Students who enrolled in college but left without earning a degree or certificate number more than 43 million people in the U.S., including over 37 million working-age adults under 65. For many institutions, re-engaging these students is a top priority to help strengthen the workforce and increase postsecondary attainment rates.
New research from Trellis Strategies offers a closer look at why these students leave—and what might bring them back. The postsecondary research and consulting firm’s most recent Some College, No Credential survey draws on responses from more than 3,000 former undergraduates across 58 institutions in 13 states, examining both their reasons for leaving and their interest in returning.
The findings suggest stopping out is driven more by students’ life circumstances than academic performance. Among respondents, 35 percent cited personal finances as their main reason for stopping out, 32 percent pointed to family or personal responsibilities, 27 percent to work demands and 25 percent to the cost of attendance.
Allyson Cornett, director of research at Trellis Strategies, said these patterns reflect the realities of today’s students, many of whom are balancing college with significant personal responsibilities.
“They epitomize the modern learner, juggling adult responsibilities and college at the same time. That helps explain why a one-size-fits-all traditional college model isn’t serving these students,” Cornett said. “If we want to reduce stop-outs and bring students back, institutions need to tailor policies, programs and support for working adults, first-generation students and parents.”
The findings also point to a missed opportunity for intervention: About 71 percent of respondents said they did not speak with a faculty or staff member before leaving, while just 24 percent did.
“With the majority of these students slipping away silently, institutions never even get a chance to offer support or alternatives—and that’s a significant blind spot,” Cornett said.
Cornett added that institutions need to address the barriers pushing students out in the first place, including by “getting creative about affordability and flexibility” and intervening early when students begin to struggle financially or academically, rather than waiting for them to stop out.
“Many of these learners said they felt lost or unsupported in their re-enrollment journeys, so institutions have to actively guide them back,” she said.
Key findings: A strong majority of respondents still believe a college degree is worth it—both financially and in terms of quality of life. Nearly 73 percent said completing their degree would improve their career earnings and opportunities. About 64 percent viewed the cost of college as a worthwhile investment in their financial future, and 70 percent said a degree would lead to a higher quality of life.
Yet that confidence does not necessarily translate into re-enrollment at their original institution. Just 28 percent of respondents said they plan to return to the college they last attended, suggesting most do not see their former institution as part of their path back.
Lydia Mentzer, research analyst at Trellis Strategies, said the findings point to a breakdown in how institutions communicate with students—both before and after they stop out.
“[The findings] demonstrate the lack of information students have about their institutions,” Mentzer said. “They’ve already stopped out with the information they had, and many didn’t reach out because they didn’t know who to contact. That makes it less likely they’ll return to the same school, where they already felt lost in the process.”
Even so, many students have not given up on higher education altogether. About 49 percent of respondents said they plan to enroll at a different institution in the future. Among those intending to return, 59 percent hope to re-enroll within the next year, while another 19 percent expect to come back after more than a year.
“These individuals clearly haven’t lost faith in higher education. They see college as worth it, and the challenge is figuring out how to make it work given their life circumstances,” Cornett said. “The motivation for a diploma is still there—it’s just that the traditional path isn’t working for them.”
Bringing students back: Students were clear about what would make re-enrollment more feasible: better information about financial aid, clearer course and major pathways, and more robust academic advising.
Cornett pointed to offering students targeted financial relief as one potential strategy, including “small debt forgiveness.” She cited as a model the City University of New York’s $125 million initiative to cancel student debt for those who experienced hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If you’re a college or university that has let a student slip away, you have to actively win them back,” Cornett said. “That means meeting students where they are—financially, academically and logistically—so that students with some college, no credential can become students with a credential.”
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