New Report: College Completion Rates Improve, But Disparities Remain A Problem

The percentage of college students completing their degrees on time has improved considerably in the past five years according to a new report from Complete College America (CCA), a national alliance of more than 40 states and other higher education systems working to improve college retention and graduation rates.

Among the best news, a state-by-state analysis showed that four-year completion rates for students at four-year institutions and two-year completion rates for students attending two-year colleges both improved by six percentage points between 2016 and 2021. Four-year completion rates improved in every state but Vermont, and two-year completion rates increased in all the states except for Florida.

Among the CCA Alliance participants, the average on-time completion rate at public four-year schools stood at 36% in 2021. At two-year schools, the overall on-time rate was 16%. (The report notes that the six-year completion rate was 69% at four-year schools, and 42% at two-year colleges.)

Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, and Massachusetts increased their on-time graduation rate at four-year schools by ten percentage points or more during the 2016-2021 time period. Six states – Colorado, Indiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and West Virginia – saw their on-time completion rates at two-year colleges increase by at least ten percentage points.

The data were collected from 42 states and other higher education organziations that had joined the CCA movement prior to 2018.

“This research provides tangible data demonstrating that the reforms set in motion long before the pandemic were generating significant and measurable improvements in college completion,” said Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, president of Complete College America in CCA’s press release. “To build on and sustain those completion gains, however, we need to be clear-eyed about the new challenges that threaten to wipe out this hard-fought progress. We must therefore stay the course and continue the laser focus on scaling proven structural reforms that work.”

But the report also highlighted several areas of continuing concern – particularly the substantial gaps in retention and completion that persist for three groups of students – those that attend college on a part-time basis, students 25 years and older, and BILPOC (Black, Indigenous, Latinx, People of Color) students. For example:

• Compared to the overall 69% six-year completion rate, the rate for students 25 and older was only 46%, and completion rates were even lower for older Black (40%) and Latinx (35%) students.
• At four-year colleges, the first-to-second-year retention rate for students 24 and younger is 72% for full-time students vs. only 40% for those attending part-time. For older students, the first-year retention gap is 56% (for full-timers) vs. 43% (part-timers).
• Only 21% of part-time students at four-year colleges and 19% at two-year schools were able to complete a credential in six years.

The report urges colleges to address these disparities by employing several strategies advocated by CCA over the years. These so-called Game Changers, which have consistently helped push up completion rates, include:

• replacing traditional remedial education with co-requisite courses for students who are not yet ready for gateway courses in subjects like math and English;
• using multiple measures of academic readiness for the purpose of course placement;
• employing more intrusive advising and highly structured semester-by-semester academic plans;
• aligning academic programs with career goals to provide students with a clear focus and direction for their college attendance and:
• intensifying academic, advising, career and coaching support to help answer students’ academic needs.

CCA leaders viewed the data as an indication that despite the setbacks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the completion movement remains on the right track.

“Before COVID-19, states, systems and institutions were making significant progress toward accelerating completion and eliminating disparities based on race and ethnicity,” said Charles Ansell, vice president of research, policy and advocacy at CCA. “This analysis provides hard data that should encourage higher education leaders to continue their reform work to ensure that the completion movement reaches every campus and, eventually, every learner.”

The data also make clear that the reform work Ansell is calling for needs to focus in particular on older students of color who are enrolled part-time.

Helping these students complete more courses in their first year of college, offering classes on a schedule that is suited to working adults, extending course credits for competence-based achievements, and making sure students receive the co-requisite support needed for success in gateway courses are key interventions with demonstrated success.