The Adult University

In most universities there are now more adults as students than young people straight from school. Yet many universities continue to act as if no such change had taken place. The Adult University examines theoretically and practically key issues of broader participation in higher education. It asks:* What are university access policies and how do they connect with practice; do universities behave in ways which encourage or thwart wider access?* How do adults experience universities; and how far do universities adapt to assist adults?* What can universities realistically do to improve both the access to and experience of university for adults.This is a genuinely international study by a transnational team which is grounded in research into two institutions in two major European university traditions. Its focus is both on national systems and local interactions, on macro level policy and students' own voices.The Adult University is essential reading for all those interested in the development of our mass higher education system. It points to ways in which individual universities and the system of higher education could and should evolve in advanced industrial societies.

Etienne Bourgeois is Professor of Education and Chairman of the School of Education (FOPA) at the Universite catholique de Louvain in Belgium. Chris Duke is the Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Western Sydney in Australia and President of UWS Nepean where he is also Professor of Lifelong Learning. Jean-Luc Guyot is a senior researcher in the Department of Education at the Universite catholique de Louvain. Barbara Merrill is a senior researcher in the Department of Continuing Education at the University of Warwick in the UK.