It provides a way for professionals now at work in a special area of adult education to improve job skills at the same time that they prepare for wider responsibilities in the broader field. Further, it provides the necessary academic preparation for those who will later apply for the doctoral program in adult continuing education. Students Students in the master's program are unique individuals with unique personal histories and unique futures. Our master's students come from such varied backgrounds as health, business and industry, university continuing education, community colleges, cooperative extension, the military, and voluntary agencies. Compared with other master's students in the college and university, adult continuing education students are equivalent so far as racial mix, proportion of full-time students, and residence go, but are somewhat older and include a somewhat higher proportion of women than do the other programs.
Surveys show that most seek to develop new knowledge and skills and explore new career options.
NIU is attractive to our students because of its convenient locationand schedule and its reasonable cost. The NIU master's degree program in adult continuing education began in 1973 as a response to the need for preparing professionals in the area of adult literacy. In the ensuing years, it became clear that adult literacy was only one of several areas calling for the services of professionals. The demands of the emerging field dictated a broader emphasis, and the result was a revised set of program objectives that encompassed the preparation of adult educators for work in non-school settings. Besides the still-important goals of preparing persons for positions in adult basic education and English language acquisition programs, the master's program offers preparation for positions in human resource development and the allied health field.