The number of college students who drop out before getting a degree or certificate rose again in the last two years. But what education leaders should especially take notice of are the reasons why students step away from education: cost and life stresses.
A report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows that the number of U.S. students who leave college before getting the credential they enrolled for increased by 2.2% (over 800,000 people) over the last two years. Over 40 million people across America fall into the category of having taken college classes without getting their degree. This leaves many students “stranded” having invested money and time in their future, without any return on their education investment.
Why are they dropping out? In many cases, it’s not because college wasn’t for them, or even that they weren’t doing well. “Research shows a large number of these students exit higher education not due to academic concerns but to personal life challenges or financial barriers,” according to Inside Higher Education. They could succeed at college, but the stresses – paying for food, housing, health care, child care – and challenges of life outside of college got in the way of the education they needed.
That’s a problem that colleges didn’t create, but it is one that they can help fix. And the good news is that colleges are finding new ways to help more former students make it back and receive a degree or credential that sets them up for success.
Make College Simpler
One approach education leaders are trying is to make college itself less difficult to navigate. Forty-two states and the District of Columbia saw increases in student re-enrollment rates over the last year, often using approaches to simplify bureaucratic processes or college systems. The Colorado Re-Engaged (CORE) initiative allows four-year colleges to award an associate degree to students who earned at least 70 credits in pursuit of their bachelor degree, for example. This is a recognition that many students have invested a great deal of time and money, obtained knowledge and skills, and should not be blocked from a college degree that could help advance their career and economic standing.
Calbright College has been pioneering a similar approach in California for years. First, Calbright has taken the risk and challenges out of applying to college by every Californian over the age of 18 with a high school diploma or GED, so there’s no stress or competition about getting in. Calbright uses an open enrollment and flexibly paced model so students can study on their own time, and go as quickly or as slowly as they need without penalty. And Calbright is free, so there’s no financial pressure or student debt involved.
This makes a huge difference – many students say it’s the flexibility Calbright offers, and the way it can fit in their lives, that lets them go back to college or try it for the first time at all.
But there are other approaches colleges can take to supporting students. And Calbright is on the leading edge of these initiatives too.
Meet Basic Needs
Calbright’s Research and Innovation team is asking: In addition to making college simpler, how can we also support students outside of the classroom? The theory is that helping students with the challenges they’re facing in life will not only improve their lives but also keep them from dropping out of programs in the first place. It’s an unusual approach for higher education, but initial research suggests it can work.
One area Calbright is focused on is called “Increasing Student Success Through Basic Needs Support.” This is based on the College’s own research showing that one of the greatest barriers for adult students completing their education and job skills training programs are difficulties meeting basic needs: issues like food scarcity, a lack of stable housing, and poor access to medical care. All of these basic need challenges create significant academic obstacles for students who would otherwise be on track in their education.
The new approach, which has gone through a pilot program and is being further tested, works to find ways to better identify adult students in need of food, housing, and health care support, determine what public benefits they’re entitled to that they’re not getting, and help students access them. Initial results are promising: Twice as many students in the pilot program indicated a need for food, housing, or health care assistance that they might be eligible for.
By finding ways that colleges can assist students meet needs that exist out of academic environments, Calbright is finding innovative ways to support students who might otherwise drop out for reasons having nothing to do with their grades or capabilities. It’s a better education system for students, and Calbright is proving that it works.
