“Navigating the Terrain of the Adult Learner: Signposts to Development, Achievement and Success” will be the theme of MTSU’s 19th Annual Adult Learning Conference scheduled for Feb. 16-17 in the James Union Building.

Dr. Nan Travers

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Nan Travers, director of the Office of Collegewide Academic Review at Empire State College, State University of New York.

Travers is responsible for “the policies and practices of self-designed student degree programs and the assessment of prior college-level learning,” according to her SUNY biography.

“Her specialty is tweaking programs to be strong in several areas to support adult learners,” says Anne Fraley, interim director of MTSU’s June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students.

The center will sponsor the conference in partnership with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and with support from the Lumina Foundation.

“People have found themselves unemployed, and therefore, it’s a time to either improve their skills or shift focus and direction in whatever field they’re in,” says Fraley.

Participants will discuss the importance of adult learners in helping Tennessee attain its college-completion goals and the resources needed to improve adult learners’ success rates.

Student workshops include “Pathways to Making Good Career Choices,” “Student Networking,” “Finessing the World of Financial Aid” and “Managing Life: Mindfulness as a Means to Reduce Stress at Home and at School.”

Registration cost is $100 per person. Checks must be made payable to MTSU Adult Learning Conference and mailed to Adult Learning Conference, Middle Tennessee State University, 1301 E. Main St., Box 295, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132.

Registration applications and payments must be received no later than Thursday, Feb. 2. For more information, visit the conference website at http://www.mtsu.edu/jac/conferences.php, or call the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students at 615-898-5989.

— Gina K. Logue (Gina.Logue@mtsu.edu)