Why Do Students Stop Out of College?

Three out of five students surveyed said academic underperformance played a key role in their decision to leave college for more than one term. Financial constraints and family responsibilities were also big drivers of students stopping out, according to a new report from the American Council on Education (ACE) and the School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California at Los Angeles. The two entities have partnered to “strengthen and lead” the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA, according to the report.

“There are a lot of intersecting reasons why students stop out,” said Danielle Melidona, a senior analyst for ACE who co-directed the production of the report. “Not all students are choosing to leave for the same reason.”

The report, released in July, analyzed data collected by the Diverse Learning Environments Survey (administered by HERI) from October 2022 to April 2023 to gain more insight into why a growing number of students are leaving college without completing a degree or credential.

Nearly 37 million Americans had some college but no degree as of July 2022—up 2.9 percent since 2021—according to the most recent available data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

A small slice of that population is reflected in the report from ACE and UCLA, which is based on survey data from a total of 8,559 students across 15 institutions—a mix of public and private, two- and four-year colleges and universities—in 10 states, including California, Missouri and Oregon.

Of those students, 70 percent used financial aid, 57 percent were students of color, 32 percent identified as LGBTQ+, 26 percent were first-generation college students, 26 percent were 25 or older and 34 percent had an annual household income below $40,000.

Overall, one out of three respondents said they had considered stopping out, but the share varied by income; 39 percent of students with a total household income of less than $40,000 had considered taking a leave compared to 31 percent with a family income of $40,000 or more.

Among the 6 percent of survey respondents who said they had left college for more than one semester, 7 percent were from households that made less than $40,000 while 5 percent came from households that made $40,000 or more.

Having financial support also overlapped with academic success: 27 percent of lower-income students indicated that not doing as well academically as they expected was an essential reason why they stopped taking classes, compared to 18 percent of their more well-resourced peers.

Race, age and military service also influenced stop-out rates, according to the report.

While 26 percent of the traditional-aged students who took a break from college said a lack of academic success played a key role in their decision, just 18 percent of adult learners said the same. Compared to white students, nearly twice as many students of color (27 percent) reported academic underperformance as an essential driver of their decision to stop out.

“Given all the other pressure students have, it can really land a serious blow to learners’ confidence in their ability to not just get through one term, but subsequent terms,” said Sue Cui, senior program officer of the education philanthropy division for Ascendium Education Group, a philanthropic organization focused on postsecondary education. “It’s an academic performance issue, but it’s also an important thing for institutions to dig into from an interpersonal level, and how faculty and staff can focus on deepening a connection with learners to better understand what they need to succeed.”

Although only 2 percent of respondents had served in the military, 15 percent of those said they’d stopped taking classes for a prolonged period of time. And while white students and students of color said they’d stopped out at equal rates (6 percent), Black students stopped out at nearly double that rate. Older college students, too, had higher stop-out rates, with 11 percent of those 25 and over indicating they’d taken more than a semester off from college, compared to 4 percent of traditional-aged students.

Additionally, students of color, adult learners and first-generation students were more likely than their peers to cite family responsibilities as an essential factor impacting their decision to pause their higher education.

“A student may be holding a lot,” Melidona said. “They may be working two or three jobs. They may also be taking care of a child or older parent or have various other responsibilities the college may not be privy to.”

Colleges Need to Take ‘First Step’

She emphasized that colleges and universities have a responsibility to make students aware of institutional or government resources, such as scholarships, emergency aid or child care, that could alleviate some of those burdens.

“Students won’t seek out something they’re not aware of,” Melidona said. “The institution has to take the first step in ensuring that students know what is available and how it may help them.”

The report identified numerous actions higher education leaders can take to mitigate stop outs, starting with collecting institutional data on those who leave and leveraging it to inform policies and practices.

“By disaggregating real-time student data, institutions can work to identify the specific barriers or pain points impacting specific groups of students,” Kelly Leon, vice president of communications and government relations for the Institute for Higher Education Policy, said in an email.

“And by assessing the data with an equity lens,” she said, “institutions can ensure today’s students, many of whom are living with low incomes, working, are parents, or have other caretaking responsibilities, have the resources to cross the completion finish line, including financial aid, academic advising, and mental health supports.”