Read these three articles.1- http://neatoday.org/2013/07/18/with-little-funding-or-support-community-college-students-dropping-out/2- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-attn-andrea-education-dropouts-
The Dropout Rate of Community Colleges Is Problematic
"In the coming years, jobs requiring at least an associate degree are projected to grow twice as fast as jobs requiring no college experience. We will not fill those jobs—or keep those jobs on our shores—without the training offered by community colleges."—President Barack Obama
The United States economy is expected to grow by 14.4 million jobs between 2008 and 2018, with 97% of these new positions, and 63% of all occupations, requiring a postsecondary credential of some type. With these demands in mind, the US is currently on track to face a shortage of nearly 5 million workers to fill positions that require postsecondary credentials by 2018. Policymakers, educators, nonprofit organizations, and postsecondary institutions, must rise to meet President Obama's challenge of graduating an additional 8.2 million postsecondary students by 2020. We must come together to ensure that college students receive the support and guidance they need so they can succeed in obtaining a postsecondary credential. These graduates will fill tomorrow's high-demand positions and thrive as the workforce of the future.
While job growth for all workers is expected to average 10%, job growth for those with an associate's degree is expected to grow at nearly double that rate, at almost 19%. Job growth for associate's degree holders is expected to even surpass new job growth for bachelor's degrees. Not only will associate's degrees be in high demand, but jobs requiring associate's degrees will offer competitive wages. As recently as 2006, nearly 1 in 6 jobs paying above average wages, and experiencing above average growth, required an associate's degree. In fact, the average expected lifetime earnings for an individual with an associate's degree is approximately $1.6 million, nearly $400,000 more than the expected earnings of a high school graduate.
Between 2003 and 2008, states across the country gave over $1.4 billion, and the Federal government gave over $1.5 billion, to college students who ultimately left school after just 1 year.
The workforce demands of the future cannot be met by our current postsecondary education system. To produce the number of graduates necessary to meet the rising demand, community colleges must play a central role and graduate a greater number of students. Because community colleges typically cost less to attend than 4-year institutions, have open enrollment policies, and offer more flexibility than 4-year programs, they offer a feasible path to graduation for many students who may not otherwise pursue a degree.
The Community College Dropout Crisis
Reducing the high school dropout rate is a national priority. Youth development organizations, states, and school districts are working tirelessly to develop strategies to help struggling students succeed. Unfortunately, the same emphasis, support, and assistance are not offered to another group of struggling young people: community college students. Too often, student supports stop at high school graduation and community college students are overlooked, despite the fact that dropout rates among this population are extremely high and the economic and social benefits of completion are extensive.
According to Complete College America, less than 30% of students who enroll full-time in community college complete an associate's degree in three years. Completion rates are especially low for minority, low-income, and older students. Just 7.5% of African American students, 11.1% of Hispanic students, 11.8% of low-income students, and 14.4% of students over the age of 25, enrolled full-time, complete a 2-year associate's degree in 3 years. Part-time students complete at even lower rates, with just over 2% of African American students, 2.6% of Hispanic students, and 4.3% of low-income students completing an associate's degree in 3 years.
In Connecticut, the situation is equally dire. According to a 2009 report by the P-20 Council, just 7% to 24% of community college students (depending on the institution) graduate within 3 years of entering school. This means that between 76% and 93% of students are paying 3 years of community college tuition without receiving a diploma as a result of their investment. This wasted tuition money not only affects personal finances, but state and federal funds as well, since many community college students receive student loans to cover tuition costs. In fact, between 2003 and 2008, states across the country gave over $1.4 billion, and the Federal government gave over $1.5 billion, to college students who ultimately left school after just 1 year. Total state expenditures for first year college dropouts in Connecticut topped $62 million between 2003 and 2008.... Funds expended can include a combination of personal, state, and federal dollars.
This is not to say that community colleges do not serve an essential purpose, or that investing state and federal funds in these programs is a waste. Graduates of community college produce significant social benefits over non-graduates including, lower unemployment rates, increased tax revenue, and reduced crime rates. In addition, community college provides an affordable, accessible postsecondary option, where young people can acquire the credentials they need to meet labor market demands. As it is estimated that by 2018, jobs requiring an associate's degree will grow at a rate faster than those requiring any other academic credential, improving community college student success rates will not only increase the likelihood of individual student achievement, but save students and taxpayers a significant amount of money in the process....
Graduating from college is difficult; careful study, concentration, and long-term commitment are required to obtain a degree. Because of this, many students struggle to complete their credential. For community college students, the road is often more difficult. Many enter college unprepared or under-prepared for the academic rigor of college level work. Others are shuttled into remedial courses, which often serve as a roadblock to credit-bearing classes and college completion. Still others become lost in the maze of majors, lectures, and high cost. Whether students experience all or just some of these problems, the reasons that many community college students fail to complete their degree must be carefully examined so high-quality solutions can be found to help students succeed.
