Only one third of non-first-time students -- adult learners who re-enroll in college after at least a year away from higher education -- earn a degree after six to eight years, according to a study released today.
The study, based on National Student Clearinghouse Research Center data of 4.5 million non-first-time students, found that only 33.7 percent of those students, who re-entered college between 2005 and 2008, completed their degree. The completion rates for those returning students at public four-year universities and community colleges was 27 percent lower than for first-time students.
"It was no surprise that there was a difference between non-first-time students and traditional students, but I was a little surprised by the magnitude of that difference," said Dave Jarrat, the organizer of the study and vice president of marketing at student coaching service InsideTrack. "There is this push under way at the national level to increase college-going among those who have some college but no degree, but if we don't fix this completion problem, we're just pouring water into a bucket full of holes. Two-thirds of the water is just leaking out."
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/10/07/two-thirds-non-first-time-students-do-not-graduate