Giving Compass' Take:

• In this podcast, Marie Cini, president of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, discusses how colleges can better serve adult students. 

• Which colleges have support programs or partnerships with organizations to help adult learners thrive? 

• Read more about supporting adult learners through effective programs. 

In the film, “Life of the Party,” seeing McCarthy's character at a sorority party in a mom sweater is one of the gags, as this grownup is clearly shown as a fish out of water in higher education.

This is just the latest version of a movie that Hollywood keeps making every generation, and it represents a narrative that never seems to go away about what college should look like.

But the reality is very different. That mom going back to school is no longer the rogue outsider, but increasingly the mainstream when you look at who goes to college.

These students could be the answer to how our society will adjust to the coming robot age and solve the skills gaps identified by employers. So argues Marie Cini, president of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, a group working to support programs for these so-called nontraditional students, the real-life versions of the character played by Melissa McCarthy.

Cini has been in the role for about nine months, so she’s just starting to implement her vision for how her organization can help shift this cultural narrative, and help colleges get better at serving this huge group of learners.

Listen to the discussion on this week’s EdSurge On Air podcast. You can follow the podcast on the Apple Podcast app, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play Music or wherever you listen.

Read the full article about adult students in college by Jeffrey R. Young at EdSurge.