A new report finds millions of adult students reporting an interest in postsecondary education, but it also raises questions about how many will follow through.gettyMore than 41 million adults (ages 25-64) intend to enroll in postsecondary education of some sort within the next two years, according to a new report from the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL). If you extrapolate that number, which represents a 27% intent rate, to the broader adult population ages 18 and up, it signals that as many as 65 million adults might have an interest in enrolling in college or acquiring additional training. But a key question remains — how much of that professed intent will translate into completed enrollments?The findings come from nationwide surveys of more than 200,000 adults administered between 2019 and 2025 by CollegeAPP, a data analytics service that helps higher education institutions identify and recruit potential adult students. The survey also asks respondents about their reasons for wanting to enroll and the barriers that are stopping them. Motivations To EnrollWhen asked what their primary reason for wanting more education was, almost half of adult learners (43%) pointed to a desire to gain skills relevant to their current career, 35% said “learning and self-improvement” was their main motivation, and 21% reported a desire to change careers.MORE FOR YOUThe surveys also revealed that a slightly larger share of of adults (52%) were interested in short-term, career-oriented programs at technical and community colleges than in four-year institutions (48%). Receptiveness to hybrid learning was extremely strong, with 75% reporting an interest in it. Enrollment aspirations were widespread, but they were stronger among certain groups. Intent was higher among Black (43%), Hispanic (40%), and female (30%) respondents as well as individuals with lower household incomes (35%), younger adults (41% for ages 25-34), and those with some college attendance but no degree (33%).Barriers The report also found that the types of adult learners who were most likely to express enrollment intentions were also those most likely to encounter barriers to following through with those aspirations. For example, the 35% of lower-income respondents who indicated they intended to enroll was substantially higher than the intent levels of middle (27%) and higher (20%) income respondents. Those who were unemployed or anticipated a career change also were more likely to express an intention to enroll.By a wide margin, respondents reported cost as the greatest threat to enrollment aspirations, with 81% pointing to it as a barrier. Difficulty in finding time to gain more education was second at 67%. In addition to those two reasons, 11% mentioned problems in navigating the college enrollment process, and 9% cited child care. Market or MirageA major question hovers over these data. How many adults who say they want to enroll for more education, will actually do so? Intending to go back to school is not the same as completing the necessary application and registration steps and then attending classes. Colleges are familiar with this kind of bleed-off. It’s common for market surveys to indicate that many students say they would enroll in a new program that an institution is considering, only to have far fewer follow through and matriculate. It’s like what happens to so many New Years resolutions — no matter how well-intended, they are seldom completed. “The report makes it clear that intent to enroll is prevalent but also divergent,” said Earl Buford, CAEL president, in a news release. “The implications are also clear: Enrollment strategies, which traditionally consigned adult learners to a monolithic “nontraditional” student category, must continue to evolve. While there have been appreciable strides in engaging learners with some college and no degree, they are by no means the only significant segment of the tens of millions with intent to enroll.”Still, the data indicate that interest in college among adults remains high. As institutions scramble to maintain enrollments in the face of a dwindling number of high school graduates, adult students remain a market with considerable upside potential. “Educators and trainers must commit to an intimate understanding of not just what motivates adult learners to enroll, but what may be thwarting them from translating aspiration into action," said aid Dr. Beth Doyle, chief of higher education strategy and impact at CAEL, in the news release. "With a holistic perspective of the recruiting pipeline, administrators can direct resources where they will matter the most, whether in affordability and navigation support, flexible, skills-focused approaches, or integrated solutions addressing time and financial scarcities resulting from work, caregiving, and other non-academic responsibilities.”