Quincy, MA– The Nellie Mae Education Foundation has launched the Adult Transitions Longitudinal Study (ATLAS), a five-year research project designed to document educational and economic outcomes for adult students who participate in the New England Adult Basic Education (ABE)-to-College Transition Project. A team of faculty and graduate students from the Center for International Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, will lead the study in collaboration with other faculty from the Research and Evaluation Methods Program (REMP) within the university’s School of Education. The study is being coordinated by the New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC) at World Education, which administers the ABE-to-College Transition Project.
The study will follow ABE-to-College Transition Project participants enrolled in the programs in the fall of 2007 and spring 2008 - an estimated total sample of 300+ individuals. The participants will come from eleven programs, selected from within the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project.
“Thanks to the success of the ABE-to-College Transition Project, we no longer simply talk about a GED when we talk about adult education,” said Nicholas Donohue, President and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. “This study will help us better understand the barriers to postsecondary success for program participants, and, ultimately, to move toward a system that allows for continued growth, academic achievement, and success at the highest levels for all adults.”
Participating programs are: Action for Boston Community Development, Boston, MA; Belfast Adult and Community Education, Belfast, ME; SUCCESS at Cape Cod Community College, Hyannis, MA; Nashua Adult Learning Center, Nashua, NH; Rhode Island Regional Adult Education, Pawtucket, RI; Rockland Adult Education, Rockland, ME; Sumner Adult Education, Orono, ME; The Tutorial Center, Inc, Bennington, VT; X-Cel Adult Education, Boston, MA; Second Start, Concord, NH; and Vernon Regional Adult Education, Manchester, CT.
The purpose of ATLAS is to determine the factors that contribute to or stand in the way of participant success in postsecondary education. By developing profiles of participants’ enrollment in and experiences in postsecondary education, Transition Program staff can better identify at-risk adult students who may be more likely to drop out or be unsuccessful in the transition to college. Such knowledge can help the program adopt strategies that reduce the barriers to success.
The ultimate goal of the study will be to inform policymakers, program practitioners, students and potential funding organizations about the educational and economic success of ABE-to-College program participants, and the influence of the ABE-to-College programs on that success. The study will also examine the effect of the programs on participants’ planning for their children’s education.
Begun in 2000, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project prepares adults throughout New England who have earned a certificate of General Educational Development (GED) or an External Diploma Program (EDP) certificate to enter and succeed in postsecondary education thereby increasing the likelihood of improving their own and their families’ lives. Currently, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project is being implemented in 25 adult education programs partnered with over 40 postsecondary institutions in the six New England states. The sites where the project is being implemented are diverse and include community-based organizations, public schools, community colleges, and prisons. The program is administered by the New England Literacy Resource Center at World Education with funding from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is the largest philanthropy in New England that focuses exclusively on promoting access, quality and effectiveness of education. Established in 1998, the Foundation provides grants and other support to education programs in the region designed to improve underserved students' academic achievement and access to higher education. The Foundation also funds research that examines critical educational opportunity issues. Since it was established, the Foundation has distributed nearly $72 million. Currently, it is realigning its program investments to help ensure more New England students are equipped to succeed. While our funding transitions to other priorities, we will build on what we have learned through our successes in order to define our future. For more information on the Foundation’s current work, visit www.nmefdn.org.