Over 67% of African American students, 58% of Hispanic students, and 64% of low-income students pursuing a 2-year degree require remediation.
Inadequate Academic Preparation
While more students are attending college than ever before (attendance rates have increased from 49% in 1972 to 69% in 2005) many students are arriving at college without the academic foundation necessary to excel. Weak curricula, unclear standards, and a lack of alignment between high school and college coursework leaves students stranded in college without the academic foundation they need. This is particularly the case under the new Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and math. These new standards are more rigorous, intended to better prepare students to succeed in postsecondary education. However, schools are struggling to ensure that all students are truly mastering these skills before graduating.
This sets students up for failure, with time and money wasted taking remedial courses to fill gaps in the knowledge they should have acquired while still enrolled in high school. In fact, inadequate academic preparation is a cost that must be paid twice, with taxpayers paying first for students to learn academic material while in high school and again once students are enrolled in college. Student's lack of academic preparation and the need for remediation comes at an estimated national cost of $3.6 billion. Avoiding this path, and improving a student's chances of college success, should start long before students begin college level work. Acquiring a strong academic foundation prior to college is central to a student's successful admission to college and to the likelihood that they will not require remediation once they are enrolled.
Inadequate academic preparation also contributes to one of the most prohibitive factors in a student's ability to complete an associate's degree—the amount of time that they must remain enrolled in college. According to Complete College America, the longer a student is enrolled in school, the less likely they are to finish their degree. Many students cannot afford to attend school full-time, because 75% are working, raising children, commuting to school, or juggling some combination of these three obligations. In addition to personal obligations lengthening their enrollment, students find themselves inadequately prepared for college and, as a result, are forced to take non-credit bearing remedial courses. The combination of outside obligations and inadequate academic preparation is often too much, causing students to drop out.
Remedial Education
Increased time in school is prohibitive—so much so that it has been shown that the longer it takes a student to complete developmental or remedial education requirements, the less likely they are to remain in school. This is extremely alarming when considered in light of the large number of students required to take remedial courses each year. Complete College America reports that almost 50% of students entering 2-year colleges are required to take remedial classes. This number is even higher for minority and low-income students. In fact, over 67% of African American students, 58% of Hispanic students, and 64% of low-income students pursuing a 2-year degree require remediation.
Despite being noncredit-bearing, remedial courses cost students the same amount as credit bearing classes. Nationally, approximately $3 billion is spent annually on remedial courses, and the cost is constantly growing. According to The College Board, the average tuition at public, two-year colleges increased by just 5% from 1992-2002. Yet, in the following decade (2002-2012), the average tuition at public, two-year colleges increased by 45%. These rising costs are especially disconcerting for remedial students who do not receive credit for their coursework. Students placed in remedial classes can spend thousands of dollars on their education and have no credits to show for their time, money, and hard work.
Remedial education is detrimental not only to students who are required to take these courses, but to state and national economies. Because students who take remedial courses are less likely to complete school the added economic contributions of these potential college graduates are lost. When students enter, but do not complete college, they lose future earning potential, and governments lose future tax revenue.
Student Financial Aid
While academic preparation for college is essential, adequate preparation does not always translate into successful enrollment and completion of school. In fact, after accounting for differences in academic achievement, a significant gap persists between the percentage of low-income students and high-income students that attend college. Research indicates that low-income high school graduates in the top academic quartile attend college at the same rate as high-income graduates in the bottom achievement quartile. A key factor in this difference is the cost of a college degree and the financial aid available to make college affordable. The bottom line is that college is expensive, prohibitively so for many community college students, especially for students that are low-income.
According to The College Board, the average annual tuition at a public, two-year college, in the 2010 to 2011 school year, was $2,713. This does not include other costs incurred by students such as food, housing, books, and transportation. When these expenses are considered, it is estimated that the average budget required by a community college student is $15,000 per year. This amounts to a significant expense, especially for the many low-income students who often depend on community college to access higher education, and in light of recent changes to Pell Grant funding.
In 2011, the number of semesters in which student could receive a Pell Grant award was shortened from 18 semesters to 12 semesters. This change was implemented in 2012 and, according to the Association of Community College Trustees, is expected to impact 63,000 Pell Grant recipients. This modification is especially detrimental for the community college student population, since Pell Grants typically cover a higher proportion of a community college students' tuition than other college students. In addition, many community college students take longer to complete their degrees than students at 4-year colleges. In fact, 40% of students are only able to attend school part time. This extends the amount of time it takes for students to achieve their degree and the amount of time they require the assistance of a Pell Grant. Now, with fewer semesters of Pell eligibility, these students must receive better supports to ensure that they can get through a degree program.
