An exploration of the Cantabrian tertiary adult student market

Abstract

Significant changes have occurred in the mix of students attending tertiary institutions in New Zealand over the last decade. The number of adult students involved in this level of study, in particular, have increased substantially. While there is growing overseas interest in the needs and behaviour of this student market little research appeared to have been conducted of this group of New Zealand students. This study therefore examined adult students in the Canterbury region to establish why they elected to return to study and the problems that they confronted.