Download this FREE deep dive report to learn what is driving the troubling trend of students stopping out, and what can be done to move these learners toward success.
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The journey to a college degree contains major detours for more students than it may initially appear. Long heralded as the most critical pathway to economic mobility and personal fulfillment, higher education has come under greater scrutiny in recent years in terms of the value it provides and the outcomes its graduates experience. And for a surprisingly large group, enrollment does not result in a degree.
What is driving the troubling trend of students stopping out, and what can be done to move these learners toward success?
This report focuses on the barriers for this population and the actions policy makers as well as institutional leaders can take to better serve them in their postsecondary journeys. Our aim is to share an informed perspective on the current state of the stop-out, or “comebacker,” experience, with insights from leaders and researchers deeply engaged in this work at nonprofit institutes, universities, think tanks and foundations.
Topics Include:
- The profile of the growing population of students who stop out and the reasons given for leaving college
- Some of the benefits and challenges that returnees may face that differ from first-time student peers
- Notable examples of supportive policies and practices that states and institutions across the country are implementing to bring students who stop out back into higher education
- Initiatives and interventions to ease the credit transfer process for returnees
- Alternative credentialing programs and apprenticeships that offer pathways to careers, especially in the skilled trades
Get a copy of the deep dive report by clicking the "Download" button above. And don't forget to register for the live webcast on Thursday, October 10, at 2 p.m. E.T., featuring Inside Higher Ed's Colleen Flaherty and the report’s author, Kristi DePaul, along with other higher education leaders, as they discuss the report's findings in greater detail.
Number of Pages: 31 (8.84 MB PDF)
Date Released: Sep. 26, 2024
About the Author: Kristi DePaul is an entrepreneur whose work has centered on enabling others' economic and social mobility. She is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review, and her writing has appeared in the Horizon Report and research reports sponsored by the Barbara Bush Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Digital Promise and Microsoft for Education, among others. DePaul leads Founders, a remote content agency that serves K-20 education, training and professional development organizations. She previously oversaw the teaching and learning column for EDUCAUSE Review. Earlier in her career, DePaul led marketing communications efforts for global edtech firms, educational consulting startups and for schools within both public and private higher ed institutions. She is a graduate of Penn State University’s Bellisario College of Communications and the H. John Heinz III College of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kristi lives with her family in Tel Aviv, Israel.
This report was made possible in part by the financial support of Ascendium. 
Support: Please email store@insidehighered.com with questions regarding the report or your download.