Adult Transitions, Learning, and Success (ATLaS) Scholars Project

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ATLaS Mission

ATLaS helps adults in their first- or entry-year of university feel strong, balance the work, and return in their sophomore year.

Contact
Sherrie

Coordinator of
ATLaS Scholars

Workshop
Schedule

Click the Activities tab to view sessions

Contact
Sara

Director of
ATLaS Scholars

ATLaS Vision

ATLaS works to reduce the barriers for Maine people and envisions that 60% of Maine’s adults will have a bachelors, associates, or employable certificate.

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ATLaS Guiding Principles

The ATLaS Program addresses the feelings of impostorship.

As an adult learner, you have so many things going on in your life other than school. ATLaS wants you to feel like you belong here. You are not nontraditional: you are not alone and you are the new traditional college student.

The ATLaS Program employs the cohort model.

Whenever we expose ourselves to new challenges, we experience better results when we have good relationships with the supports around us as well as with the other people doing the hard work. Even when we cannot be physically together, being part of a cohort that can meet asynchronously and at a distance can have a powerful impact.

The ATLaS Program uses a high-contact coaching model.

There are many departments at your university that are ready to help you with all of your questions and concerns. Sometimes adult learners feel like they should already know the answers to their questions or that when they ask questions they are taking up somebody’s time. Know that your support departments want to hear from you and ATLaS wants to have frequent contact with you to guide you through your first- or entry-year.

The ATLaS Program focuses on adults and how they learn.

Adults learn differently than children. You are more self-directed, have more life experiences, you want to learn in order to be your best and most capable self, you like to solve problems, and you’re motivated to learn the things most important to you. ATLaS teaches you with these things in mind and coaches you in your relationships with faculty to make your classroom experiences meaningful.

The ATLaS Program helps you understand your financial aid and other financial resources.

The financial aid process is complicated. Because ATLaS knows that financial challenges are among the top reasons why students do not persist in higher education programs, we are here to help answer questions and advocate for you when unexpected things come up. We assist you in understanding your economic picture and help you connect your higher education successes to your financial situation for after graduation.

The ATLaS Program helps you understand the important technologies you need for success in university.

So many of us are taking online classes. Understanding how to use Brightspace™, Zoom™, and other technologies for learning is important to your success. ATLaS helps scholars learn about these tools and to problem solve when challenges arise.

Department of Education Badge

ATLaS is 100% funded by an FY22 $945,000 Congressionally Directed Spending Grant through the U.S. Department of Education Secured by Maine Senators Collins and King at the request of the University of Maine System

Skill Building for Scholars

Skills of all kinds are important. Let us help stock your tool box of professional & academic skills (cognitive skills) and personal & dispositional skills (noncognitive or psychosocial). Both are necessary to get through the challenges and opportunities that are ahead of you.

Getting Started

The university orientation is the best place to start as a new student. There are some additional activities you can do to deepen your readiness.

  • Online New Student Orientation
  • The First Four Weeks
  • Navigating Your Checksheet
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Technology Skills

Learning on Brightspace gives scholars the opportunity to learn at any time and from anywhere. Build your skills to be efficient in your online learning!

  • Connecting to the Internet
  • Navigating the Brightspace Layout
  • Staying on Top of Updates
  • Organizing Coursework Across Multiple Classes
  • Managing Communication Styles
  • Tracking Hidden Assignment Updates
  • Mastering Brightspace Tools
  • Defeating Home Distractions
  • Knowing When and Where to Ask for Help
  • Adapting to Different Course Setups

Transferrable Skills

These are the skills that go with you anywhere. Whether you are in college, the workplace, or in your community, transferrable skills are at the core of all of your contributions

  • Defining Your “Why”
  • Who You Are as a Learner
  • Self-management–not time-management
  • Setting SMART Goals
  • Guiding Wise Choices
  • Learning in Adulthood
  • Grit & Growth Mindset
  • Failing Successfully
  • Taking Stock & Course Corrections
  • Overcoming Impostor Syndrome
  • Writing Whole Messages
  • Communicating to Different Audiences
  • Using Emotional Intelligence
  • Economic Literacy Principles for Students
  • What Motivation is Made of
  • Research 101
  • Civil Discourse
  • Wellness & Self-care
  • Position & Relationships

ATLaS Activities

COL 123

Learning & the College Community

COL 314

Professional Career Development

COL 351

Personal Economic Empowerment

Coaching

One-on-one coaching & support

Workshop Series 2:00 – 3:00 PM

Summer 2026 Courses

COL 123-7200

Tue/Thu 1:00-3:00 PM
Starts July 6, 2026

COL 123-9200

100% Online
Starts July 6, 2026

COL 314-9100

100% Online
Starts May 18, 2026

COL 351-9200

100% Online
Starts May 18, 2026

Maine Adult Education Students Welcome!

