Too many students struggle to make it through community college in a timely fashion, with many citing a lack of resources as the primary reason for the length of time it takes them to complete a degree or their reason for dropping out. The constraints of financial need limit not only students’ ability to complete a degree, but also their visions for the future, according to a report from the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE).
Community colleges are touted as some of the most affordable institutions of higher education available. Tuition costs fluctuate from state to state, but the sticker price ranges no higher than $8,000 at most.
As a result of their relative affordability and the flexibility that they offer students, community colleges attract and serve many students who tend to fall on the lower end of the income spectrum. The CCCSE report, which surveyed nearly 100,000 community college students attending 177 institutions across the country, illustrates the challenges that community college students face in their pursuit of a degree. Despite relatively low costs, the report found that nearly half of all students said they were considering dropping out due to financial pressures.
“We spend a tremendous amount of time thinking about how to help students succeed academically, but if we don’t also think about how to prevent this mindset of struggling financially, then we will continue to see students walk away from our institutions and not complete,” CCCSE executive director Dr. Evelyn Waiwaiole said in an interview Monday. CCCSE is an organization affiliated with the University of Texas, Austin which conducts research on community colleges.
The majority of respondents said that they were living paycheck to paycheck, and one fifth said that they would not be able to come up with emergency funds should an emergency arrive. Close to half of respondents said that they had run out of money in the past 12 months, forcing them to rely on family, friends, charitable organizations, or loans.
Initiatives intended to help reduce costs for students, like recent “free” community college programs, are well intended, Waiwaiole said, but by design will not reach the full spectrum of students. “What’s important to realize is that many of those programs are not for all students,” she said. “Oftentimes, they are for students who are just out of high school, while the average age of a community college student is 29.” Tennessee recently announced that it would open its free college program to adults learners. The program previously was open only to those recently out of high school.
