Competitive Workforce

Popular perception aside, most higher education students are not whom you might imagine. About 40 percent of today's undergraduates are at least 25 years of age, up from only 28 percent in 1970. They are often working adults, who are attending part-time, sometimes with tuition support from their employers and/or with the aid of GI Bill veteran's benefits.

Part-time students also constitute about half (51 percent) of all graduate and first-professional students. A majority are combining school with full-time work. About 60 percent of students enrolled in M.B.A. programs are part-time and about two-thirds of the students working on masters and doctoral degrees in education attend part-time.

Whether it is a degree completion program, an Executive M.B.A., or customized information technology training, many working adults are looking for educational opportunities that can prepare them for high-skill knowledge economy jobs.