Students with ‘Some College, No Degree’ Re-Enroll at Steady Rate

Nearly one million students who earlier dropped out without any credentials returned to receive their first postsecondary education credential over the period of the last five years.

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) report, titled “Some College, No Degree: A 2019 Snapshot for the Nation and 50 States,” revealed that an additional 1.1 million former students are still enrolled as of December 2018 to earn an undergraduate credential.

The report further noted that the re-enrolling at public institutions were on top priority for returning students as compared to private institutions, whereas the online enrollees were more likely to re-enroll at the online institutions.

“The returning students and new completers identified in this report should be celebrated, but they have been mostly invisible until now,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director at NSCRC.

“The graduation rates commonly used to measure college performance in the U.S. counted them as dropouts when they left and ignored them when they returned, yet their successes today represent great benefits to themselves, their states, and the nation,” he added.

Overall, the country has 36 million individuals with “Some College, No Degree,” which is up from 29 million in December 2013. More than half of those were last enrolled at a community college and is the largest single sector awarding credentials to returning students.