According to recent studies, there is a 32.9 percent college dropout rate each year. While there has been a slight increase in community college completion rates, this may be attributed to the recent decline in college enrollment rates.
It’s important to understand what contributes to these rates within your community college and find ways to improve graduation rates as a college administrator. This guide explores nine key factors affecting community college graduation rates and 11 strategies for improving graduation rates.
Here are some of the key challenges community colleges face that reduce completion rates.
Some college students start college without knowing what to expect. They can get caught off guard by certain requirements, and academic challenges may lead them to underperform. High levels of stress and feeling overwhelmed cause low graduation rates when students decide to drop out or have issues meeting educational requirements. Remedial education requirements may prolong a student’s time in college and reduce their likelihood of graduation.
These challenges make it important for community colleges to inform students about what is expected of them when enrolling. This helps ensure that students who believe they can handle the workload will apply.
Some students face financial challenges associated with tuition costs and living expenses. One report showed that 29 percent of community college students have had trouble affording food, while 14 percent experience issues with affording housing. Financial issues are a common reason for students dropping out.
Colleges need to work on providing financial solutions for students. For instance, they can offer financial aid, provide food to low-income students, offer certain resources for free, or provide additional support on campus.
Cafeteria-style college environments may make it challenging for students to connect their coursework to their future goals. According to one study, cafeteria-style colleges lack structured programs that clearly outline pathways to degree completion. They may also have inconsistent instructional quality, affecting student engagement. This prevents students from connecting with content and decreases their motivation to learn.
It’s important for colleges to frame their programs and teaching methods in ways that highlight how coursework is relevant to their lives and forming long-term interests.
In addition to inconsistent instructional quality decreasing student motivation, limited course availability can also demotivate students to complete their courses. Insufficient course offerings in required subjects may delay student progress and decrease their chances of understanding coursework and passing exams. Community colleges can combat this challenge by offering additional learning resources and services to help further their understanding.
Community college students may have specific needs for facilities, technology access, and staffing. When colleges lack the infrastructure and resources to support those needs, students have insufficient guidance and may experience challenges understanding complex topics or how to execute technical processes integral to certain careers. This may lower their scores and chances of graduating. To avoid this issue, colleges should try to get financing for implementing the necessary support to students.
Students may be more likely to withdraw from college when it fosters less engagement in campus activities and does not use strategies to help students connect with the community college. Engaged students typically have better chances of graduating than disengaged students.
Lack of engagement often stems from colleges not showing students the value of what’s being taught or creating healthy teacher-student relationships in which both feel respected and understood. To improve student retention and graduation rates, community colleges should foster a sense of belonging and implement strategies to create more engaging learning experiences.
Graduation rates can be affected by socioeconomic status, age, and ethnicity. Marginalized and underrepresented groups may encounter systematic barriers that negatively impact their success in college. For example, when certain underrepresented groups of students don’t have role models with backgrounds similar to theirs, they may feel discouraged from completing their studies.
Studies show that students from low-income families have a 10 percent dropout rate. Community colleges should work to remove systematic barriers by raising financial aid awareness and establishing mentorship programs with successful professionals from marginalized groups.
Some community college students juggle work and family commitments, which limit their availability to attend classes, complete assignments, and study for tests. This can lower retention and graduation rates. Students who enroll part-time or have full-time jobs are also less likely to graduate. Some students may even need to take gap years and leaves of absence to take care of family or work to earn money for tuition. Colleges should aim to help these students by offering relevant support services.
Student success in community college can dwindle when students don’t have access to mental health services, tutoring, and academic advising. Poor mental health impacts learning and academic performance by decreasing their motivation, memory, and concentration.
Without adequate support, students may struggle to navigate their educational paths, manage stress, and engage with educational materials. Colleges may benefit from providing mental health support services and training staff and faculty to address and recognize signs of distress.
Have you noticed a pattern of the above challenges at your institution? Here are 11 strategies for improving community college graduation rates.
Ensure students are aware of their financial options when they have issues paying tuition, living independently, or taking care of a family. It may help to host a workshop that informs students of their options. Try to offer assistance with the application process for different financial aid options.
Your college can offer additional help by offering financial support to help students meet costs their existing financial aid doesn’t cover. For example, you might offer transportation passes, textbook vouchers, and cash transfers.
Tie these incentives to academic programs to further encourage students to participate in academic opportunities to access these financial support options. The community college may also develop an emergency fund for students facing unexpected financial hardships.
Students may navigate academic challenges better when they see the connection between their coursework, academic performance, and achievable goals. Implement personalized advising services to help students navigate academic challenges, set achievable goals, and create tailored educational plans.
