The Trend: More than 43 million people fall into the “some college, no credential” population. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, there’s an upward trend in these “stopout” students reenrolling in degree and certificate programs. Why the increase? Many institutions are investing in intentional outreach efforts and removing barriers to completion.
Exhibit A: Michigan’s Kalamazoo Valley Community College is seeing positive recruitment and retention outcomes thanks to personalized admissions help, specialized academic advising and financial support – such as the Cougar Completion Grant, designed for students 12 credits or fewer away from a credential. Benjamin Herbert, assistant director of student retention and completion, says KVCC began outreach internally, but eventually partnered with ReUp, an organization focused on reenrolling adult learners, to expand its capacity. Since 2018, the college has reenrolled 4,578 unique stopout students, about 500-600 per year.
The Pros: Reducing or removing barriers can increase retention. Herbert says for the current term – fall 2025 to winter 2026 – the retention rate for ReUp students was 73%. That is higher than the institution’s reported overall retention rate of 62% for full-time students. “That number is really exciting to see, especially knowing the challenges that stopout students have to overcome,” says Herbert. He adds that recovering students who are “inches from the finish line” is valuable for both institutional health and community impact: “That enriched education translates into alumni that enter organizations … and are able to represent [KVCC].”
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The Cons: It takes significant time and resources to embark on a stopout campaign and implement the support systems that come with it. That was the challenge facing KVCC. “One of the major parts of supporting stopped-out students was figuring out what capacity we have … and what works with the cadence of our academic year,” Herbert says. Partnering with ReUp helped KVCC with outreach at scale, but getting buy-in for a vendor partnership may not be a reality at every institution. Herbert adds there’s no cookie-cutter approach to re-enrolling stopouts. Rather, schools should lean into their local ecosystems via understanding industry needs or partnering with other institutions.
Reality Check: Getting students back in the door is one thing, but their success depends on continued support – academic and personal. One point of pride at the Kalamazoo campus is the new KV Circle Center, which provides food, hygiene items and other basic needs. While open to all students, Herbert says this space is especially vital for those “balancing life responsibilities at a higher level” than others. “This helps give [stopout] students what they need to not only complete the semester, but complete their credential.”
The Upshot: Helping stopout students complete what they started is good business for the school, a boon to the local economy, and, of course, transformative for the students themselves. “Their education isn’t temporary,” Herbert says. “It leads to meaningful careers that support the vibrancy of our community at large.”
Donna Talarico is an award-winning writer who covers higher education.
