Primary Research Group has published The Survey of Adult & Continuing Education Programs in Higher Education, 2011 Edition, ISBN 157440-159-9.

The 200+-page study looks closely at trends and growth rates in current and expected revenue and enrollment, course development plans, cost structure, administrative and faculty staffing, use of technology, success rate for different types of courses, and marketing practices. The study presents highly detailed data on the use of various kinds of marketing vehicles including Facebook, Google, newspaper and magazine advertising, direct mail, opt in email, billboards, television and radio advertising and other forms of promotion. Detailed data on use of market research firms, advertising agencies and other consultants is also included.

Just a few of the report’s many findings are that:

• The typical program had a mean of nearly 78 instructors who taught at least one adult ed or continuing ed course in the past year; the median was 30.
• Adjuncts taught a mean of nearly 64% of adult education classes for the programs in the sample; the median was 71.5%.  At community colleges adjuncts taught close to 82% of adult education classes.
• Mean program revenue was $5,015,032.
• Nearly two thirds of the programs in the sample are expected to earn a profit that can be used to support other divisions of the college
• Spending on social networking sites such as Facebook was minimal.
• Nearly 28% of program revenues for the colleges in the sample came from employers of adult and continuing education students. The more sophisticated the degree offered the more likely it was to be paid for in whole or in part by the student’s employer.
• Mean spending on direct mail by the programs in the sample was only $22,533 and median spending was only $276, meaning that many programs did not spend anything at all on direct mail.
• Community colleges received by far the lowest percentage of their adult education revenues from degree programs, only 18.4%.

The PDF version of the report is currently available from Primary Research Group for $169.00; the print version will be available on February 6, 2011. Site licenses are also available. Data from 40+ North American colleges is broken out by size and type of college. For further information, or for free sample pages and a table of contents and list of tables, view our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com.