As former secretary of education John King once said, “The most expensive degree remains the one you don’t get.”
When students start but do not finish a degree, they lose out on more than just the extra income they could have earned with an associate’s, bachelor’s, or certificate. They also lose money studying instead of working, and may be on the hook for any student loans they may have incurred while in school.
Despite the obvious pitfalls of non-completion, graduation rates remain low at community colleges, where approximately one-third of students ever earn a degree or certificate. Attending even just one semester of community college full-time, however, gives students a better chance of completing college, according to a report out on Wednesday.
The Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) released a report looking at the graduation and completion rates of full-time versus part-time students which confirmed that full-time students have a demonstrable “edge” in terms of the chances of graduating compared to their part-time peers.
Although the benefits of attending full- versus part-time community college have already been demonstrated in numerous reports, CCCSE’s report provides a fresh look at the issue and new insights on how colleges can help more students succeed.
“It is not terribly surprising that attending full-time correlates with greater engagement, but what is surprising is that students who were full-time in the first semester had a much greater chance of persisting,” said Dr. Evelyn Waiwaiole, CCCSE director.
Of the students who attended full-time in their first semester of college, 77 percent persisted from fall to spring, compared to 64 percent of their part-time peers. In the end, 38 percent of students who attended full-time in their first semester graduated, compared to 31 percent of students who did not.
