Some good news: Currently enrolled college students were less likely to consider “stopping out” in 2023 than in 2022.
Some bad news: Hispanic and Black students are still more likely than their white peers to say they’ve considered withdrawing in the past six months.
This information is courtesy of a new report from Gallup and Lumina Foundation.
In fall 2023, Gallup surveyed 6,015 people currently enrolled in a post-high school program (certificate, associate or bachelor’s degree), more than 5,000 adults who had been enrolled in a program but hadn’t completed a degree, and 3,005 adults who never enrolled in higher education.
Forty percent of currently enrolled Black students said “yes” when asked if they’d considered stopping out in the previous six months. That’s down from 43% in 2022, but above 2020 and 2021 rates (34% and 37%, respectively).
Among Hispanic students, 42% said “yes” – an improvement of 10 percentage points from 2022.
And 31% of white students said they had considered withdrawing in 2023; that number was 36% in 2022.
What’s the cause?
Emotional stress is the top reason all currently enrolled respondents considered stopping out (54%). Other top reasons included personal mental health reasons (43%) and the cost of the degree or credential program (31%).
A few more reasons among currently enrolled respondents:
- 26% of Hispanic students cited lack of belonging, as did 22% of Black and white students.
- 24% of respondents said the coursework was too difficult.
- 13% didn’t believe the degree/credential would help them achieve their personal goals, and 12% didn’t believe it would help them achieve their career goals.
- 18% of Black respondents said they got a new job. That was a reason for 16% of Hispanic and 11% of white respondents.
- 6% of Black and Hispanic respondents and 9% of white respondents felt discriminated against or harassed.
Attracting potential students
The report also looked at what might get unenrolled adults to enroll in higher education.
“While retention is important, enrollment cannot significantly improve without attracting more U.S. adults, including those who have temporarily left, or never before enrolled in, higher education,” the report’s authors say.
Among unenrolled survey respondents, 59% say they have considered enrolling in a postsecondary program in the past two years. Breaking that down, 23% have considered a certificate program, and 22% have considered working toward an associate degree. Fewer have considered an industry certification (19%) or a bachelor’s degree pathway (17%).
What can get them to enroll? Among unenrolled respondents, 53% said financial aid or scholarships are very important to getting them to enroll in a postsecondary program in the next 12 months. Emergency aid also was important to 46% of Black and 44% of Hispanic respondents, and to 34% of white respondents.
And 53% of unenrolled respondents want confidence in the value of the degree or credential they had earn.
Nearly half of respondents (49%) would need greater flexibility in their work or personal schedule in order to enroll. Flexibility in course delivery also was important to 43% of respondents.
Enjoyment of the program plays a role in getting people to enroll, too, say 49% of respondents.
