Remote Opportunities for Student Access Program

For adults, getting an education is not always as simple as finding a class and signing up. 

Work schedules change. Childcare falls through. Transportation is limited. A class may be offered at a time that does not work, or a student may need instruction in a language that is not available close to home. 

For many adult learners, the barrier is not motivation. It is access. 

That is where ROSA, the Remote Opportunities for Student Access program, comes in. 

Through Kansas Adult Education, ROSA connects students with online classes offered by participating adult education programs across the state. Seward County Community College administers the program, helping adult education providers connect students with opportunities that may not be available through their local program. 

There is a real need for people in Kansas. Kansas Adult Education served 6,869 participants in FY2024, an 11.4% increase from the previous year. More than one-third of those participants entered with at least one barrier to employment. Kansas adult education programs also serve a remarkably diverse population, with students speaking more than 70 native languages. 

ROSA gives those students more options while allowing local adult education programs to continue providing the relationships and support that matter to student success. 

“ROSA represents what we want adult education in Kansas to look like, programs working together so that a learner’s access to instruction is not limited by geography, a local class schedule, or the capacity of a single program,” said Julie A. Clark of the Kansas Board of Regents. “By sharing synchronous instruction across the state, we can preserve the local relationships and supports that are so important to student success while giving learners access to the right class, at the right level, when they need it.” 

That collaboration is already making a difference. 

“ROSA has given opportunities to our students that they otherwise could not have accessed,” said Rachel Ohmes, Director of Learning Innovations in Professional Credit at Manhattan Tech. “We have fantastic instructors, but there’s only so much time in a day. Our instructors can’t teach every class we would like to offer, and that’s where ROSA comes in.” 

Last spring, Manhattan Tech connected two students with classes offered in Spanish. 

“Without ROSA, those opportunities simply wouldn’t have existed for them,” Ohmes said. 

Expanding What Adult Education Can Offer 

Carla, an adult education student at Manhattan Tech, found that opportunity through ROSA. 

While working toward her GED, Carla learned about a GED bootcamp offered online through Garden City Community College. The course was taught in Spanish, her native language, and provided instruction that was not available through her local program. 

“When I heard there was a GED bootcamp in Spanish, I wanted to sign up right away,” Carla said. “I was already taking classes at Manhattan Tech, but ROSA gave me access to something that wasn’t available locally. Learning in Spanish made the material easier to understand and gave me extra confidence as I work toward finishing my GED.” 

For Carla, ROSA meant she could stay connected to her local adult education program while also taking advantage of an opportunity offered by another Kansas program. 

That kind of collaboration is at the heart of ROSA. 

Adult education programs know their communities and the students they serve. By sharing classes and resources, they can expand the opportunities available to their students without every program having to offer every course or every type of instruction. 

Alaina Rice, ROSA Coordinator at Seward County Community College, has seen the impact firsthand. 

“Garden City offered a GED bootcamp late in the spring. We had one of our students take that class online, and that one topic gave our student what they needed to test and complete their GED,” Rice said.  

More Options. More Opportunity. 

For adult learners, having more options can make the difference between putting a goal on hold and moving forward. 

“Make sure you visit rosaks.org,” Rice said. “With all of the options, there is bound to be a class that can fit a student’s schedule.” 

Across Kansas, adult education programs help individuals earn their GED, improve their English language proficiency, build valuable skills, pursue better employment opportunities, and create new possibilities for themselves and their families. ROSA expands that impact by giving programs another way to collaborate and serve learners more effectively. 

Sometimes, helping a student move forward means opening a door that was not available before. 

ROSA helps make that possible. 

To learn more about ROSA and explore available classes, visit www.rosaks.org.