It may help to distribute surveys to students to gauge their biggest issues and concerns, whether they be balancing school with other responsibilities, interacting with professors, academic planning, or staying on track to graduate. This helps you understand the type of counseling and academic advising services and professionals your college’s students might need.
Create a system to identify at-risk students early. This can include incorporating student engagement and management software that tracks student progress. For instance, it might monitor and record attendance rates, course completion rates, and goal progress to predict future performance trends.
This allows you to identify at-risk students early and provide them with the necessary support services. Some support service examples include counseling, mentoring, or tutoring based on their specific issues. This ensures the college takes proactive measures to improve retention rates and avoid waiting for students to approach staff members for assistance.
Accommodate diverse schedules by offering flexible course arrangements like online, evening, or weekend classes. This makes it easier for students to balance their academics with family, work, and other important responsibilities. It also ensures that students can incorporate time to consistently focus on their studies.
To ensure smooth integration, speak with lecturers beforehand to see how many may be willing to work these hours to lecture students. Try to make this a flexible schedule arrangement for them. Some faculty members may also want to balance work with family and other responsibilities.
To help students see the value in completing their education, provide career counseling that connects academic programs with internships, job opportunities, and co-op placements. A career counseling and employment services staff member can offer career guidance to individual students based on their courses and interests.
The college can also implement career services workshops for students to attend and help them develop interests in vast career opportunities. Try to ensure that students speak with the career services staff at least once per semester. Toward the end of their study years, offer job placement services to help them begin working in their chosen field.
Offer support services tailored to non-traditional students who may have children or experience financial barriers. For instance, the college may partner with child care services or offer transportation assistance to help students get through college.
To combat demographic challenges associated with low graduation rates, colleges can partner with professionals in underrepresented or marginalized groups. Bring in these successful people to lecture students for a period on their journey to success. This may inspire students with similar backgrounds to continue studying and succeed in achieving their academic goals.
Dual enrollment is another solution community colleges have been looking to improve completion rates across most income levels and racial demographics. Dual enrollment involves accepting high school students in college classes while they’re still in high school. Doug Shapiro, part of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, notes that completion rates from high school students pursuing dual enrollment are much higher.
Vice president of research, policy, and advocacy for Complete College America, Charles Ansell, advises that colleges try to encourage dual enrollment with students from high schools with lower college-going rates. “Make sure dual-enrollment students are seeing their coursework as academic pathways into community colleges.” This helps maximize the potential of dual enrollment to drive improved completion rates.
Structural barriers, like traditional structures and design features of cafeteria-style colleges, can make it challenging for students to achieve their goals. These barriers may not outline clear pathways for obtaining a credential and may have unclear program requirements. Barriers can also reduce graduation rates because students have too many options, limited information about these options, and little insight into their own skills.
Using technology solutions can help community colleges develop clearly structured programs and guided pathway models to address issues specific to your institution. The right technology can help identify cost-effective and scalable solutions to ensure students receive targeted support.
Community colleges can foster a sense of community through various student organizations, activities, and events. These events aim to encourage engagement and connections among students, staff, and faculty. Give the students a voice by asking them what events and activities will be helpful to them.
Making them feel heard helps students understand that their presence and input matter. The college can also foster student engagement by making class time valuable. This involves connecting the curriculum to real-world situations, allowing students to share their discoveries, and encouraging active learning.
Create learning communities students can join outside of normal class hours. Learning communities involve taking classes together to foster collaboration, create a sense of belonging, and improve academic performance. These learning communities bring together students of similar backgrounds.
Those attending typically join for extra academic assistance because they also spend time earning a living and taking care of family. This allows students to see that others just like them are working hard to graduate, creating a positive learning environment of continuous encouragement.
Establish mentorship and training programs for students to connect with faculty, community leaders, and alumni. These monitors should be able to provide guidance, encouragement, and support throughout the academic journey of students.
You can improve these programs by partnering with certain employers in the area or who often employ graduates from your college. This creates valuable opportunities for students to form positive relationships with companies before being employed and gain familiarity with specific work processes.
When implementing any strategy, regularly assess student progress and gather feedback on the effectiveness of programs and support services. Depending on the information collected, make informed adjustments to enhance the educational experience and outcomes. Implementing assessment software helps streamline these processes and develop actionable solutions faster.
Understanding the challenges that cause students to leave college and knowing how to implement strategies effectively is crucial to improving completion rates. Watermark Student Success & Engagement is a valuable software solution for monitoring student engagement and increasing retention rates.
This solution monitors and supports the unique needs of each student’s journey to predict student progress and take proactive steps to support students. Our software also helps manage heavy caseloads and identify and support at-risk students in real time. To improve the rate of college completion statistics at your community college, request a demo with Watermark today.
