Modifying Course Sequencing for Adult Learner Success
Ashley Mowreader
July 23, 2025
The University of Phoenix improved students’ passing rates by mandating an introductory course on health and well-being earlier in their college careers.
Compared to their younger peers, adult learners have lower retention rates and are more likely to be impacted by risk factors that can impede college success, including having a dependent, being a first-generation college student or working full time.
To better support adult learners, the University of Phoenix designed an introductory-level health and wellness course that addresses the hidden curriculum of higher education and the needs of adult online learners.
A recently published white paper found that incoming students who took the course were more likely to do well in the two classes that followed than their peers who didn’t. The data prompted an overhaul of the College of General Studies’ first-year course series for new students to improve student persistence and success rates.