Many students [who lack non-academic skills] are impacted at the very start of the college process, even before they enroll, when they must take concrete steps to explore college and financial aid options.
While this is an issue facing students, who apply for Pell grants, many students and families are not even aware of the financial aid that is available. They often overestimate the cost of college and do not know about financial aid options. This problem is particularly prevalent among low-income students and families who are also often deterred by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). As a result, many students fail to complete the FAFSA, miss important filing deadlines, and lose out on aid that could help them afford college. This forces them to take on work obligations, oftentimes lengthening their time in school, or deterring them from enrolling entirely. Whether due to inadequate financial aid information, rapidly rising costs, or a financial aid system that is complex and confusing, student financial aid plays a key factor in why students leave, or fail to enter, college.
Lack of Non-Academic Skills
To achieve success in college, students need more than just academic skills. They must adapt to new expectations, learning styles, professors, and surroundings. They must learn to collaborate with new students, and satisfy college course and graduation requirements. For many community college students, these new responsibilities can be overwhelming. This is because many students lack the essential non-academic skills necessary to tackle college challenges. In fact, even students that are deemed academically college-ready, through test scores or the completion of developmental coursework, often fail to complete their degree. Clearly, academic preparation influences college success, but it is certainly not the only success factor.
Professors and peers expect community college students to meet certain non-academic behavioral standards, such as navigating complex bureaucratic requirements, utilizing good study habits and time management strategies, and engaging in new kinds of social relationships. These standards are often left unspoken and unwritten, leaving students that lack these non-academic skills, unsure or unaware of expectations. The lack of clarity regarding non-academic skills is particularly detrimental to first-generation and older college students, who make up a large portion of the community college student population. Because non-academic preparation and support for college often depends on parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and other supportive adults with college knowledge and insight on how to succeed, students without access to these adult guides are often left behind. For many first-generation and low-income community college students, support for non-academic skills is simply not available.
A lack of non-academic preparation and support can undermine college student success at any point. Many students are impacted at the very start of the college process, even before they enroll, when they must take concrete steps to explore college and financial aid options. Other students make it to college, but receive negative feedback, poor grades, and experience discomfort on campus, causing them to ultimately drop out. While many community colleges have some type of orientation program in place to combat potential confusion, explain college policies, and highlight support resources, just 38% of colleges report instituting mandatory orientation programs. In fact, after three weeks of college, approximately 19% of entering students are still unaware of their school's orientation program. Skipping orientation can be especially detrimental to students lacking non-academic skills, as orientation provides a valuable opportunity for them to understand how their school works and begin forming new relationships.
Competing Obligations
Many community college students face significant obligations outside of the classroom that make it difficult to persist in school and concentrate on completing their degree. Work and family life demands are perhaps the most influential among the challenges that community college students face. Because many students have jobs, children, and a commute to school, they are more likely than their 4-year college peers to have poor academic outcomes and, ultimately, drop out. It is critical that students feel connected to their school, and supported by their environment in order to combat these competing obligations and persist in the face of obstacles that threaten to derail their success.
Community college students work a substantial number of hours to support themselves, their education, and their family. According to a study conducted for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, working and going to school simultaneously is the number one reason students provided when asked why they left school. In fact, 60% of community college students work 20 hours a week, and 25% work 35 hours a week. The stress of going to college while working is often too much, causing students to drop out before completing their degree.
Many students work while enrolled in school because of the high cost of postsecondary education. While college costs have risen over 400% in the past 25 years, median family income has only increased 150%—not enough to keep pace. This leaves many families unable to contribute to their children's education, forcing students to work while enrolled in school and resulting in poor outcomes. In fact, research has found that 6 out of 10 students who leave school had to pay for college themselves, and could not rely on support from their families.
Students leave school for a variety of reasons. Whether due to inadequate academic preparation, insufficient financial aid, underdeveloped non-academic skills, or competing life obligations, young people need help to reach their postsecondary goals. With the problems identified, we can begin to develop sound strategies and supportive solutions to improve student success.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Rath, Bob, et al. "The Dropout Rate of Community Colleges Is Problematic." What Is the Future of Higher Education?, edited by Roman Espejo, Greenhaven Press, 2015. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010951210/OVIC?u=viva23470&sid=OVIC&xid=2789d2ac. Accessed 28 June 2018. Originally published as "Pathways Through College: Strategies for Improving Community College Student Success,", Apr. 2013.
