As the adult education field matures, professional associations have established best practices [1, pp. 39-41] to guide members. In analyzing the guidelines of various groups, Maehl found the following major commonalities that associations hold for adult education:

1. Address learner needs carefully, fairly, and equitably.
2. Plan learning programs around the desired outcome.
3. Design learning experiences that are high quality and centered on the learner.
4. Assess learning according to the learning outcomes, but recognize the previous learning of the adult.
5. Prepare faculty and staff to work with adult learners, and actively engage faculty and staff in their own development.
6. State clear missions and provide sufficient resources to carry out the mission. (g) Thoroughly evaluate the program's effectiveness.
7. Advocate eliminating barriers to student success.