It is an exciting time to be in the field of lifelong learning programming.
*The importance of lifelong learning to society has never been greater.
* The importance of your program to your institution has never been greater.
*The opportunity to serve more of your community has never been more needed.
Here’s the State of Lifelong Learning for 2025. View the webinar with slides and presentation by clicking here.
State of Programs
Overall, around 25% of programs are very successful and on the cutting edge, creating innovations in best practice. Another 50% of programs are average, having both strengths and weaknesses. They can become even more successful when they address those weaknesses. And the bottom 25% are worse off than they have ever been before. The bottom 25% basically need to be rebuilt, a process which now takes 2-3 years and involves both administrative support and investment. All programs can grow and become even more successful. All programs need to grow and serve more people in their communities and in society.
Registrations and Income
Registrations overall grew over 2023. The pandemic comparison with 2019 is now past, with registrations and income for the majority of programs either equaling 2019 now or exceeding 2019.
The Print Brochure
LERN continues to get data from local programs in the U.S. that the print brochure is essential, generating 70% of the registrations. The LERN research on the print brochure this year looked at both inside the field of lifelong learning programming and outside the field in the area of print promotion. Inside the field, the print brochure is back for almost all recreation departments and public schools. For continuing education the print brochure is back for over 75% of programs but is still resisted, despite the evidence, by too many college and university central administrators. Outside the field, print brochure promotion is growing, especially for younger audiences. For example, Amazon just came out with a second print brochure aimed at another of its audiences.
Staff Vacuum
The field is experiencing a mass exodus in leadership as Baby Boomers and the oldest Gen Xers retire. That has created a huge vacuum. New staff need training. Hundreds of staff get the best training with LERN’s Certified Program Planner (CPP) training and designation each year.
We will see a tipping point in 2025 or 2026 when Gen Y and Gen Z become a majority of workers in society. The young staff also bring with them a new 21st century set of expectations, requirements and a very different style of management that is directly relevant and productive for the environment of the 21st century.
Accountability & Benchmarks
The LERN Dashboard introduced at last year’s Annual Conference has changed the field. Now every program has benchmarks and comparisons with the Top 25% of programs by institutional setting and size of community.
For example, a poll of your colleagues found that they see no reason why any program cannot attain the registrations and income of the Top 25% programs in their institutional setting and size of community. That establishes accountability and measurable benchmarks.
Lack of Investment
The field of lifelong learning programming and continuing education functions as business in an external marketplace controlled by the same forces that other businesses experience. And yet almost all programs are submerged and surrounded by a larger institutional setting that is funded by taxpayers and grants and income that does not depend on the marketplace.
One critical shortfall right now is that institutions do not see the need for you to invest in growing your program. Despite the ROI being huge, advantageous, and virtually guaranteed, saving a few thousand dollars takes precedence over generating hundreds of thousands of dollars. This has to stop. You either grow or decline.
Your New Financial Contributions
Smart programmers are finding, documenting and measuring other ways in which they are making financial contributions to their institution. Instead of solely concentrating on their annual profit or loss statement, these programmers are articulating other ways in which they make financial contributions in addition to that program profit or loss statement.
Central administrations do not measure these other financial contributions. In most cases, they do not even know about them. But they are real, and smart programmers are starting to document and articulate these real other financial contributions. Very good news.
Staff Nurturing Big Theme for 2025
Last year programs reported staff shortages and morale issues on staff. This year you are addressing and solving these issues. Innovative staff nurturing initiatives are sprouting up to retain staff and enhance the enjoyment and satisfaction of staff. A combination of recruitment techniques, flexibility in hours, attention to staff wellness issues, and critical training and professional development is leading the way in 2025.
Reaching Out More
A concern about the lack of reaching out and serving diverse and underserved audiences was noted in last year’s report on the state of the field. This year we are starting to see successful and creative programs reaching out more with specific programs and initiatives to involved those diverse and underserved audiences in lifelong learning. We need to do more. The percentage of adults in society involved in lifelong learning has declined in the last thirty years at a time when it has to grow in order to have a prosperous economy and well informed citizenry. But you are starting.
LERN Leads More Than Ever
The Learning Resources Network (LERN) is now arguably the largest and most important organization in lifelong learning programming and continuing education in North America. We generate 100,000 or more new learners every year. These are new learners that no other organization has, or can, generate. For those of you in continuing education we also generate 10,000 credit students every year, the size of a university. If you are with a college or university, LERN can prove we contribute over $100,000 to your college or university. If you are with a recreation department or community education program, we will be documenting in dollars our overall contribution to your institution.
We do that of course by generating new learners for you, our members. We have proved it with three different studies. We can prove that LERN increases your registrations and income by 10%. We will continue to prove it.
© 2025 by LERN. May not be reprinted or distributed without express written consent from the Learning Resources Network (LERN), Jill Korsok, Chair of the LERN Board of Directors 2024-2025.
