Many NTLs will be motivated, as they have chosen to do (and often paid for) a course, but courses need to be engaging enough for people to study in their spare time.
Mature students lead complicated lives and will be negotiating a combination of personal and professional obligations as well as study.
Making learning flexible and relevant are key to overcoming the possibly demotivating effect of conflicting time demands on NTLs. E-learning may offer enhanced flexibility, but may also be perceived as adding to the burden of study - particularly when there are technical difficuties, or students' home computers cannot cope with the demands of web-based learning. The learning curve involved in getting to grips with new technologies can be steep, and students may not feel that the required investment in time is worthwhile. This makes clear explanations of the benefits of elearning and its relevance to NTLs essential.
Elearning needs to be shown to be relevent to the workplace, by building on and feeding into experience, and by providing tools and strategies for reflection and professional development.