Community College Drop-Off Survey
Survey
Feb. 2023
Sample Size:
1,641
Demographics:
undergraduate students
Topics:
Covid-19
Student Support
Admissions And Enrollment
Top Findings:
- Students are now more concerned about the economy than they are about COVID-19. When this survey was last conducted in 2020, we found that a majority of each enrollment group (65 percent of continuers, 60 percent of stop-outs, 65 percent of new students, and 66 percent of aspirants) were concerned about catching COVID-19. These concerns decreased over the past two years, particularly among stop-outs (47 percent) and aspirants (43 percent).
- Across all groups, significant percentages are experiencing economic hardship. At the high end, nearly half (49 percent) of stop-outs report falling behind on a bill, with aspirants (47 percent) and continuers (42 percent) trailing behind.
- Many respondents also received free food from a friend or family member (between 39 and 47 percent) and skipped meals (between 37 and 46 percent) because they did not have enough money to buy food, thus indicating that food insecurity also poses a great risk to these students.
- For stop-outs, only 42 percent say it is likely they will enroll again in the future. And for those who plan to enroll again, 24 percent said they didn’t plan to enroll again until after 2023.
- Only half (50 percent) of stop-outs report satisfaction with the quality of online instruction, compared with 77 percent of continuers and 71 percent of new students.
Related Insights & Analysis
Feb. 22nd, 2023
Why Didn't the Community College Students Come Back?
The survey updates our findings from a similar survey conducted in 2020 about why enrollment at community colleges declined.
By:
Rachel Fishman
and
Olivia Cheche
Education Policy Post
Mar. 7th, 2023
How do community college students feel about online learning?
The blog presents findings from our recent Community College Enrollment survey about students' perspectives of online learning.
By:
Sophie Nguyen
,
Olivia Cheche
, and
Tiffany Thai
Education Policy Post