Adults pursuing career growth are returning to continuing education

Millions of U.S. adults are enrolling in credit and non-credit college courses to earn certificates, learn new skills or pursue personal interests, and institutions such as UCLA Extension and Northern Arizona University offer a wide range of flexible programs including more than 90 certificate and specialization options.

Many U.S. adults are returning to college courses to pursue professional certificates, learn skills or follow personal interests. Colleges and continuing-education divisions, such as UCLA Extension and Northern Arizona University, offer a wide range of credit and non-credit classes. Programs range from technical topics like artificial intelligence to hobbies like ikebana and book editing. Older students often balance coursework with jobs, caregiving and family responsibilities. Key points: - Millions of U.S. adults enroll in credit and non-credit college courses to earn professional certificates, learn new skills or pursue academic degrees. - UCLA Extension offers more than 90 certificate and specialization programs, and individual courses cover topics from retirement planning and novel writing to photography and music production. - About 33,500 students — nearly half older than 35 — were enrolled during the last academic year at UCLA Extension. - Experts say adults return to school for career advancement, higher pay, job security or personal enrichment, and rapid changes such as artificial intelligence are prompting some to refresh skills. - Schools report offering lower-cost continuing education, financial assistance and varied formats (in-person, online, accelerated and self-paced) to help adults fit learning into their lives. Summary: Continuing education programs are presenting a range of options for adults balancing work, family and retraining needs, and institutions are expanding flexible formats and supports. Undetermined at this time.