Learning While Working:

As the demand for lifelong learning increases, many working adults have turned to online graduate education in order update their skillsets and pursue advanced credentials. Simultaneously, volume of data available educators scholars interested continues rise. This study seeks extend analytics applications typically oriented toward understanding student interaction with course content, instructors, peers program level gain insight into ways which adult learners manage progress over multiple courses semesters. Using optimal matching analysis, we identify four distinct profiles enrollment behaviour among 1,801 successful graduates an master’s that differ respect load, semesters off, graduation speed. We found differed significantly as a function age knowledge background, but not gender, ethnicity, or previous academic performance. Findings indicate utility expanding focused on micro-level analysis macro-level grounding geared lifespan development perspective. Implications design educational interventions are discussed.