If you are a recent HiSET or diploma completer, or you’re thinking about college pathways, you may request assistance registering for an ATLaS course

UM & UMM Students Welcome!

If you are an UM or UMM student, you may request assistance registering for an ATLaS course

UMFK Student Welcome!

If you are an UMFK student, you may request assistance registering for an ATLaS course

UMPI Students Welcome!

If you are an UMPI student, you may request assistance registering for an ATLaS course

UMF Students Welcome!

If you are an UMF student, you may request assistance registering for an ATLaS course

USM Students Welcome!

If you are an USM student, you may request assistance registering for an ATLaS course

ATLaS Guiding Principles

Addressing Impostorship

Adult learners are susceptible to feelings of impostorship when they enter college believing–and society reinforces–the notion of the “normal college student.” Students who are older, employed, caring for dependents, and contending with duties that compete for their attention can feel like they do not belong in the college community. The ATLaS Program fosters belonging and reinforces the new traditional college student.

Employing the Cohort Model

While adult learners experience a higher degree of internal motivation than younger learners, research holds that a cohort model offers the supportive factor of community around critical tasks. A cohort does not specifically imply physical proximity or synchronous timing on location. Cohort models are communities of learning that have psychosocial benefits and can operate remotely and asynchronously. This is powerfully reinforcing when adult learners experience barriers to their college access. The ATLaS Program gives adult learners a socially reinforcing experience that addresses their needs and limitations as people who experience complex demands on their time.

Intrusive Coaching Model

Adult learners require coaching and advising that matches their profiles as adults. However, adult learners often fall prey to thinking they are taking away from others or are less deserving of assistance. Adults easily convince themselves that “I should already know this or I don’t belong here.” The ATLaS Program integrates student support services into the cohort experience.

Faculty Training and Commitment

Adult learners thrive in academic environments where instructors demonstrate the difference between pedagogy and andragogy. Relevant materials and assignments, hyflex modalities, student-faculty collaboration, and efficient learning spaces are key indicators of adult student success and become doubly important when the adult learner possesses other vulnerable factors. The ATLaS Program incorporates strong faculty buy-in and support, and works with instructional staffs who are eager to affirm and promote andragogy and adult learner success.

Leveraging Financial Programs and Resources

Adults who are heads of households and people managing careers are at risk of stopping out when financial hardships increase and economic literacy is low. Financial issues are in the top reasons for college dropout. The University of Maine System sponsors a number of scholarships and financial programs to assist students but students are not always aware of processes, deadlines, requirements, or how to pair opportunities. The ATLaS Program liaises this process for participants to make college as low- or no-cost as possible for the adult learner.

Investing in the Digital Experience

Adults learners with complex responsibilities thrive on systems that are straightforward, well designed, and efficient. The conversion to the Brightspace Learning Management System (LMS) has been a learning curve for the whole University System and the COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated the inequities in device access and internet connectivity across the State of Maine. The ATLaS Program encourages adult learners’ digital literacies, explores opportunities to access high quality devices, and collaborates with the UMA FDC and across participating content area classes to achieve a student-centered look and feel that offers a consistent and highly quality digital experience.

ATLas commits to the success for first- and entry-year adult learners without discrimination against any of the six types of barriers that can impede equitable access or participation. Students selected for ATLaS will experience equity regardless of gender, race, national origin, color, disability, or age insofar as the project addresses the success of adult learners typically identified as a nontraditional student ages 25+. Outreach, marketing, and enrollment activities will target all eligible students who are a.) attending a participating UMS institution, b.) enrolled in a first or entry year, and c.) demonstrating need for support. ATLaS will use funds to employ student support staff and provide stipends to students to support their educational success through auditable and equitable disbursement protocols.