چکیده (انگلیسی):

As institutions of higher learning have seen the aging of American college students, they have
been increasingly concerned about helping them overcome what deters their reentry. Adult
perception of deterrents is identified in this study. Analysis and the factor structure underlying
these deterrents is examined in the Situational, Institutional, and Dispositional category of
deterrents. Six factors with no extraneous items were identified: bad experience, institutional
reasons, lack of resources, course offerings, cost/benefit ratio and childcare were identified for
potential adult students at a small private tuition-driven undergraduate college. This complex set
of findings fits with barriers established in the literature. Bad Experience, a dispositional barrier,
and the Institutional factor correspond to Cross’ (1981) typology. Lack of Resources and Course
Offerings are spread among situational, institutional and dispositional factors. Cost/Benefit Ratio
is situational and institutional. Childcare is situational. This study contributes to a complex model
of deterrents to participation.