Community Colleges Are Serving More Younger Adults, Report Says

As the number of younger students at community colleges grows, a federal report suggests that colleges, lawmakers, and researchers need to view them differently from older students to ensure their academic success.

The March 7 report from the U.S. Department of Education focuses on community college students under 24—the age at which they are considered independent for federal financial-aid purposes.

Clifford Adelman, the report’s author and a senior research analyst at the department, uses the analogy of a community college as a “town” where students arrive as immigrants and establish residence for differing periods of time and intensity. While some students are merely tourists, he says, others are...