Frederick Hess: Today it’s common to hear stories of innovators and wiz kids who made it
big after dropping out of college.
The success of these individuals might lead some to believe that dropping out isn’t
a big problem– but for many, it is.
Lanae Erickson Hatalsky: Too many students invest their time and money pursuing a degree they never finish,
and they frequently wind up worse off than if they’d never gone to college in the first place.
Dropping out creates large costs for students—and for taxpayers.
For students, costs are often in the form of student debt and lost time.
For taxpayers, costs are wasted public subsidies and forgone tax revenue.
Some estimates show that the total costs of non-completion impose a half-trillion dollar
drag on the economy each year.
Frederick Hess: And yet, we need to be careful about how we help more students finish college.
Often, top-down reforms can lead to unfortunate consequences.
This got us thinking: What if educators and policymakers focused on practical ways to
encourage college completion?
Mesmin Destin: So what do we mean by “college completion”?
A simple answer might be graduating.
While a student can graduate after any length of time – so long as a student earns a degree – in the research, most studies count “completing” as finishing a four-year degree within six
in the research, most studies count “completing” as finishing a four-year degree within six years.
This is already longer than the traditional four years you might expect a degree program to take.
It’s only the students that take longer than six years – even if they graduate later
on – who are usually counted as non-completers.
Bridget Terry Long: Today, only about half of students who begin college complete their degree,
and completion can greatly vary by the type of college, program length, and sector.
Non-profit four-year universities typically graduate more of their
students than two-year community colleges and for-profit universities.
But the variance isn’t only caused the type of college.
It’s also influenced by the characteristics of the students who attend them.
Matt Chingos: As you might expect, some types of students
are more likely to complete college than others.
Wealthy students, and those that do well on standardized tests, typically have higher
college completion rates.
But you might be surprised to hear that high school grades are an even stronger predictor
of college success.
Earning good grades requires consistent behavior over time – such as turning in homework, showing
up for class, and taking quizzes.
Developing these habits in high school ends up helping students throughout college.
But higher ed institutions also play a role in helping students graduate.
Kim Clark: Several practices appear to help improve a student’s chance at completing college.
Some schools offer targeted completion grants to juniors and seniors with unmet financial need.
These grants can help students overcome stumbling blocks posed by
emergency car repairs or textbook costs.
They aren’t silver bullet solutions, but college administrators would do well to examine
programs like these at their own schools.
Mesmin Destin: Administrators should also think about the way that students actually experience
college-level programs or initiatives, since they can play a large role in improving completion rates.
A growing body of research tells us that some college practices and initiatives can lead
students to feel like they are not supported,
or they don’t belong at college in the first place.
With that in mind, college completion programs can be counterproductive
if they send students the wrong messages.
Instead, university administrators should rethink their efforts by evaluating how programs
might affect a student’s motives, mindsets, and other psychological factors.
Kim Clark: Some colleges already invest in wrap-around, holistic support programs.
One program serving 8,300 students provides extra support with
financial aid, academics, and advising.
While these programs can be costly to run initially, linking students’ motives with academic
and financial support can improve college outcomes – and reduce costs
in the long run.
Matt Chingos: But even before college, we know that there are concrete steps that high schools
can take to help prepare students to be college-ready.
Imagine you’re an eighth-grader struggling with math.
Surprisingly, you’d be more likely to succeed in high school and go to college by enrolling
in a more rigorous math class, not an easier one.
Another carefully designed study found that students who took a “double-dose”
of algebra in high school were more likely to enroll in college.
These examples suggest that providing students greater access to advanced coursework can
improve academic preparation, helping develop good study habits needed to complete college.
Bridget Terry Long: So, there are a lot of ways we can affect college completion rates.
But what could go wrong?
Well, actually a lot.
Policymakers ought to take extra caution to ensure that they don’t accidentally encourage
colleges to “game the system.”
In the past, a single-minded focus on test scores has led to corner-cutting and manipulation
in K through 12 education.
In higher education, some colleges already operate as diploma-mills, churning out watered-down
credentials with little labor market value.
Creating more of these programs is not what anyone intends
when thinking about increasing college completion.
Frederick Hess: As a final caveat, note that we’re not suggesting that anyone should expect they’ll just
be handed a degree for going to college.
College-goers first need to put in the requisite time and work needed to earn that diploma.
Lanae Erickson Hatalsky: But for those students, we know that both colleges and high schools can do more
to help them get to a degree.
Now is the time for families, educators, and policymakers to get serious about the large
dropout problem at American colleges.
Frederick Hess: To learn more about college completion,
check out the link to the college completion page at AEI.org.
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