significant increases compared to the nationwide sample. Findings are encouraging regarding adult student responses to a free college program and how states can leverage policies to potentially increase enrollment among individuals who may not have otherwise pursued postsecondary education, such as adult students.

In this critical discourse analysis, we examine how conservative media framed the value of a college education in the United States. Drawing on a sample of 70 articles from right-leaning news websites, we analyzed conservative media’s discourse surrounding higher education in the U.S. and how harmful ideologies shaped the text itself. Our analysis addresses modern ways conservative media may attempt to influence beliefs by weaponizing the media with the intent of impacting policymaking. Guided by the theory of moral panics, we discuss how right-wing actors weaponize media discourse to position higher education as a modern-day folk devil. Our primary findings highlight how the right-wing media frames higher education institutions as poorly governed entities with ballooning budgets, places where dangerous leftist political ideology is reproduced, and as promoting costly degrees offering little to no value to the individual, while providing few recommendations for addressing these perceived issues. We provide implications and recommendations for understanding and counteracting the tools and tactics used to delegitimize higher education by right-wing media.