Visualize a high school student joining a dual-enrollment program, earning college credits before stepping onto campus. As a first-generation college attendee, they juggle work to support their family while completing their first and second years.
But circumstances change: an unexpected expense, altered work hours, or a financial aid delay. These hurdles force them to pause their education, intending to return the next semester.
Yet, many don’t return. In enrollment meetings, concerns are raised about dwindling student numbers, increased competition, and the looming demographic cliff. Institutions strive to attract more students, but the pressing issue is retention.
Over 43 million Americans began college without completing a degree. Despite improved six-year completion rates now over 60 percent, nearly four in ten students don’t finish in that timeframe. Such a rate would be unacceptable in other sectors.
This high incompletion rate has been normalized in American higher education. It reflects systems built for a student demographic that no longer represents the majority of current learners.
Today’s students often manage work, family, and financial pressures while studying, contrasting with the traditional model designed for full-time students with family support. Flexibility is crucial.
Completion disparities persist, with Black and Hispanic students earning degrees at lower rates than their peers, often due to differences in resources and institutional support.
Non-completers frequently face worse economic outcomes than if they hadn’t enrolled, often bearing debt without the earning benefits of a degree, risking loan default.
In 2012, Georgia State implemented GPS Advising, a predictive analytics system identifying student risks in real-time, allowing timely intervention. Their Panther Retention Grants address financial barriers before students drop out.
Through these measures, Georgia State increased bachelor’s degrees by 28% from 2010 to 2021. Degrees awarded to Black students rose 57% and Hispanic students over 120%, with several groups graduating at or above average rates.
Georgia State didn’t change its student body but improved systems to support current students, demonstrating the potential when institutions focus on completion.
Proactive advising, swift financial aid, and data systems identifying struggling students early have significantly impacted student success.
Colleges should adopt programs reflecting students’ lifestyles and hold themselves accountable for student completion. They need to reconnect with those who left, as many are close to finishing.
The enrollment crisis is real, but the completion crisis is older and more damaging. We must address those who left without the credential they sought.
—
Read More Kitchen Table News
