Ariana Lazo has different priorities than the stereotypical college student.
The 35-year-old is laser-focused on her nursing program, caring for her five children and working at the college’s career services office.
“Being an adult learner, you have more of a grasp of where you want to go,” said Lazo, who is pursuing a career in midwifery. “I have life experience and I need something thatap going to work for my children, and I know what I need.”
Colleges across the country are girding for the demographic cliff of fewer young people enrolling due to a . Because of this, Red Rocks Community College — with campuses in Arvada and Lakewood — is investing in its adult learner population, degree-seekers often overlooked in traditional higher education settings.
The attention seems to be paying off, as Red Rocks’ adult learners earn better grades and have higher retention rates than their younger peers, according to the school’s data.
The college used a $25,000 grant from the in 2023 to support adult learners – classified as students over 25 years old – who now make up 23% of Red Rocks’ nearly 9,750 students this spring.
That mirrors the statewide trend. Out of the 270,938 students enrolled in public Colorado colleges and universities in 2024 — the most recent data available — 26% of those students were 25 or older, according to .
At the end of 2023, Red Rocks launched a survey of its adult learner population to better understand the challenges they face and what resources they may need. More than 280 people responded, sharing stories like their difficulties in finding child care or challenges in scheduling classes that accommodate single parents and work schedules, said Evan Kravitz, director of the college’s .
The institution crafted a two-day conference for adult learners a couple of months later, featuring panels and speakers designed to reach that student population.
“Adult learners told us they wanted community,” Kravitz said. “They wanted to hear more and learn more and talk more to adult learners.”
When Lazo started at Red Rocks in 2024, the stars aligned. The adult learner in search of community decided to make it happen. She founded a club for adult learners that’s now flourishing.
“If you feel there is some inkling you might want to continue your education in your adulthood, I’m always like, ‘Go for it,'” Lazo said. “I’ve had so many amazing experiences and learned so much about myself.”
Children are welcome at the Adult Learners Club’s meetings and provided with games and movies to entertain them while their parents get down to business. The older students can help one another with technology that may not have been a part of their schooling, but is now a standard part of education.
They create study groups, get advice about work-life balance and child care, or just plain vent to each other and make friends.
“We all want to just help one another,” Lazo said. “We all relate to each other and… to be able to lean on each other is amazing.”
The club started as a monthly gathering, but it was so popular that students demanded to meet more frequently. Now, they meet weekly and often welcome a member of campus leadership to hear their concerns.
“They don’t do all the talking,” Kravitz said of leadership. “They would tell the adult learners, ‘I want to hear from you’ and, ‘What can I take back to leadership’ — and that was huge.”
Because of feedback from the club, Red Rocks picked four academic programs — law enforcement academy, welding, mental health and social work, and early childhood education — and created night classes for them starting next fall, said Lisa Fowler, the college’s vice president of student affairs.
“We as a college are really committed to providing flexible programming and student support services for adult learners,” Fowler said. “It’s always a focus, but even more now than ever.”
Rob Johnson, 48, was intimidated stepping onto Red Rocks’ campus in 2024, surrounded by younger people fresh out of high school.
“I had a lot of preconceived notions,” he said.
Johnson thought he was going to be the only guy there who was alive during the George H.W. Bush administration. He was not.
He thought the younger students would turn up their noses at him.
“That’s not the case,” Johnson said. “Everyone here is pretty helpful and nice.”
While working toward his business degree, Johnson stumbled upon the fliers for the adult learners club and felt he was being spoken to directly.
Johnson started at Red Rocks after entering recovery from drugs and alcohol in 2018. A lifelong flooring installer, he wanted to expand his offerings and is getting the business education to do so.
“It’s a huge opportunity for me,” he said. “I’m killing it here at school. I’m a straight ‘A’ student and have good momentum.”
Johnson showed up to the Adult Learners Club, made friends and now serves as treasurer. He praised the school’s president, vice president and other leaders for coming to meetings and hearing from their students.
“They’ve been adamant about showing their support and their interest in what we are trying to do, because I guess adult learners are going to be taking the spotlight over the next few decades because the birthrate is falling and people’s careers are going to be changing,” Johnson said. “The buzz around the adult learning community — it’s been cool to be a part of it.”
The investment in this demographic has been successful for the school.
According to Red Rocks data, adult students had a 86.2% success rate — the percentage of classes passed with a ‘C’ or better — at the college in 2025. Comparatively, students 18 to 24 years old had a 77.6% success rate.
In the 2024-2025 school year, 56% of adult learners who enrolled in fall 2024 either re-enrolled or completed their program or degree by summer 2025. Comparatively, the retention rate for students under 25 was 54.2%.
“What we’ve learned from our enhanced focus on adult learners is how dynamic it makes the college,” Fowler said. “We have people from all ages with different work experiences, military experience coming together, and itap made it a very rich student experience to have adult learners with us increasingly.”
