Back-to-school season belongs to MD’s working adults, too

As students return to classrooms this fall, another group is opening laptops after work, studying at kitchen tables and reconsidering goals they once placed on hold: working adults. Their return is more than a personal milestone. It is evidence that higher education must evolve around the realities of today’s learners and the demands of a rapidly changing economy.

Careers no longer follow a predictable path from one degree to one lifelong job. Artificial intelligence, automation and new digital tools are changing how work gets done and which skills matter. Employers increasingly focus less on where learning occurred and more on whether a person can apply relevant knowledge, solve problems and contribute on day one. That makes flexible, skills-based education essential, not optional.

Maryland offers a clear example. Although 43.4% of residents age 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree, statewide averages mask unequal access and persistent talent needs. The Maryland Department of Labor reports the strongest workforce demand in healthcare, information technology and cybersecurity, construction, and transportation and logistics. Meeting that demand will require opening practical pathways for adults in every region of the state.

Higher education should be designed to fit those lives without lowering expectations. Online learning can remove barriers of place and time. Competency-based education can allow students to move forward when they demonstrate mastery rather than simply accumulating hours in a classroom. Prior learning and transfer credit should count when there is credible evidence that a learner has achieved the required outcomes. Access and quality must advance together.

AI can also help make learning more accessible and navigable. Used responsibly, it can identify knowledge gaps, provide timely practice and help institutions tailor support. But technology should strengthen, not replace, the human relationships that keep students moving. Faculty, mentors and peers provide encouragement, judgment and accountability that no tool can replicate.

Adult learners are also careful consumers. They ask whether a program is worth the time, sacrifice and money it requires. Colleges must answer with clear value: Affordable tuition, relevant curricula informed by employers, strong student support and transparent outcomes. A credential should represent more than completion. It should signal that a graduate is prepared to apply what they have learned.

As regional vice president for Western Governors University’s Northeast region, I see that determination every day. Most WGU students are working adults pursuing a promotion, changing careers, reskilling for an evolving field or finishing a degree they began years ago. They bring experience, resilience and urgency to their studies. When education meets them where they are, they show what is possible.

For adults considering a return to school, begin with the outcome you want. Choose a program that aligns with your career goals and offers a schedule you can sustain. Ask how prior learning will be evaluated, what support is available and how the institution measures graduate success. Build a circle of family members, friends, colleagues and mentors who understand the commitment. Most importantly, give yourself permission to learn at a pace that works for your life.

This back-to-school season should remind us that education is not reserved for one age or one stage. Working adults are not an exception to the future of higher education; they are helping define it. By building learning around flexibility, affordability, relevance and high standards, we can open more pathways to opportunity and strengthen the workforce our communities need.

For anyone wondering whether it is too late to return, it is not. The next chapter can begin now, on your terms, with an education designed not around the life you are expected to have, but the life you are already living.

Dr. K.L. Allen is a Regional Vice President for Western Governors University with close to two decades of higher education experience, ranging from launching and leading collegiate departments of business development and veteran affairs to being a professor in business, economics, and education.