Adult Education  

Adult education encompasses a wide variety of educational services for adult learners and extends across all educational levels, subjects, and purposes. Services are generally oriented to meet the needs of mature adults who have life, work, and family experience but who need additional education in order to improve themselves for personal or work-related reasons.

Adult Basic Education - Basic education is the provision of primary and secondary level instruction to adults who did not complete these levels of education. This situation applies particularly to those who dropped out of school and to immigrants from countries where educational opportunities are limited. Often these individuals also require basic instruction in English as a second language.

Adult Continuing Education - Continuing education is education provided for adults who have already graduated with a secondary school diploma or a higher education degree, and who seek but who are beyond the traditional age for higher education (i.e. 18-22). Continuing education may be at the undergraduate or graduate levels and may provide a full degree course of study or shorter certificate programs aimed at improving work-related skills or providing personal enrichment. In the United States such programs are provided by institutions of higher education, employers, private training services, and adult education centers.